MTL’s Singin’ in the Rain

A friend and I went to see the MTL production of Singin’ in the Rain last Friday. As a big fan of the movie (and Gene Kelly), I was interested to see how the movie translated to an onstage musical. We arrived at The Kentucky Center just in time to get an adult beverage and a hot dog before the show started. There was a large crowd in the lobby with a lot of folks enjoying the ice cream for sale; the food offering being a throwback to the foodstuffs available at Iroquois Amphitheater. An early start time of 7:30 was nice since we didn’t need to wait for the sun to go down before the show could begin.

In a nutshell, the show really surprised me; the skill of the dancing and singing was wonderful as were the costumes and the sets. There were short movie clips (since the plot of the show is about the transition of silent movies to the "talkies") that were hilarious...especially the cameos of Peter Holloway, the Artistic Director of MTL (since I've met him before and most folks wouldn't have known him in costume). All three of the leads had great voices as did the ensemble cast. I was impressed with the tap dancing and the group choreography numbers. It didn't hurt that the lead in the show is a member of the Louisville Ballet.

It was nice to see such a professional production in the intimacy of the Bomhard Theater - like watching a touring Broadway show close-up. Louisville should be pleased that MTL can draw such talented regional performers and present a top-notch musical. I would not be surprised to see some of these young folks return to the big stage someday at the KCA with a national show.