Singin’ In The Rain with Theatre Under the Stars @TUTSVancouver

I am always thrilled and grateful that the Vancouver arts community invites me to be part of their events. I try to reciprocate as much as I can and attend as many theatre, dance, fine and performing arts events as I can. I hadn’t had the chance to see Theatre Under the Stars‘ production of “Singin’ in the Rain” because I had been swamped (also, my Mom was visiting so I was pretty much unable to do anything other than what I already had scheduled).

But with my Mom gone, I have a much more open schedule (relatively speaking – you know how busy my social and work calendar is!) and I didn’t want to miss TUTS at Stanley Park’s Malkin Bowl. So I switched around a kayak invite and instead chose to bring JT as my Plus One to “Singin’ in the Rain”. Based on the American musical comedy that depicts (and often mocks) the transition from silent cinema to ‘talkies’, TUTS’ production was simply extraordinary.

First off, my hats off to Lauren Bowler (Kathy Zelden), Lindsay Sterk (Don Lockwood) and Neil Minor (Cosmo Brown). They carry the whole musical to an entirely new higher ground. Sterk and Bowler’s vocal prowess is matched by their plasticity and dynamism on the stage. Dancing and singing and trying to recreate an iconic movie on stage is much more difficult that you can imagine. When I was in high school I danced (and I choreographed) the song that gives this musical its title. It was VERY hard. But Bowler (and later, Sterk, Minor and the rest of the cast) make it seem seamless and easy to do.

While at my performance there were a couple of (very) minor sound problems, and three (very) minor points where the dancers weren’t in perfect synchronicity (sorry, I am a perfectionist and I choreographed these sequences before), the production itself is absolutely, totally and completely amazing. I loved Jameson Parker (as I have since I saw him in Prodigals earlier this year) too. Shel Piercy, Shelley Stewart Hunt and Wendy Bross Stuart (director, choreographer and music director respectively) really took this musical and raised the bar one notch more.

Obviously, Singin’ in the Rain made me shed tears, as well as “You Were Meant For Me” (yeah, I am THAT mushy). “Would You” also drew tears from my eyes. Not because they are sad songs, but because of how beautifully they were sang and danced to. I really enjoyed how the audience laughed and sang along particularly at the end. I had had a really bad experience with a grumpy spectator at Buddy: The Buddy Holly Story (where the guy basically berated me for singing along and having a good time). On the (positive) opposite side, we have the folks who attended last night’s Singin’ in the Rain performance, they were such a great crowd. We all gave a standing ovation to the performers, much deserved. You’d do a disservice to yourself if you don’t attend one of TUTS’ performances (daily alternating Joseph and Singin’). You can check ticket sales here.

Disclosure: The tickets to attend Singin’ in the Rain for myself and my Plus One were sponsored very generously by Theatre Under The Stars. They have made it explicit that I have no obligation nor commitment to write a review at all (although, in this case, I choose to do so). I am not paid to write the review either. In any review I write, I retain editorial control at all times. Should you have any questions/concern feel free to contact me via e-mail through my contact form.

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