THEATER REVIEW
“Singin’ in the Rain”
Produced by: The Gateway Performing Arts Center of Suffolk County
Reviewed by: Jeb Ladouceur
Jeremy Benton (Don Lockwood). Photo by Jeff BellanteWhen Jeremy Benton, Shannon O’Bryan, and John Scacchetti signed on for the key roles in this slickest of Long Island stage shows, they had to know the size of the shoes they’d be asked to fill. Indeed, the 1952 motion picture “Singin’ in the Rain” starring Gene Kelly, Debbie Reynolds, and Donald O’Connor was voted the best film musical of all time by the American Film Institute. Happily, the trio was not intimidated, and the upshot is that we Islanders are being treated to a solid gold smash musical thru August 10th. The venue is the South Shore’s magnificent Patchogue Theater.
The Justifiably famed Gateway Playhouse isn’t the first organization to stage Betty Comden and Adolph Green’s classic film—that distinction was earned by the London Palladium in 1983, after which the show was snatched-up by Broadway in 1985 and performed more than 400 times at the Gershwin Theater. Though “Singin’s” year-long run was modest, critics loved the play and it has since garnered nine international award nominations, including a couple of Tony nods.
But it was the movie that really won the hearts of the theater-going public. Accordingly The Gateway, under director Rick Conant and choreographer Kelli Barclay, has wisely chosen to follow Hollywood’s version of the show, and the result is a smooth-as-silk offering that will be talked about in entertainment circles for a long time to come.
Of course, the prime contributors to this landmark production are the three multi-talented stars, Benton, O’Bryan, and Scacchetti (who play Don Lockwood, Kathy Selden, and Cosmo Brown respectively). All act, sing, and dance with equal excellence. One wonders how they manage to inject so much flair, grace, and stamina into every song they interpret. Here it should be said that the show-stopping number they perform together, “Good Mornin’,” is alone worth the price of admission.
But there are eighteen other tunes in this amazingly lyrical show, and every one (even the not to be taken seriously parody,“Would You?”) feels tailor-made to the Comden-Green story. Notable among the ballads are the three “You” pieces, “You Stepped Out of a Dream”, “You Are My Lucky Star”, and “You Were Meant for Me.” (Purists might insist on adding the charming “All I do is Dream of You.” Good enough.)
While every musical comedy seems to have a double-jointed, double-taking freewheeler, very few can boast the inclusion of an honest-to-God clown like John Scacchetti. The young actor is perfectly cast as leading man Don Lockwood’s sidekick,Cosmo Brown. When Scacchetti is finished with his “Make ‘Em Laugh” routine (falling over a sofa, taking repeated smacks by men carrying a board, running through a brick wall—among other misadventures) you’ll find yourself gasping for air. The guy’s endurance is incredible! What’s more he’s singing on key and doesn’t miss a dance step the whole time.
Scacchetti’s female counterpart is the comedic “Lina Lamont”, played by stage-savvy Gretchen Bieber. Her screeching voice (like fingernails scraping a blackboard) provides the play’s theme. Without the ingénue’s unique ability to affect the ‘dumb blonde’ mystique while looking like a million bucks, the show would never work.
As for the other players in this Gateway winner—I didn’t see a clinker in the 20-person ensemble on Press Night. They were precise, charmingly costumed, and obviously having great fun as they romped across a wonderfully adaptable, beautifully lit set—which does get rained on, as a matter of fact!
Award-winning Smithtown author Jeb Ladouceur has published seven novels. His theater reviews appear in dozens of L. I. newspapers. In Ladouceur’s next thriller, “The Dealer” due this summer, Israeli extortionists threaten to destroy Hoover Dam demolishing the Las Vegas Strip - if casino operators don’t pay millions.