By J.E. Ballantyne Jr.

When a well-known film is adapted into a stage production, many thoughts cross the minds of many people. 

Will it be as good? How will they do this scene or that scene? What changes will they make? And in this case, will it really rain? The list goes on and on. In short, it is a risky gamble whenever a true classic is adapted from film to stage.

“Singin’ in the Rain,” according to some pundits in the business, is the best movie musical ever made. The Youngstown Playhouse opened its main stage season Friday night with the adaptation of this classic. Many of the questions above were answered very quickly. Naturally, it is a slimmed down version of the film, which is out of necessity. You can’t do everything on stage that can be done on film.

Therein is where many of the problems arise with this production. And a slow opening scene did little to help that problem. With a scene that should exude excitement at a fever pitch, it was dampened considerably by having a lead character delivering lines to a group standing upstage with his back entirely to the audience.

I lost interest right away. It wasn’t until the musical number “Fit as a Fiddle” in the next scene that things picked up.

Donovan Rubante and Zavier Rubante play Don Lockwood and Cosmo Brown, respectively. Lockwood is a big film star of the 1920s, and his best friend is Cosmo. The two do a rousing job with “Fiddle,” making it a true vaudeville number complete with creative choreography and splashy costumes.

Donovan Rubante’s talent makes Lockwood a likeable character. With a great singing voice, personality and great dancing, he sells the role of Don Lockwood as a heartthrob lead actor of the silent film era. He is even more in his element delivering a musical number. He has great rapport with his audience and connects with them at the right moments. 

Zavier Rubante, as Cosmo, plays the perfect foil to Lockwood and has many of the comedy moments in the production, including his solo number, “Make ’Em Laugh.” His athletic dancing pays off, but several of his moments in the number were telegraphed rather than just letting them happen. But the two Rubantes carry much of the show, including an iconic number, “Moses Supposes.”

Lina Lamont, Lockwood’s co-star for all of his films, is played by Brooke Jonas. Lamont is the dumb, no-talent actress who squeaks by in each film because no one can hear her high-pitched squeaky voice and Brooklyn accent. Unfortunately, Jonas does not come off as the comedic diva as well as hoped. Her performance seemed stiff, with many of her lines lacking spontaneity. Many times the character seemed forced and unnatural. Plus, her very high-pitched squeaky voice wore on you when she spoke for too long. Granted, that is part of the character and part of what drives the story, but it sometimes became fingernails on the blackboard, even making some lines hard to catch.

During the course of the show, Lockwood meets and falls in love with Kathy Selden (Cheyenne Carr), who eventually becomes “the voice” for Lina as the studio moves into the talking film era. The studio, Monumental Pictures, feels that audiences will never buy Lina’s voice, so Selden dubs for her. Carr’s performance is good but lacks the depth that it needs. Her first meeting with Lockwood should be nonstop fast chatter, with her barely able to catch her breath. Instead, she plays it more conservative, which gives her little room to develop the character further. She misses the opportunity to show growth with the character. The character, overall, seemed a little flat.

She does well with several musical numbers, however, including “Good Mornin’,” with both Rubantes, “Lucky Star” and “Would You.” She is also a talented dancer, adding some pizzazz to “Good Mornin’” and “All I Do Is Dream of You.” Arcale Peace gives one of the strongest performances in the show as studio head R.F.Simpson. He is high-energy and believable. Other notables in the cast are Terry Shears as the diction coach, Wayne Bonner III, with his solo in “Beautiful Girl,” Sam Early as Sid Phillips and Jalaya Taylor as Zelda Zanders, plus two kids, Brogan Kuttler and Leona Helsel, as young Don and Cosmo, respectively, who do a great tap number early in the show.

“Singin’ in the Rain” has one iconic number that everybody remembers, and that is the title song with Don Lockwood dancing through a rainstorm. This number was very well choreographed and executed. Donovan Rubante pulled out all the stops for the number that everyone was waiting for. It even included a rainstorm on stage, which was very realistic. 

The cast is strong in numerous areas, but it can’t shield the production from several weak spots. Much of the dialogue from the film is included, but some of the added dialogue didn’t seem up to the quality of the rest. Spontaneity was a problem in many areas. Instead of playing something big and telegraphing a certain thought or idea to the audience, much of this was muted and underplayed. And in this show you could get away with playing bigger than life. 

Every song from the film is included in the stage version, with at least one being added – “What’s Wrong with Me?” – which is sung by Lina in Act II. It’s probably there to cover a scene change, but the song has little to do with anything and is really a wasted effort. “Broadway Melody (Gotta Dance)” is a cut-down version of the original, and although colorful and well done, it lacked the pizzazz and excitement that it should have had. 

Another jarring aspect was the final scene of the show, when Selden sings behind the curtain for Lina at the premier of the studio’s new sound picture. The scene was long, drawn out and lacked the urgency that was called for. The buildup to the end, quite honestly, fizzled. This was more a fault of the adaptation than the production. 

One of the funniest scenes in the show is when Monumental Pictures is shooting its first “talkie” as they try to get Lina to understand that she must speak in the direction of where the microphone is located. She can’t.

This should be Roscoe Dexter’s (the director) big scene. His frustrations mount by the second, leading to some huge laughs. Unfortunately, Frank Carsone, who played the role, lost a ton of laughs due to missed opportunities with line inflection and stage business. This is a comedic actor’s scene.

Set design was well handled by director Tyler Stouffer, especially the street scene for the title number. Sets mirrored the time period, with set changes fast and smooth. Costumes by Pete Sherman had color and style and brought vivid life to characters. Ellen Licitra’s lighting design was spot-on and gave a lavish, visual look to the stage. Carrie Mazzucco’s choreography was exciting and, for the most part, well carried out, with some obviously weak moments here and there. The show contains numerous film segments depicting silent films, all of which were very well done. The live orchestra, under the direction of Todd Maki, sounded great and was balanced well with the actors on stage.

This production, although disappointing from this reviewer’s viewpoint, is still a good night out. With all of this being said, no comparison was made between this production and the original film. The film is the film, and the stage production is another animal entirely. As I mentioned earlier, adapting a classic film can be very risky. Some things translate well, while others do not. When it comes right down to it, there are just some shows that just don’t translate well to another medium – “Singin’ in the Rain” is one of them.

“Singin’ in the Rain” will continue at 7:30 p.m. Saturday and Sept. 19 and 20; and 2:30 p.m. Sunday and Sept 21.

Pictured at top: Donovan Rubante and Zavier Rubante in a scene from the Youngstown Playhouse’s production of “Singin’ in the Rain.”