‘Rain’ proves irresistible despite flaws

Signature Productions’ "Singin’ in the Rain" is full of flaws, but rich in dynamic performances and goodwill. You leave happy.

The 1985 flop stage version of the celebrated 1952 movie musical pokes fun at the attempts of the silent movie industry to come to terms with sound. Heartbeats drown out spoken lines when the mic is at breast level. Dialogue comes in and out when actors turn away from the amplification. And, worst of all, the squeaky, shrill voice of big star Lina Lamont (Kelly Albright) doesn’t match up with her ripe, physical assets.

Director Leslie Fotheringham guides Evan Litt Sr. into a great turn as movie star Don Lockwood. Litt has amazing body control, a crooner’s voice and an acting style that exudes warmth.

David McMullin owns his nimble "Make ’em Laugh" number so effortlessly that he delivers the same sort of bliss the song produced in the film.

Choreographer Teresa Martinez infuses the musical moments with the clever, tongue-in-cheek touch they deserve. The tap routines are to die for.

And, yeah, the big rain sequence looks spectacular, but, luckily, the director is concerned with a lot more than just technical wow.

Unfortunately, the script is a patchwork. Also, Litt and the gifted Shannon Winkel, as his love interest, aren’t able to get us to understand their initial attraction.

Fotheringham slows down the sometimes already slow-moving action with many long blackouts. And she doesn’t always trust the comedy.

McMullin, for example, soars when he sings and dances. But when he speaks, he seems to exist only to deliver punch lines.

Albright lays on the dumb blonde mannerisms so thickly that she’s sometimes annoying — and not in the way the script intended.

Inconsequential bits — such as three men trying to think of a title for their revamped film — are executed so broadly that the buffoonery frequently dries up the small-scaled humor.

But the musical rollicking of the nearly three dozen cast members renders the show irresistible.

When I left the theater and was met by the warm, dry Vegas night, I was disappointed that I wasn’t going to get to have a little fun in a downpour.

Anthony Del Valle can be reached at vegastheaterchat @aol.com. You can write him c/o Las Vegas Review-Journal, P.O. Box 70, Las Vegas, NV 89125.