Some toe-tapping tunes with ‘Singin’ in the Rain JR’
Giving Sri Lankan audiences a chance to witness some tap- dancing tunes and more the students of Elizabeth Moir School will take on ‘Singin’ in the Rain Jr’.
The play revolves around the rise of talking pictures in Hollywood in the late 1920s and depicts one theatre company’s (Monumental Pictures) evolution from producing silent films to ‘talkies’ or movies with sound. The silent stars of the Monumental Pictures, Don Lockwood and Lina Lamont convert plans for a new silent film to a ‘talkie’ at director R.F. Simpson’s bidding. They are helped by music director Cosmo Brown and actress Kathy Selden, who all work together in producing the film, navigating the many challenges they face along the way.
The production is directed by Anushka Senanayake, with music director Sureka Amerasinghe and choreographer Melissa Fisher ’s assistance. “Anushka listens to the cast and allows us to improvise wherever possible,” explains Akash Gananam, 18, adding that this has helped the cast make the production unique by adding their own unique twist to the script wherever possible. Akash takes on the lead role of Don and feels that he has learnt the impact of audio recording and the progress of the film industry through working on this production.Nicole Haddun, 17, feels that she has learnt how relatable the 1920’s are for people of modern times. Nicole plays the role of Lina. Felix Deemer explains the character R.F. Simpson as the producer no-one listens to. The rest of the cast have learnt a lot from the production. Dilani Abeyratne, 16 assumes the role of radio show host Dora Bailey. She feels that learning to tap dance has been hard work that was definitely worth the effort. Ishini Gammanpila, 16, takes on the role of the Broadway melody host. For her, singing and dancing together is what has been the hardest part of the production, while 16 year old Bjorn Paul adds that it has been phenomenal to see the cast work hard to perfect their roles. The cast have also found that many aspects of the production have surprised them. Kharesma Ravichandran 17, who plays Kathy, finds that the songs have been more interesting than she thought while 16 year old Kaavya Gnanam is happy that she has been able to give her character ‘Roz’ more depth than she initially thought the possible. Stage manager for this production and president of the drama society at Elizabeth Moir Areeb Thassim adds that the characters will come alive onstage. “You grow into your character and your character grows into you”, he says, referring to the inextricable bond which each actor and actress forms with their respective role.
The cast are excited about the play, and feel it will be a great success. “I think we have raised the bar since our last production in 2015,” says Nicole, something which everyone agrees with. They feel that their hard work in perfecting each line, lyric and dance move will help them put on an entertaining show which they feel will leave audience entertained until the very end. Anushka also feels that audiences will like what they find. “The cast has worked hard over the past few weeks and it has become clear to me that their talent, focus and creativity knows no limits. It has been a joy to collaborate with these young performers and I am sure audiences will enjoy this comic treat filled with well loved songs and toe tapping dance numbers,” she says.
Pix by Jason Eardly
Akash Gananam. Pix by Indika Handuwala
Kharesma Ravichandran
Dilani Abeyratne
Bjorn Paul
Felix Deemer
Nicole Haddun
Kaavya Gnanam
Areeb Thassim
‘Singin’ in the Rain Jr’ will hit the stage on November 10 and 11 at 7.30pm at the Lionel Wendt Theatre. Tickets are priced at Rs. 2000, 1500, 1000 and 600 and are available at the school reception.