By T. Scott Boatright
Cedar Creek School will present the play “Singing In The Rain” this weekend.
“Singing In The Rain” offers a lighthearted depiction of Hollywood in the late 1920s, with the three stars portraying performers caught up in the transition from silent films to “talkies.”
Don Lockwood is a popular silent film star with humble roots as a hoofer and stuntman. Don barely tolerates his vain, cunning, conniving, and shallow leading lady, Lina Lamont, though their studio, Monumental Pictures, links them romantically to increase their popularity. Lina is convinced that they are in love, despite Don’s protestations otherwise.
At the premiere of their latest film, “The Royal Rascal,” Don tells the gathered crowd a version of his life story, including his motto: “Dignity, always dignity.” His words are humorously contradicted by flashbacks showing him alongside his best friend Cosmo Brown. To escape from his fans after the premiere, Don jumps into a passing car driven by Kathy Selden, the play’s female lead. She drops him off, but not before claiming to be a stage actress and sneering at his “undignified” accomplishments as a movie star.
As time passes, Don and Lina have been cast repeatedly as a romantic couple, but when their latest film is remade into a musical, only Don has the voice for the new singing part. After a lot of practice with a diction coach, Lina still sounds terrible, and Kathy, a bright young aspiring actress, is hired to record over her voice.
While Kathy is working on the movie, Don falls in love with her. Will Kathy continue to “aspire”, or will she get the break she deserves?
Find out at 7 p.m. tonight or at the same start time on Saturday night at Cedar Creek’s Multi-Purpose Building.
