Ashley Day (Don Lockwood) and Maddie Waller (Kathy Selden) are superb in Singin’ in the Rain

At first I was a bit puzzled by the succession of black and white silent movies and the colored characters on stage but after a while, you are taken by the quality of the singing and dancing of “Singin’ in the rain” directed by Robert Carsen at the Lido. Entering this famous cabaret on the Champs Élysées is already an experience. You walk through a long lit up corridor (which reminded me of Le Palace in the 70’s) and are welcomed by the nice and efficient staff dressed in multicolor tops. It’s very festive. Then after buying your drinks at the bar, you are seated at a round table for four. The orchestra of 14 conducted by Alan Berry, is suspended in the air on the right and left of the stage and  you are ready to welcome the 24 British, Canadian and American singers/dancers ,who are all excellent. The production includes 240 costumes designed by Robert Carsen and Luis F. Carvalho in a choreography by Rebecca Howell. It’s in English with French subtitles, an  excellent training for French students. This is the second production Carsen directs after the Châtelet in 2015.

Ashley Day, Maddie Waller and Charlie Waddell form a fun trio

The charming and impish Robert Carsen was welcoming his guests, and carefully placing Catherine Deneuve, Clara Saint, Madison Cox, Jean Gabriel Mitterrand and many friends from the entertainment world. He was obviously very tired from the rehearsals with various changes of cast in the last month. The strong trio of Don Lockwood, Kathy Selden and Cosmo Brown (exceptional), is irresistible. Whether in Versailles in the Galerie des Glaces where “Royal Rascal” is shot, or in Hollywood where the premiere takes place, the comedians all show the superiority of American musicals.

The long corridor which leads to the theatre on the Chaps LEysées already puts you in the mood

As expected with Carsen, who is primarily an opera director, the sets and costumes are in impeccable taste and the pace is fast. The story of Lina Lamont (played by Natasha O’Brien) who cannot sing or speak and has to be dubbed when silent movies become “talkies”, is tragic, and the scenes are well produced. Notably, when she doesn’t understand that she has to speak in the microphone hidden in a bush next to her, or when her pearl necklace and her heartbeat make a huge noise, because the microphone is hidden in her chest.

Inspired by Versailles, the backgrounds of Lina Lamont’s scenes are very pretty

For the “Dueling Cavalier” a solution is found where Kathy Selden ( Maddie Waller) dubbs Lina Lamont on the microphone. One of the high moments of the evening when we hear the famous song “Good Morning, Good Morning”, immortalized by Gene Kelly and Stanley Donner in the movie which premiered at Radio City Hall in April 1952. After modest beginnings for MGM, “Singin’ in the rain” has been ranked fifth greatest movie in America. So it was particularly difficult to switch from film to stage but the Canadian director’s professionalism works. Especially since he already produced a version of it for Jean Luc Choplin (artistic director of the Lido) at the Châtelet in 2015.

Real rain pours over Ashley Day when he sings

It was interesting to hear from people familiar to the Lido  that the real rain, which literally poured over the singers, was evacuated in the underground pool of the theater and that sprinklers already existed in the ceiling in case of fire. Whether it’s true or not, the rain falls for a long time and Ashley Day keeps on singing while his suit is drenched. Seeing Catherine Deneuve right in front of us, I could not escape from thinking of Les Parapluies de Cherbourg in which she acted with her sister Françoise Dorléac.

The final scene is very pretty with heavy rain pouring on stage

Of course the Lido is not as large as an opera house and showing the films on screen creates a constraint of space. But the audience was raving at the end of the show which is programmed to last until the spring. Will the young generations like the story? My neighbor Joseph,  a chic student from Dauphine, seemed to enjoy it very much. It’s definitely a perfect family outing with the American culture we love and a crash course in the English language on top of it.

Singin’ in the rain at Théâtre du Lido tickets from 35 to 175€