For a show with “rain” in its title and an iconic downpour scene, “Singin’ in the Rain” is the sunniest musical imaginable. There’s no complication that can’t be tap-danced away. No squabble that can’t be dismissed with a smile and a song. What was true for the famous film from 1952 is just as true for the stage musical version that followed 30 years later: “Gotta dance!” because that’s where the joy resides.
Because “Singin’ in the Rain” is among the best remembered movie musicals on record, no one’s apt to forget Gene Kelly, Debbie Reynolds and Donald O’Connor, the perfectly cast principals in Betty Comden and Adolph Green’s tale about the awkward transition from silent films to talkies at the end of the ‘20s.Director AJ Knox at New Village wisely lets his stars — Anthony Michael Vacio as dashing Don Lockwood, Emma Nossal as promising singer/dancer Kathy Selden and Xavier J.
Bush could have had the impossible task of trying to match O’Connor’s otherworldly athleticism in “Make ‘Em Laugh.” Instead he’s given just enough feats of feet to please the audience. No song in this show is more anticipated than its title tune. Thanks to projections by Ethan Eldred, Vacio croons “Singin’ in the Rain” with a euphoric smile and a trusty umbrella to satisfying effect. No splashing puddles or dripping hat brim. No bystanding cop. But no worries: Why try to duplicate one of the most memorable moments in American filmdom?