ANTON LUITINGH

 

Pieter Toerien will present the hit musical Singin' in the Rain in Cape Town and Johannesburg from December 2015. Singin' in the Rain, another critically acclaimed award-winning production direct from London's West End, will be produced and presented in South Africa by Pieter Toerien at the Artscape Opera House and the Teatro at Montecasino between December 2015 and January 2016, immediately after its international tour to New Zealand, Hong Kong, the Philippines and Singapore.

 

Making a splash from the moment it premiered in the UK, this superb production of Singin’ in the Rain extended its run in Chichester due to unprecedented public demand before transferring to the famous Palace Theatre in London. Now, after a sell-out West End season, praise from critics, four Olivier Award nominations, and a major UK tour, Singin’ in the Rain is set to delight audiences in Cape Town and Johannesburg.

 

Set in 1927, Singin' in the Rain tells the story, made famous by Gene Kelly and Debbie Reynolds in the iconic 1952 MGM movie, of the first Hollywood musical, when the silver screen found its voice and left the silent movies and some of its stars behind. The spectacular production is packed full of the charm, romance, comedy and tinsel town glamour of one of the world’s best-loved films and features wonderful tap dancing sequences and all the well known songs from the glorious MGM score including Good Morning, Make ‘em Laugh, Moses Supposes and the classic, Singin’ in the Rain.

 

The magical Singin’ In The Rain scene ‘rains’ (and recycles) over 12,000 litres of water per performance. This famous part of the show is one of its big highlights, leaving audiences in the front rows a little wetter than when they first arrived! There are floods of laughter and a drenching of big, colourful and remarkable musical numbers where the movie's iconic choreography is flawlessly recreated for the stage. Singin' in the Rain is a brilliant comedy about the film industry with its egomaniac stars, monstrous film moguls, fickle fans, classic ‘golden-era’ choreography and slapstick comedies.

 

It tells the story of the first Hollywood musical where Don Lockwood, a silent movie star, has everything he could want in fame, adulation and a well-publicised ‘romance’ with his co-star Lina Lamont. But Hollywood is about to change forever and there is a rumour in the studio of a new kind of film, where the actors actually talk, sing and dance. Can Don and the uniquely voiced Lina make the transition and will chorus girl Kathy Selden fulfill her dream of stardom and capture Don’s heart along the way?

 

Musical star Bethany Dickson, who hails from Cape Town and was nominated this year for a Fleur du Cap Theatre Award for her performance as Maria in South Africa, China and New Zealand, stars as the aspiring actress Kathy Selden, opposite Grant Almirall who makes his debut as the charming Don Lockwood. Almirall triumphed last year as Frankie Valli in Jersey Boys, a role for which he was also nominated for a Fleur du Cap Theatre Award. The cast of 27 includes Steven van Wyk as Cosmo Brown, Taryn-Lee Hudson as Lina Lamont, James Borthwick as RF Simpson, Mark Richardson as Roscoe Dexter and Anne Power as Dora.

 

Cameron Wenn is the Associate Director (UK) with Anton Luitingh as Resident Director. The Associate Choreographer (UK) is Kelly Ewins and Duane Alexander is the Resident Choreographer. James Cundall will produce the South African production that tours internationally. With its joyous story, high-energy choreography and sumptuous set design and costumes, Singin’ in the Rain showers you with everything you could wish for in a hit musical.