A Musical Before Midnight! – Singin’ In The Rain + New Year’s Eve Party at Showroom, Sheffield
Tom Grieve, Cinema Editor
Some films inspire straight up joy. From its comedy telling of the beginnings of sound cinema, through iconic song after iconic song, Gene Kelly and Stanley Donen’s Singin’ in the Rain is absolutely one of them. As well as directing, the incomparable Gene Kelly stars as matinee idol Don Lockwood, alongside Donald O’Connor as his best friend Cosmo Brown, Debbie Reynolds as aspiring actress and love interest Kathy Seldon and Jean Hagen as his on-the-out on-screen partner, Lina Lamont. There’s fizzing chemistry (between Kelly and O’Connor as much as anywhere else), genuine pathos, earworms and draw-dropping choreography – try watching Cosmo throw himself through “Make ‘Em Laugh” without mouth agape.
Showroom’s New Year’s Eve screening follows the films all-singing, all-dancing cue, with an introduction by Broadway and Hollywood musical expert Dr Dominic McHugh. Afterwards, the bar hosts a party complete with classic cocktails and live swing band, The Cesca Grace Quintet, who will be playing jazz standards and classic musical tunes into the New Year.
