'Singin' in the Rain Jr.' fun for cast members

Ryan Anderson, The Daily Citizen, Dalton, Ga.
·3 min read

Jun. 9—"I'm singing in the rain//Just singing in the rain//What a glorious feelin'//I'm happy again." — "Singin' in the Rain"

"Singin' in the Rain Jr." is "just fun for us, and I hope audiences have fun, too," said Jeb Bethel, a rising senior at Dalton High School who plays Don Lockwood in the Artistic Civic Theatre production. The 1952 musical movie is "such a classic — so iconic — and everyone knows it."

That's part of why Bethel "couldn't pass up" the opportunity to audition for the stage version, adapted by Broadway legends Betty Comden and Adolph Green, he said. Being a leading man isn't familiar territory for Bethel, who has typically played more supporting roles, but "it's fun to try something new" — even when that "something new" is stepping into the gigantic shoes of legendary Gene Kelly, who played Lockwood in the film.

Lockwood's close friend, Cosmo Brown, is played by Aaron Coker, who provides "comic relief," Coker, a student at Coahulla Creek High School, said. The jocularity is a specialty of Coker's, and "I love it."

Performing in a musical like "Singin' in the Rain Jr." is "different" than, say, a straight drama, but "enjoyable," especially for those who "love to sing" like Brooke Schlisner, said the member of Dalton High's class of 2022. Combining singing, dancing and acting is "just everything."

It's been a long road to the Artistic Civic Theatre stage for "Singin' in the Rain Jr.," as cast members had only just received their scripts when the COVID-19 pandemic became widely known in March 2020, said Schlisner, who plays Lina Lamont. That delayed the production, but it'll open Monday night.

A production of ACT2, the youth version of the Artistic Civic Theatre, "Singin' in the Rain Jr." will be performed at 7 p.m. nightly Monday-June 18, with a 2 p.m. matinee on Sunday, June 19. Tickets are available online at https://actdalton.org/index.html.

Many cast members, including Schlisner, were in the original cast when the pandemic hit and are "recurring ACT performers," Schlisner said. "It's great to interact with the younger (performers) and to get to know people you don't see (at your school)."

Linda Olvera-Jones has made several new friendships by performing at the Artistic Civic Theatre with peers from other schools she likely wouldn't have met outside community theater, said the member of Dalton High's class of 2022.

"I feel very lucky to have made many great friends here."

She plays Kathy Seldon, who initially "isn't very interested" in Lockwood or the movie business, but she "comes to love both," she said. She even saves the film inside the play by offering her vibrant voice for Lamont's.

Seldon and Lamont are on-stage rivals, which is "ironic," because the actresses portraying them are "best friends in real life," Schlisner said with a laugh. Lamont "is kind of the villain of the show: she doesn't want (Seldon) to take her place," either in the Hollywood spotlight, or with Lockwood.

Most notably, however, Lamont has "a really annoying voice," which becomes a crucial element of the plot, Schlisner said. Consequently, Schlisner has had to alter her voice — "it's completely different from what I sound like (naturally)" — which has been "hard, but a fun challenge."