Singin' In The Rain 2015

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Falling in love can make you so happy that you will spontaneously sing and dance, even if it’s pouring rain and your only partner is an umbrella. So brings the title to the famous song, movie, and finally stage musical, the rest of which has nothing whatever to do with the rain, but tells a fanciful tale of cinema’s transition from silent to sound, with a love story, singing, and plenty of dancing.

El Dorado Musical Theater is presenting Singin’ In The Rain, the movie musical turned Broadway show, and features the top performers of their talented young singers and dancers. Unlike their usual high quality shows, featuring kids aged 6 to 20, this is one of their once a year “Encore Productions”, which means the entire cast had to pass an audition to be in the show. The Singin’ in the Rain cast are all 12 to 19 years old, and the best of the best.

The musical production follows the movie pretty closely, with the addition of one new song. If you’re not familiar, Don Lockwood and Lina Lamont are silent movie stars for Monumental Studios, and famous for period costume drama love stories from old Europe. Though Don has no feelings for Lina, the studio plays up their “romance”, and she goes along with it. When talkies become the rage, the pair’s latest French drama is halted to convert to a sound film. It all goes quite poorly, and Don, his best friend Cosmo, and the producer enlist Don’s new love Kathy to overdub Lina’s squeaky voice and singing. Hijinks ensue, and all (except Lina) live happily ever after.

The iconic movie, of course, starred the iconic Gene Kelly as Don Lockwood, and that part is played in the production by the iconic (by EDMT standards) Andrew Wilson. 18-year-old Wilson has been acting and singing in EDMT shows since he was seven, and has come into his own as the reigning leading man for the company. He excels at this kind of role, being a natural for the “nice guy” leading man parts, such as Billy in 42nd Street (2012), Warner in Legally Blonde (2013), and Trevor in Thoroughly Modern Millie (2014). He is good in more “cynical” parts, like Harold Hill in the Music Man, but his natural personality seems to really shine through in parts like Don Lockwood.

Wilson has a wonderful singing voice that fans have seen develop over the years, and he is a fine dancer as well. Like 42nd Street, this show features a lot of tap dancing, and Wilson and the rest of the cast handle it very well. Andrew Wilson shares the stage, as he has for many years, with his 15-year-old cousin Zachary Wilson, who plays Cosmo Brown—the Donald O’Connor part from the movie. I first saw the two of them together playing John and Michael in the great 2006 Peter Pan show. Zachary has grown artistically over the years as well, and is a terrific singer and dancer. (He must have had a growth spurt too – he is now taller than Andrew!) The pair shine brightest in the great song Moses Supposes as they get the best of their diction teacher, played with great effect by Quintin Casl.

The female lead, Kathy Selden (Debbie Reynolds in the movie) is played by Kelly Maur, another EDMT veteran of 19 shows (at only 16 years old). She has already had a few leading lady parts, such as Jasmine in Aladdin, and is wonderful as Kathy, singing solo in the songs Lucky Star and Would You, and the fun song and dance number Good Morning with Andrew and Zachary.

The fourth leading role is the thankless part of Lina Lamont. Lauren Metzinger has to both perform the part well, while showing a decided lack or singing and speaking talent. She makes the most of the dialog, often stealing the stage with her whiny Brooklyn accent, getting plenty of laughs as she spews out her romantic lines like nails on a chalkboard. And the added song is her solo number What’s Wrong With Me?, in which Lina wonders why she is suddenly not good enough for Don, and the movies. Metzinger does a great job singing both beautifully, and not so beautifully (after all, she’s supposed to be a bad singer – but she can’t actually sing bad…) She also brought some sympathy to her character, a woman who is on top of the world and begins to see it all crashing down around her.

Other notable performers include another EDMT icon, Anjie Rose Wilson. She leads all of the company dances, and is the featured dancer with Andrew in Broadway Melody Ballet. Though a talented singer, dancing is her specialty, and she shows off her skills in ballet, jazz, and tap dancing in scene after scene, and especially in the romantic duet with Andrew (they are also cousins).

Stephen Noble shows off his singing talent as the “Production Tenor” in the song Beautiful Girl, and Ryan Van Overeem brings a lot of comic timing and personality as the film director, Roscoe Dexter. The entire cast does a great job filling the stage with great dancing and singing during the big numbers as well.

A very special effect, unique to this show, was the inclusion of movie clips. Since the heart of the story is the films the actors are making, clips, both silent and talkies in glorious black and white, were projected on stage so the audience could see the results. They were very well done, and a real treat to see the stars on stage in a 1920’s era movie. And of course Singin’ In The Rain has to have special rain effects, which are pulled off with a combination of real water and projected rain. Andrew Wilson seemed to have a great time dancin’, and singin’, in that rain, and the puddles.

The only awkward moments in the show were when the “story audience”, who were supposedly watching the films and stars on stage, applauded or jeered from the crowd through recorded sound, as the actual audience sat in silence. A nice effect would have been to have the real audience cued to clap as if we were playing the part of the 1920’s audience watching Lockwood & Lamont. Perhaps a couple of plants in the crowd to lead the applause, and shout the jeers as appropriate, would have cued the real crowd to join in.

But the production overall was wonderful, as EDMT shows, especially the Encore productions, always are. Director Debbie Wilson, along with costumer Christine Martorana and vocal director Jennifer Whittmayer, have done their usual stellar job in creating a show with a teenaged cast that approaches the quality of a professional touring production.

Singin’ In The Rain opened February 20 and runs Thursdays through Sundays until March 1. For tickets and more info, visit www.edmt.info or www.harriscenter.net. The show is rated appropriate for all ages, and even younger kids may be impressed by the tap dancing and big stage numbers, and enjoy the humor and water effects. And fans of the old movie will love this production, and leave whistling the familiar title song.

Ken Kiunke  2/23/2015 Originally published in the Gold Country Times. Reprintable with attribution to the Gold Country Times and Ken Kiunke

El Dorado Musical Theater opened the 2014–15 season with their production of Aladdin Jr.  this weekend. The show is based on the Disney animated movie Aladdin, and the subsequent Broadway musical, though this version departs from both of those in that it is somewhat shorter. Several of the songs in the original musical are removed to make the show more manageable to produce, and for younger audiences to enjoy. The running time of about an hour and 15 minutes, plus a 20 minute intermission, is a nice length to keep youngsters engaged without getting restless. I enjoyed the “Carpet Cast”, though there is another complete “Lamp Cast” playing alternate shows over the run, which opened Halloween night and closes Sunday, November 16 at the Harris Center for the Arts at Folsom Lake College.

The story, of course, is that of a young woman longing to be free and choose the path of her own life, rather than that chosen by her father and their position as royalty. She is contrasted with the poor young man who falls in love with a girl he knows he could never attain, at least not without a lot of help. They have in common the feeling that they are trapped in their lives, which is what brings them together. The music for the movie, then the musical, was written by Alan Menken with lyrics from Howard Ashman and Tim Rice. The show brought the world new Disney classic songs like Friend Like Me and A Whole New World, which even inspired Disneyland’s Fantasmic show.

The starring characters may be intended to be Aladdin and Princess Jasmine, but of course the attention is all on the Genie, voiced of course by the late Robin Williams in the original movie. 15-year-old Zach Wilson, who is in his amazing 35th show for EDMT, takes on the part and personality of the famous Genie. (His cousin Andrew Wilson plays him in the Lamp Cast.) Zach Wilson is well known to EDMT fans, but his familiar glasses are gone for this role, and the young man is hardly recognizable in his blue genie make-up. But he cranked the personality up a notch to tackle the wise-cracking Genie, and handles the part well, both speaking and singing. Every version of Aladdin gets new and more timely jokes added in, and they worked pretty well here, with nods to Lady Gaga, hashtags, the Oakland Raiders, and World Series champs the San Francisco Giants.

Stephen Noble has played mostly supporting roles in his ten previous EDMT parts, but steps up to the title role of Aladdin. He has a good voice and handles the part well, though at 15 he is still developing the force of his vocals. He blends very nicely in A Whole New World, sung with Jasmine, who is played by Kelly Maur. She has been in 17 shows, and has had some notable supporting parts, such as Dorothy Brown in Thoroughly Modern Millie, but takes on the female lead here. And she had some very nice moments, like her solo in One Jump Ahead and her duet with Noble. However, being a more “limited edition” of the original show, none of the performers had too much chance to show off on their own.

But it is very much an ensemble piece, and some of the supporting roles made a nice impact. Anjie Rose Wilson, at 18 and in her 44th show, is the “senior member” of the cast, and does a nice job leading the five peddler/narrators who sing us into each scene. And CJ Noble as Jafar looms over everyone as the comic bad guy of the tale. Most surprising was 10-year-old Miranda Garver as Iago, Jafar’s parrot sidekick. She often stole the show when on stage and got a lot of laughs as the wise-cracking bird who always seemed to know what was going on.

The staging and choreography of the ensemble cast was very well done, as were the sets, a creative mix of on-stage pieces with projected images. And of course the flying carpet is great fun, and the technical support to make it and several cast members fly worked without a hitch. The show is most fun when the entire company is out for the big numbers, like the opening Arabian Nights and Prince Ali of act two, the song that stays with you long after the show.

Though not on the level of some of the great musicals EDMT produces, this show is a lot of fun, and especially appealing to younger audiences. Disney’s Aladdin Jr. opened October 31 and runs Thursdays through Sundays until November 16. For tickets and more info, visit www.edmt.info or www.harriscenter.net. The show is rated for all ages, and is very kid friendly, running just over an hour, plus a twenty minute intermission, so restless youngsters don’t have to sit still too long. El Dorado Musical Theater will continue the season with Singin’ In The Rain, in February, followed by Disney’s High School Musical, and Willy Wonka in summer.

Ken Kiunke  11/3/2014 Originally published in the Gold Country Times. Reprintable with attribution to the Gold Country Times and Ken Kiunke

El Dorado Musical Theater opened their production of Disney’s The Jungle Book—Kids show this weekend to close out the 2013–14 season. The musical is based of course on the 1967 Disney animated movie and features the music and characters from that film.  One of the things that makes Disney’s movie special is it was the last film produced by Walt Disney, and he was very involved in the development and production. Based on the Rudyard Kilping stories, Disney made it more light hearted and family friendly, featuring great music by the Sherman Brothers, who had also done Mary Poppins and a lot more for Disney. (Terry Gilkyson wrote the key song The Bare Necessities from an earlier version.) The film was a huge success, and featured iconic voices such as Phil Harris as Baloo the Bear, and Louie Prima as King Louie.

The story is about Mowgli, the “man cub” (boy) who is found in the Indian jungle by Bagheera the panther and raised by wolves. As he grows, Bagheera realizes that he will be seen as a threat to Shere Khan the Tiger, who rules the jungle, and must be returned to the man village for his own safety. Mowgli, however, loves his home in the jungle, and does not want to leave.

The Jungle Book is a “Rising Star” production for EDMT, meaning the cast are from 6 to 14-years-old. These shows give the younger performers a chance to star in their own production, but the production values are just as high as their regular shows. The costumes and sets are outstanding. Director Debbie Wilson, with help from Associate Director Andrew Wilson and Assistant Choreographer Anjie Rose Wilson, has worked hard with the young cast to get the most out of their performers, and the results show on stage. And there are plenty to keep the Wilson team busy, with 128 kids in two entire casts. I saw the “Fire” cast, while the “Rain” cast alternates performances at Folsom’s Harris Center for Performing Arts.

The cast is led by Kyra Schneider as Bagheera, whose role is to keep the story moving by always looking out for Mowgli as he resists returning to the village and makes new friends in the jungle. Schneider does a good job acting and singing the part, though most of her songs are ensemble pieces. (Tailored for younger performers, there is very little extended solo singing by any of the cast.) Mowgli is played by Nick Ribadeneira, who at 13 has already made his mark in several EDMT shows, such as The Music Man when he played Winthrop. Nick has a lot of personality and carries the show well, being in just about every scene. Stephen Noble, who plays Baloo in both casts, also handles his part well as the friendly bear. He leads the group in The Bare Necessities and joins in with King Louie in I Wanna Be Like You.

Speaking of King Louie, one of the big surprises was 10-year-old Maya Ribadeneira taking over the stage as Louie, the king of the monkeys. My first thought was “isn’t the king of the monkeys kind of small?” Then she gets “big” in her song I Wanna Be Like You. Maya has a voice and personality that made the stage come alive as she strutted and danced with the stage full of monkeys. Another standout in the cast was Lindsey Hunter as Shere Kahn, the menacing Tiger. She sang well, and could throw out a casual “roar” to make the rest of the animals cower from her attitude alone.

The six members of the Vultures did a nice job as well in their song That’s What Friends Are For. Originally intended for the Beatles to sing in the movie, it was then turned into a quasi-barbershop quartet sung by the hippie vultures. It is more straightforward in this production, though the cast did hit some nice harmonies. The other ensemble group was "The Flock”, whose 10 members were great singing along, dancing and helping move the story.

Turning the cast into jungle animals is a challenge, and any attempt to make tigers, bears, elephants, and the rest into fully realistic, or even cartoon animals would be nearly impossible, especially in a small scale production. Instead, they use Indian style dress with suggestions of the animals in hats, patterns and tails. The exception is the snake Kaa, who is sung “nicesssssely” by Isabelle Weaver, and manipulated as snake prop by her and Julianne Yonano. The effect works, and reminds us that we are watching a story, not a re-creation. The backgrounds are well done too, as projected scenes reminiscent of the Disney film are worked in with set pieces and lighting effects.

Disney’s The Jungle Book—Kids opened July 11 and runs Wednesday through Sunday until July 20. For tickets and more info, visit www.edmt.info or www.threestages.net. The show is rated for all ages, and is very kid friendly, running just over an hour, plus a twenty minute intermission, so restless youngsters don’t have to sit still too long, and will enjoy the show. El Dorado Musical Theater will open the next season with Aladdin in October, followed by Singin’ In The Rain, Disney’s High School Musical, and Willy Wonka next summer.

Ken Kiunke  7/13/2014 Originally published in the Gold Country Times. Reprintable with attribution to the Gold Country Times and Ken Kiunke