WELCOME Company of Singin' in the Rain, Jr!

Congratulations! You've made it--you are part of the Singin' in the Rain, Jr family!

Now what?

Well, here's what is next.

For Cast--we start rehearsals THIS Thursday, November 7th, from 4:05-5:45 in the cafeteria. We will start super promptly, so DON'T BE LATE. Every single kid in the cast is called to this rehearsal. You will be staying after this rehearsal until 7pm,

For Crew--you should be hearing from your adult crew leader within the next few weeks about when your first meeting will be. 

Who is your crew leader?

Set: Sara L'Heureux, Patrick Hobart, Mr. Jakacki

Props: Carolyn Shafer and TBD

Costumes: Molly Heinz and Julie Sonnek

Hair and Makeup: TBD/NEED

Marketing/Publicity: Jon Bauer

Front of House/Concessions: Liz Radel Freeman

For Cast and Crew AND parents/guardians--

EVERYONE needs to be at  PMS on Thursday November 7th from 5:45-7.

Parents/guardians will be in a meeting with Director Nina and the producers IN the cafeteria.

Kids will be having a pizza dinner (provided by PMS theater) in the hallway outside the cafeteria, hanging out and getting to know each other as a COMPANY. All Crew kids will be getting their headshots taken at this time too (and we won't be doing retakes, so look sharp!)

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We know that there are definitely folks who have tickets to Harry Potter at Armstrong on Thursday night. You will be able to stay at PMS until 6:45 and still get over to the show with time to spare! 

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Things that will help you prepare

​What is this show about?  Don Lockwood is a silent film star with humble roots as a musician, dancer and stunt man. Don barely tolerates his vapid and callous leading lady, Lina Lamont, who is convinced that their screen romance is real, although Don tries to tell her otherwise. After the first "talking picture," The Jazz Singer, proves to be a smash hit, the head of the studio, R. F. Simpson, decides he has no choice but to convert the new Lockwood and Lamont film, The Dueling Cavalier, into a talking picture as well. The production is overrun with difficulties, by far the worst being Lina's comically grating voice.

After a disastrous test screening, Don's best friend, Cosmo Brown, comes up with the idea to overdub Lina's voice (perhaps the first recorded instance of lip syncing) and they convince Simpson to turn The Dueling Cavalier into The Dancing Cavalier, a musical comedy film. Meanwhile, Don falls in love with an aspiring actress, Kathy Selden, who is providing the voice for Lina. When Lina finds out, she is furious and does everything possible to sabotage the romance. She maliciously demands that Kathy continue to provide her voice in all future films, but remain uncredited. An irate, but desperate Simpson is forced to agree; Kathy has no choice because she is under contract.

The premiere is a tremendous success. When the audience clamors for Lina to sing live, Don and Cosmo improvise and get Lina to lip-synch while Kathy sings into a second microphone while hidden behind the curtain. Unbeknownst to Lina, as she starts "singing", Don, Cosmo and Simpson gleefully raise the curtain behind her, revealing the deception. Kathy becomes a star, and Lina is finished. --Synopsis via wikipedia

But WHY is this all so important? 

For all of you, technology has been a part of your life since the moment you were born, and it can be hard to imagine a time when things were different. But, right about 100 years ago, in the mid-1920s, the world of technology was exploding! More and more people had access to cars, telephones were everywhere, and the newest idea to sweep the world of entertainment was movies with sound! That might sound wild to you, but truly, before that, movies were silent, with most of the acting needing to be conveyed through facial expressions, a few important pieces of dialogue (that's words) put on the screen in between scenes, and, when you went to go see a movie, a LIVE piano player there playing music that went with the movie. Here is a clip from youtube to show you what a silent movie looked like. 

Adding in talking was a BIG DEAL! Prior to that, all that was important was that movie stars looked beautiful, not that they sounded it (or acted with a beautiful heart). Talking pictures changes the entertainment game forever.

What is so special about this musical?

Many of you are probably fan of and familiar with more modern musicals like Mean Girls, Heathers, Dear Evan Hansen, Shrek, etc., but musicals have been around for a long time, and Singin' in the Rain is considered a classic from not only the Golden Age (like the best age) of Musicals, but the Golden Age of Hollywood as well! The movie version of Singin' in the Rain, starring Gene Kelly, Debbie Reynolds, and Donald O' Connor, has a PERFECT SCORE on Rotten Tomatoes, received the #1 ranking on the American Film Industry List of Best Musicals Ever, and as recently as 2012 was in the top 10 for best films ever made. In addition, Gene's Kelly's iconic dance number to the song "Singin' in the Rain" is considered the best musical theater performance of all time. Simply put this one is a showstopper!

If you want to see the 1952 film, it is pretty easy and affordable to find online and rent from one of the streaming services, though I would offer the reminder that it was made in 1952, and so there are definite issues with the lack of diversity in the cast, and, since much of the film takes place on a movie set, there is a brief scene where some of the characters are talking to other movie actors who are filming a "jungle movie" who are portrayed in blackface*. For this reason, I will not be linking to the original film here. 

In addition, when watching the original film, it makes it seem as if the story is only about a couple of characters, specifically Don, Cosmo and Kathy. 

If you have ever been part of a PMS theatre production, you know that I (Nina) work very hard to ensure that every person gets opportunities to shine and be featured in many ways. 

If you would like to see a school production that does a pretty incredible job of hitting the high points of each song, I would highly recommend watching this abbreviated take (and the kids will be watching it with me at rehearsal on Monday November 11th). Please note that the group doing this are high schoolers at the highest level of performance talent.

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Blackface is defined as is the practice of non-Black performers using burnt cork, shoe polish, or theatrical makeup to portray a caricature/stereotype of Black people on stage or in entertainment. Blackface appeared after the Civil War and is rooted in racism.  (Wikipedia and History.com)

So help me understand the different roles in OUR show...

We do have Don Lockwood and Don's best friend since childhood Cosmo Brown. Don is smooth and cool on the surface, but often worries if people love Don Lockwood the person, or Don Lockwood, the movie star. Cosmo is full of energy and ideas, and often gets underappreciated by the hard-working, stressed out, slightly behind the times studio executive R.F. Simpson, who will either give credit for Cosmo's great ideas to Don, or film director Dexter. Dexter is typically followed around by a small army of assistant directors, ready to ensure that whatever Dexter dreams up, happens. On the film lot, there are also a variety of stagehands and chorus girls, ready at a moments notice to jump into a musical number. 

Not only is Don dealing with some imposter syndrome, and the ever present gossip columnist Dora Bailey, ready for a story wherever she can find one, even if she has to make it up,  there is also Lina.  Lamont, the beautifully evil movie star certain that she and Don are meant to be, but Don is having none of it. Lina has her own crew sidekicks, including star on the rise Zelda, who will do anything to get ahead in show business, and Roz, her assistant, who'd rather be anywhere than with Lina...and you can usually find Roz dancing up a storm with Cosmo! Lina thinks she and Don are written in the stars, until, after a premiere full of fans, and a few hecklers, Don and Cosmo go to a movie star studded party at the Coconut Grove, and stumble upon Kathy Selden amongst the Coconut Grove dancers. Kathy had made an impression on Don earlier, and had been proving tough to find, so Don was delighted to see Kathy again. Lina however was furious, and instantly hates Kathy. Lina's fury only grows when Kathy gets added onto movies at their studio, when the studio decides to transition from silent films to talking pictures and her connection to Don grows. Some of the first films made by the studio feature singers sharing popular tunes of the era, and in order to prepare to make their own talking films, Lina, Cosmo, Don and a host of acting students visit Ms. Dinsmoor and another diction teacher, hoping for some help on preparing for audiences to hear their voices for the first time.

At the studio, the sound engineers, stagehands and Sam attempt to wire everyone for sound, but things do not go well, and when Don and Lina's first attempt at a talking picture is released, the screening guests think its a joke, and laugh, yell, and even throw a tomato or two! Not the hoped for response. Through the clever minds of Cosmo and Roz, a new plan is dreamed up, perhaps a talking picture won't be as successful as a musical, and they head off to pitch Broadway Melody (a dreamy new musical set not in Hollywood, but on the streets of New York!) to the studio! The only problem? The only way it will work is if they use Kathy's beautiful voice...and Lina's ticket selling face! 

What will happen next? You will have to wait and see!

P.S. What I just described above is NOT a super accurate representation of the entire plot. However, I do believe I got the name/role of nearly every character into the plot, so I am hopeful it will help you get a better idea of where you might fit into the show. 

If you are listed as ensemble, you will be filling a variety of roles--you may be an usherette at the movies, a business man who just got pickpocketed on the street and distracts our Police Officer from helping out Don, two actors on set rehearsing a scene, a waiter at the dinner party, etc. If I did not get your role included in this synopsis, don't worry--you will understand it soon enough! 

Is there anything else I can do to prepare for rehearsals starting?

Nothing special you need to do other than keep your eyes on here and your email for more communication from me regarding rehearsal schedules. 

Something that WILL be helpful for all actors is a pair of JAZZ SHOES. Jazz shoes can be purchased on Amazon for a quite affordable price, at local dance store Step and Stretch, (which sells used shoes), and can also occasionally be found at thrift stores, on facebook marketplace, etc. Jazz shoes will help all the students immensely with dancing. Black is the preferred color. If purchasing a pair will be a financial hardship in any way, please reach out to Nina via the chat button. We will figure out a way to make this work. Cosmo, Don, Kathy and Roz do not need to purchase jazz shoes as they will be purchasing tap shoes. Wait to hear from Nina for more info.

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Please DO NOT find the script online and read it, nor find the songs online and listen to them on repeat. This is so you don't already have an idea in your head of what the song should sound like before the first rehearsal or meeting with the director, and so you are not sick of the songs or the show before we even begin! 

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Next meeting? First Rehearsal is Thursday November 7th from 4-5:45. We will follow with a parent/guardian meeting from 5:45-7.

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