Directed and choreographed by Richard Stafford, Singin' will officially open July 6, and the limited engagement will play through July 30. Matt Loehr will head the cast as Don Lockwood with Kelly Felthous as Kathy Seldon and Mark Ledbetter as Cosmo Brown. Those roles were made famous in the classic MGM film by, respectively, Gene Kelly, Debbie Reynolds and Donald O'Connor.
The company will also feature Leigh Barrett (Ms. Dinsmore and Dora Bailey), Beth Beyer (Lina Lamont), David Coffee (Roscoe Dexter) and Martin Van Treuren (R.F. Simpson). The ensemble comprises Gordon Baird, Sae La Chin, Michael Brian Dunn, Sara Edwards, Jenny Florkowski, Garett Hawe, Regan Kays, Julie Kotarides, Leah Landau, Jeff Metzler, Josh Scheer, Nathan Scherich, Jonathan Stahl, Zephyrus White, Neka Zang.
The North Shore cast will also include several youngsters from nearby areas, including Beverly resident Bethani Boccia; Burlington resident Peter Romagna; North Andover resident Russell Perry; Peabody residents Bernard Baldassaro II, Brooke Nathanson and Justin Sacramone; Salem resident Austin Parker; and Winthrop resident Stephanie Moskal.
Singin' in the Rain, according to press notes, is "a zany, light-hearted romantic comedy about the early days of sound film, when many a movie studio found itself scrambling to salvage the career of its chipmunk-voiced silent picture star." The film was adapted by Betty Comden and Adolph Green from their award-winning screenplay and features such tunes as “Make ‘em Laugh,” “Moses Supposes,” “Good Mornin’,” “You Are My Lucky Star” and the title song.
The creative team also includes Rick Hip-Flores (musical director), Jonathan Stahl (associate director/choreographer), Howard C. Jones (scenic designer), Randall Klein (costume designer), Martin E Vreeland (lighting designer), John A. Stone (sound designer), Gerard Kelly (hair and wig designer) and Michael Goudzwaard (assistant video director). The North Shore Music Theatre is located at 62 Dunham Road in Beverly, MA. Tickets, priced $30-$75, are available by calling (978) 232-7200. Visit www.nsmt.org for more information.
