REVIEW: Singin’ in the Rain at Mirvish
Mirvish has brought in a 2012 UK touring production of Singin’ In the Rain — get your umbrellas ready.
Playing at the Princess of Wales Theatre through the end of October, Singin’ In the Rain is two-and-a-half-hours of tightly choreographed pastiche and joy. Splashy to the point that the first few rows get wet, some audiences will no doubt enjoy the spectacle of shimmering costumes and high-brow buffoonery.
But with a single person visibly of colour performing in a cast of 28 and motifs fifty years removed from the Roaring ‘20s, there are problems here and they are not simply representational: it’s a historical production that doesn’t address its history. As with Mirvish’s other opening last week, just because Singin’ in the Rain is a great movie doesn’t necessarily mean it’s a great show. While this production of Singin’ in the Rain may bring the 1952 film to life for you, here’s why it didn’t for me.
“Spectacle” is this production’s operative word. Simon Higlett’s costumes are so colourful and bedazzled that Baz Luhrmann himself would blush. Higlett also created the mammoth-sized, dynamic sets. These aren’t just geographic in scope; they literally create weather events. As other reviews have gushed (pun intended), this production engulfs you, stormy weather and all, in the world of a film — particularly in the titular song and its encore. And yes, sometimes it’s just cool to experience such advanced stage technology.
Both the film and stage show centre around fictional silent film star Don Lockwood, played by master triple-pirouetter Sam Lips. Don is joined by Cosmo, the studio’s music director, attached to Don at the hip for reasons never addressed. Here, Alastair Crosswell approaches Cosmo (Mr. “Make ‘Em Laugh”) with gleeful energy and adept skill for physical comedy.
The central tension in Singin’ In the Rain is the advent of the “talkies,” and how the fictional Monumental Studio must shift its day-to-day practices. They’re concerned that the viewing public will realize Lockwood’s partner and their biggest starlet, Lina Lamont, has a voice and personality like sandpaper. Faye Tozer’s turn as Lina is the highlight of the production, a triumph in consistent antagonism. Never breaking from the affect of a prepubescent Brooklyn ruffian, Tozer curates a hilarious yet effectively original foil.
The corporation is experiencing this flux when Don has a chance encounter with a sweet-voiced stage actor. Kathy Seldon, played by the charming Charlotte Gooch, catches Don’s eye as she rides the waves of film industry change. But her success won’t be before she has to do the dirty work for the studio by pretending to be Lina Lamont’s voice to salvage otherwise unusable footage.
These are fine performances. But this Singin’ In the Rain encapsulates why fine performances alone may not make a great show. Even though this production aims to recreate the movie, director Jonathan Church and choreographer Andrew Wright take puzzling cuts and content liberties that make its characters and cast seem less well-rounded.
Gone are “Gotta Dance”’s famous green sequined dress, scar-faced quarter-flippers, and faux pas de deux ending. Gone is much of Zelda, the character played in the film by Rita Moreno. We instead get a white actor (Imogen Brooke) playing a Zelda that shows up three quarters of the way into the show. Instead of 1920s charleston and jitterbug, we get what appears to be choreography inspired by Bob Fosse (active from 1954 to 1983) and A Chorus Line (first premiered in 1975).
Another problem arises in underdeveloped characters, particularly Cosmo and Kathy. Basic dramaturgy asks: what are the supporting characters’ goals for personal and professional growth? What’s the world they’re living in? The answers could be rich; different casting choices could engage with the fact that not everyone in 1920s Los Angeles was straight and white. Just because the original has representation issues doesn’t mean that the revival should too.
Also, Ian William Galloway’s many long video projections of Lockwood and Lamont movies are head-scratchers. For a stage production transcribed from a movie, these could have been live-acted to great success. Why pay more to watch awkward videos onstage when you could watch a high-quality movie at home? These inserts deflate the liveness, and they lead to onstage recreations of Graumann’s Chinese Theatre that invoke more Orientalist fonts and symbolism than the original building does.
Altogether, this is a lot to overlook. I left the Princess of Wales feeling disappointed, when I was supposed to feel happy.
Of course the asterisk to my disappointment is the objective “I.” There’s no doubt that this production may inspire joy in many who watch it. It warrants “oohs” and “aahs” when Lips Lockwood strikes his umbrella on the water-soaked stage. Claps erupted on opening night at the expert synchronicity and astounding alliteration in “Moses Supposes.”
But my suggestion is to stay in, stay dry, and watch the original, along with the work of Vaudeville pioneers like the Nicholas Brothers, Josephine Baker, and Bill “Bojangles” Robinson.
Singin’ in the Rain runs at the Princess of Wales Theatre through October 23. Tickets are available here.
Martin Austin
Martin Austin is a PhD student at the University of Toronto’s Centre for Drama, Theatre & Performance Studies. Martin’s research explores the past and current state of ethics in Euro-American dance practice. He is research assistant for Category Is, a study of house ballroom communities in Toronto and Montréal, and lead administrative coordinator of the Institute for Dance Studies.
LEARN MORE
iPhoto caption: Members of the 'Ophis' company. Photo courtesy of Transcen|Dance Project.
REVIEW: Ophis dunks viewers into a gothic experience of Medusa’s psychic landscape
Transcen|Dance Project’s Ophis is a woozy tragedy that courts both playfulness and eroticism, deliberately dissolving the boundaries of stage and audience with an immersive format that’s sometimes thrilling, sometimes terrifying, and sometimes — if you’re a people-pleaser like me — both simultaneously.
iPhoto caption: L to R, top to bottom: 'The 39 Steps' (photo by Raph Nogal), 'Benevolence' (photo by Jae Yang), 'The Born-Again Crow' (photo by Jeremy Mimnagh), 'Dimanche' (photo by Thomas Müller), 'Last Landscape' (photo by Fran Chudnoff), 'The Merchant of Venice' (photo by Kyle Purcell), 'Slave Play' (photo by Dahlia Katz), 'Waiting for Godot' (photo by Elana Emer), 'The Welkin' (photo by Dahlia Katz).
Twelve indelible moments of performance from 2025
With the lights fading on another year of fleeting thrills in dark rooms, we asked 12 Ontario performing arts writers to reflect on a moment that stayed with them. The results mainly stem from Toronto theatre productions, but there are a few surprises weaved in.
iPhoto caption: Connor Mitton and members of the company of 'Sex Dalmatian’s Hot Holiday Spectacular.' Photo by Jeremy Mimnagh.
REVIEW: Sex Dalmatian’s Hot Holiday Spectacular is a peppermint-coated acid trip
Rock Bottom Movement’s surrealist mandate is on full display in this 15-dancer fantasia, which begins with an invitation to let go: “The only thing you need to know is not to know anything at all,” pronounces the Mayor of Sex Dalmatian, the evening’s narrator and the mayor of the titular canine’s mind.
iPhoto caption: Vanessa Sears as Juliet, Julia McLellan as Anne, Matt Raffy as May, and Sarah Nairne as Angelique in '& Juliet.' Photo by Dahlia Katz.
REVIEW: Mirvish’s & Juliet sparkles on the surface despite narrative stumbles
The technical elements of & Juliet are rightfully excessive, fabulous, and gauche, solidifying the camp grounding upon which I came to appreciate the show as a whole.
iPhoto caption: Members of the company of 'Ruby and the Reindeer.' Photo by Ann Baggley.
REVIEW: Ruby and the Reindeer conjures a very Ontario Christmas at Stratford’s Here For Now Theatre
A festive addition to Mark Crawford’s catalogue of Canadian comedies, Ruby and the Reindeer isn’t shy about its local roots.
iPhoto caption: Ben Porter in 'The Woman in Black.' Photo courtesy of Mirvish.
REVIEW: Mirvish’s The Woman in Black conjures chills in the shadows
If you’re willing to suspend your disbelief and let your imagination run loose, The Woman in Black will reward you with a genuine jolt or two.
iPhoto caption: Production still from The Nutcracker courtesy of the National Ballet of Canada.
Why should you go to the ballet?
My childhood memories of learning to dance were front and centre for me when I attended opening night of The Nutcracker, performed by the National Ballet of Canada at the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts.
iPhoto caption: ROSA promotional image courtesy of RUTAS.
RUTAS redefines ‘American’ theatre and performance
“I think [Latinx artists] have always been a strong voice, but now we need to be even louder to the rest of Canada,” says multidisciplinary performance artist Carlos Rivera. “The things that we can bring to the table and bring to the stages can show the beauty, and the strain, and the capacities that Latino Americans carry with us in our bodies, in our minds, in our souls.”
iPhoto caption: Original photos by Kendra Epik.
With its Spring Double Bill, Toronto Dance Theatre centres community and new voices
For the Spring Double Bill, artistic director Andrew Tay is considering how programming can be a means of supporting emerging artists.
iPhoto caption: Photos by Roya DelSol
REVIEW: Boundary-pushing TDT double bill features face-riding and odd sensuality
Both pieces in the winter double bill are par for the course with TDT’s recent artistic output: unabashedly queer and consistently experimental.
iPhoto caption: Photo by Ambra Vernuccio.
REVIEW: Jungle Book reimagined needs a little reimagining
Indeed, Akram Khan “reimagines” a historically complex story into a two-hour exposé on the environmental catastrophe. Jungle Book’s captivating visual effects and dynamic physicality brought the opening night audience to their feet. But as the choreographer’s first billing as director, Jungle Book’s storytelling doesn’t always live up to Khan’s skill as a dancemaker.
When it comes to dance made in Canada, there’s an overabundance of great work happening.
Comments