“The Light”
Looking Forward to ‘Singin’ in the Rain Jr.’ and that ‘Glorious Feelin’
By Raymond Tyler
MP2 will present its production of “Singin’ in the Rain Jr.” May 30-June 1 at the Dominick A. Potena Performing Arts Center in Margate.
The thought of this or any other production of this musical classic gets me excited because of my love of the Great American Songbook.
Two things that tend to shock people that don’t know me is that I enjoy science fiction and musical theater. So when I heard that MP2, formerly the Margate Players, was staging “Singin’ In The Rain Jr.” I got absolutely giddy with joy.
The play is an adaptation of the beloved 1952 film, which starred Gene Kelly, Debbie Reynolds and Donald O’Connor as silent film stars adjusting to a “new” Hollywoodand its transition to “talking pictures.”
If you are younger than 35 years old the topic from another time might sound a bit like the Flintstones to you. One can imagine an updated version exploring how Hollywood legends would feel being asked to act in films for Youtube, Amazon or Netflix. While these streaming platforms are now winning major awards, there was a time when going “straight to video” was a major insult.
Whatever the premise, I do not watch musical theater or films expecting “Citizen Kane,” or acting performances that will make me cry (although Judy Garland’s “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” in the film “Meet Me In St. Louis” always chokes me up).
I enjoy musicals for the music and the dancing.
I watch “Stormy Weather” to see Bill “Bojangles” Robinson and the Nicholas Brothers. I watch “The Muppet Movie” to sing “Rainbow Connection” with Kermit. I watch “The Wiz” to “Ease On Down The Road.”
Every time I see “Singin’ in the Rain” I’m 10 years old again and glued to my TV trying to emulate those moves by Gene Kelly in that iconic scene of Kelly free whirling in a downpour. I can still hear my mother yelling from the kitchen, ”Raymond what you doing in the living room?”
I would love to be 10 again if only for the experience of being a part of this play and perhaps recreating the rain scene or other iconic scenes from the film.
I am 51 and have rarely been in love the way you are when you sing and dance in the rain. I will, however, be in the audience, feeling “happy again” and I guess that is the next best thing.
If You Go
See “Singin in the Rain Jr.” Thursday, Friday and Saturday, May 30, May 31, and June 1.
The Dominick A. Potena Performing Arts Center is located in the Eugene A. Tighe School, 7804 Amherst Ave., in Margate.
The theater entrance is located on Monmouth Avenue behind the school.
Tickets are $12 for adults or $10 for students or seniors. They can be purchased in advance or at the door.
Show times are 7 p.m. Thursday, May 30; 7 p.m. Friday, May 21; 2 p.m. Saturday, June 1; and 7 p.m. Saturday, June 1.
Learn more at margateplayers.com.
You can connect with Raymond Tyler via Facebook, Twitter, Youtube and Instagram @RaymondTyler2018.
