The house lights flickered, mimicking flashes of lightning. Claps of thunder rumbled from the speakers in the ceiling. Finally the curtains opened and Don Lockwood, played by senior Thomas Gardner, began to sing, dance, splash, and stomp his way through actual rain.
Performed from Nov. 1 through Nov. 4., this was one of many spectacular scenes in JC’s production of “Singin’ in the Rain,” directed by Director of Enrollment Kim Brueggemann and guidance counselor Larry Hensley.
In 1927, Don Lockwood and Lina Lamont, played by junior Lindsey McCumber, are two Hollywood silent film stars, who always play lovers together. Lina believes that their love is real outside of filming, but Don feels otherwise. When the talking picture is invented, the production company Don and Lina work for realizes that it must use the new technology in its pictures in order to remain relevant. Unfortunately, Lina’s voice is as awful as the sound of nails on a chalkboard.
Luckily Don discovers Kathy Seldon, played by junior Karly Horn, a beautiful young actress with an incredible voice. Kathy agrees to save Don and Lina’s film by doing the voice-over for Lina. However, when Lina finds out that Kathy is her voice, trouble ensues and the fates of Lina’s, Don’s, and Kathy’s careers are all at stake.
The cast of “Singin’ in the Rain” did a fantastic job of conveying this story to the audience. Horn and Gardner were convincing as lovers, and their singing and dancing was superb. McCumber stole the show as Lina. She had the audience laughing with every word she said. McCumber actually has a gorgeous voice, so it was impressive that she was able to make her voice screechy and horrible.
Sophomore Brady Fritz, who played Don’s best friend Cosmo Brown, proved himself to be a talented dancer and singer. In the scene with the diction coach, played by senior Jimmy Knell, Cosmo and Don danced around singing and poking fun at the diction coach. Fritz’s tap dancing was fluid and exciting to watch. I expect him to have a starring role in the spring performance of “Aladdin.”
The choreography in this scene was also interesting and exciting. The entire set was utilized as Cosmo and Don tap danced on a desk, jumped onto chairs, and danced around the diction coach.
The pit orchestra, directed by Rick Hauf, played beautifully. By the end of the show, the quality of the music did not falter, which was impressive. As a saxophone player and pianist, I know that performing for extended periods of time can be tiring. Even after two and a half hours of performing, the pit orchestra sounded great.
Although the cast and music were wonderful, the technical aspects of the show are what put it over the top. It is rare that a high school show has a system rigged so that rain will fall on the stage, but JC had one thanks to Set Construction Chief Shawn DeVoe and Technical Director Ed Lake. The silent films used in the show that were previously filmed by Lake added humor and allowed the audience to actually see the films of Lockwood and Lamont instead of having to imagine them.
Overall, “Singin’ in the Rain” was another spectacular production put on by the Theater Department. If you somehow missed out on witnessing the talents of the students, make sure to see the spring musical “Aladdin,” which will be performed from March 1 through March 3.
Mary Kate Luft is an A&E Editor for The Patriot and jcpatriot.com.