Review- Singin' in the Rain- Lunchbox Productions
27-9-15
By: Meaghan McGurgan
It was all too fitting last night that amber rain warnings were being announced while Singin' in the Rain splashed into town.
There are some shows that are simply joyous to watch. Singin’ in the Rain is one of these shows. I guarantee you will be smiling when you leave. In Jonathan Church’s staging with inventive choreography by Andrew Wright, clearly inspired original routines, the production takes off in startling and delightful new directions of its own. The show offers almost three hours of continuous pleasure that will have you singing along and tapping your toes.
I appreciated that the cast took inspiration from the movie but didn’t try and copycat Gene Kelly and the original stars of the movie. Stand out in the cast was Taryn-Lee Hudson as the hilarious Lina Lamont. She was beautiful, irreverent and perfectly irritating in every moment on stage.
The story is of the arrival of the talkies in Hollywood. You might remember The Artist from a few years ago when it won its Oscar. Silent films became a lost artform when The Jazz Singer came about and took over Hollywood. Singin’ in the Rain lacks all subtlety in its style and staging but makes up for it with humor, spirit and a delightful score with memorable songs.
Lunchbox Production’s musical production has been hard to miss over the past few weeks. There have been posters, TV spots, MTR campaigns; all promising “LIVE RAIN ON STAGE”. The rain aspect of the production is quite impressive with 12,000 litres of water used and recycled through an impressive stage design in each production. Any set designer will appreciate the engineering in the design by Simon Higlett. I loved the rain feature in the design but couldn’t help but think that the greyscale of set was a little problematic. There were so many details in Higlett’s beautiful design and many of these were lost to the audience in the monochromatic tones. A little color wouldn’t have hurt.
There were some sound issues in the performance last night that are easily fixed and hopefully will be worked out over the run. Some mics waived in and out, during some of the songs, but the bigger issue was that the level of the orchestra was out of balance for the first act. They were often too loud, especially in the first few songs and we couldn’t hear the words clearly from the performers.
Singin’ in the Rain is a show that is the perfect pick-me-up for a gloomy Hong Kong day. The show is full of high production values, they have a live orchestra, and you’ll leave the theatre feeling like it was worth the money spent. Splash section tickets include ponchos that will most definitely be needed by audience members sitting in the first few rows. Audience members in the dry sections took great delight in watching these poor souls get soaked! (Although it looked like they were enjoying it…)
Singin' in the Rain is playing at the HKAPA through October 25th. For more information, click here.
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