John Whitson and Anthony Greer in Quad City Music Guild's “Singin' in the Rain" at the Prospect Park Auditorium -- June 9 through 18.
Friday, June 9, through Sunday, June 18
Prospect Park Auditorium, 1584 34th Avenue, Moline IL
Lauded by Broadway World as “a fantastic production sure to satisfy old fans and charm new ones,” the theatrical adaptation of one of Hollywood's most revered movie musicals, the timeless Singin' in the Rain, enjoys a June 9 through 18 run at Moline's Prospect Park Auditorium, with the Quad City Music Guild talents taking on a Tony Award-nominated stage treat that Chicago Theatre Review called “a glitzy, glamorous homage” that “offers up a flood of entertainment.”
Stanley Donen's peerless Singin' in the Rain movie topped the American Film Institute’s "100 Years of Musicals" list and, in 2007, was ranked as the fifth-greatest motion picture of all time. Having been adapted for the stage by the legendary theatre team of Betty Comden and Adolph Green, the Singin' in the Rain stage musical pours down delight, capturing the waning days of the silent-screen era as they give way to newfangled “talkies.” With The Jazz Singer premiere making Hollywood frantic, the studios are forced to suddenly change all the movie-making rules at once in order to accommodate sound, and in doing so, they leave silent pictures – and some of their stars – behind. When Monumental Studios consequently turns its silent The Dueling Cavalier into the musical The Dancing Cavalier in order to stay relevant, it's faced with a problem: The movie's star Lina Lamont can’t sing, and in truth, can barely talk, as her voice sounds something akin to nails on a chalkboard.
Enter Kathy Selden, an aspiring actress whose dulcet tones are able to cover Lina Lamont’s, calling into question what it means to act, how credit is distributed, and how one gets a truly fair shake in the movie business. Filled with romance, nostalgia, and even on on-stage rainstorm, this delightful treat for all ages features some of the best-loved comedy routines, dance numbers, and love songs ever written, among them “Good Mornin’,” “Make ‘em Laugh,” and, of course, hoofer Don Lockhart's show-stopping dance number “Singin’ in the Rain.”
Making his Quad City Music Guild directing debut with Singin' in the Rain is Jeremy Littlejohn, the production manager for the Circa '21 Dinner Playhouse's current Mamma Mia! whose additional area credits include helming Elf: The Musical for the Rock Island venue and Driving Miss Daisy for Davenport's Mockingbird on Main. Ariance Call serves as the show's music director and Kiera Lynn Martin its choreographer, and additional members of Littlejohn's creative team include assistant director Karen Brooks, assistant music director Mary Ellen Carroll, costume designer Bailey Hager, lighting designer John Weigandt, sound designer John Erb, prop master Joe Thomas, and producer Michael Schmidt.
Don Lockhart is portrayed by Music Guild veteran John Whitson (Something Rotten!, West Side Story), while Kathy Selden is played by fellow Prospect Park returnee Sophia Kilburg (Jesus Christ Superstar) and the scene-stealing Cosmo Brown by Anthony Greer (42nd Street). And with Sydney Dexter (Catch Me If You Can) returning to enact the delightfully squawking Lina Lamont, 20 additional area talents complete the Singin' in the Rain ensemble: Douglas Alderman; Ava Coussens; Steph Curtis; Hannah Dochterman; Wayne Hess; Tatum Kilburg; Christiana Kolosvary; Abigail Krug; Sara Laufer; Michael Charles Lotspeich; Jill Matherly; Tom Naab; Marissa Pedersen; Grace Ronnenbeck; Ian Smiddy; Steve Trainor; Allison Winter; Rachel Winter; and Kylie Wise.
Quad City Music Guild's Singin' in the Rain' will be staged in the Prospect Park Auditorium from June 9 through 18, with performances Thursdays through Saturdays at 7:30 p.m. And Sundays at 2 p.m. Admission is $15-20, and more information and tickets are available by calling (309)762-6610 and visiting QCMusicGuild.com.
