SINGIN' IN THE RAIN, Hale Centre Theatre, West Valley City, through Nov. 27 (984-9000). Running time: two hours, 10 minutes (one intermission).
WEST VALLEY CITY — Toward the end of the first act of "Singin' in the Rain" — a faithful replication of MGM's classic 1952 movie musical — the three forlorn leading players note that Lina Lamont, the protagonist in the story, can't act, can't sing and can't dance.
"She's a triple threat," they agree.
The guest director Hale Centre Theatre brought in for this production, former Utahn Ben Lokey, is also something of a triple threat. He choreographs, he directs and he acts.
And, as debonair Monument Pictures matinee idol Don Lockwood, circa 1927, he's also all wet — but only in the physical sense. During the show's most anticipated number, when Lockwood goes dancing and singing in the rain outside Kathy Seldan's apartment, he is literally drenched by a deluge of manufactured rain cascading from the catwalk above the stage.
This stage version of "Singin' in the Rain" is sheer magic.
Lokey delivers his own spin on Gene Kelly's movie famous role. With his background in ballet and choreography, he is athletically agile and graceful. And like many in the show's key roles, Lokey is single-cast.
Emily Morgan Jeppson has just the right fresh-scrubbed persona and angelic voice for the role of ingenue Kathy Seldan (Debbie Reynolds in the film), whose presence on the Monument Pictures lot creates quite a stir.
David James Whitlock, artistic director at the SCERA Center in Orem, is new to HCT (and also fairly new to Utah audiences). He is perfectly cast as Lockwood's longtime vaudeville teammate, Cosmo Brown (played in the film by Donald O'Connor). He is a master at pratfalls and physical comedy.
But the actress who nearly steals the show is Jennie Whitlock (David's sister-in-law), who plays Lina Lamont, a major Monument Pictures star whose glamour is not much more than skin deep. She has a speaking voice that is as grating as chalk screeching on a blackboard. Working in Hollywood when "talking pictures" are about to explode, all Lamont has going for her is a devious mind.
Lokey carefully maintains the cinematic feel of the film, helped immeasurably by clever "silent" and "dubbing" movie sequences created by Mike Williams and David Lokey, then neatly edited by the director.
Audiences familiar with the 1952 movie will not be disappointed in Hale Centre's stage production, energetically staged in an intimate setting.
There was just one minor problem during the opening matinee on Saturday. The tanks of rain water shifted into a "drip system" mode during Act Two, with large drops falling every few moments.
Andrew Barrus' scenery, Kelly DeHaan's in-house orchestrations, Mike Williams' sound, Jolene Ashcraft's costumes and Spencer Brown's lighting are first rate.
E-mail: ivan@desnews.com