Brought to you by Nuffnang and singin’ in the rain
Warning…I will be using the word ‘splash’ somewhere because I seriously cannot avoid it. I don’t want to avoid it. I don’t know when it’s going to happen, so read on for the exciting moment it happens. Also..I didn’t realise I was so excited about a single word before this
When I was 5, my Nan aka Mother Duck, who you may remember from my Instagram took me to my first musical. I remember being so excited to go into the city and we walked around people watching and looking at the shops and spending the day together. After the musical she gave me a barbie doll and it was always a clear memory and anytime i’ve been to any musical or stage performance, I am taken right back to five year old Jayde holding Nans hand in the city.
So when I was given the chance to see Singin’ In The Rain at the Sydney Lyric Theatre I was all giddy and bouncy like Minty when you tell her we are getting ice cream, because it’s been SO LONG since I saw anything on a stage. Did you know in my earlier life I was going to be a rock star/broadway star/movie star/any type of star that meant I could sing and dance on stage!?!? So whenever I see a performance live, I am transported back n forth from 5 year old Jayde with Nan, to Teenager Jayde studying entertainment and singing and acting my heart out.
When I was 15 my knee was ripped apart so the dancing was brought to a halt professionally and was not in my career future. Anxiety disorder made its grand entrance into my life and then singing on a stage was both challenging and heartbreaking. Before anxiety town came along It was always so easy to be on a stage. So easy to sing and transform into another character. I always thrived acting singing and dancing. The hell monster that is anxiety took it from me when I needed it most(HSC plus entertainment cert 2 required my acting, dancing and singing so desperately)
I spent my childhood putting on dances for my family and every single day was spent singing and acting and being a drama queen. Minty has the same fire, and already I am trying to encourage her and make sure she enjoys every song she sings as much as I did when I was little. She made me a stage tonight out of lego. She said she was going to build a real stage one day. And when I was watching Gretel Scarlett as Kathy Selden I could see Minty in the future.
It was magic.
I took me A LONG time to get myself ready to go out. My roots were an inch black and grey and my wallet doesn’t like me going to hairdressers these days, so i’ve taught Steve(trusty husbo) to bleach. He’s a clever kid. SO the night before I got my hair all did at salon de leeder, and then all day Saturday I spent 10 minutes every hour getting ready. Because getting ready when you have kids and giant dogs means, someone will want to ‘help’ put makeup on, or someone will want a drink, or someone will want to go outside to wee, or someone will want to eat, or someone will want to tell you a story about a minecraft youtuber who did something you really don’t give a shit about, but have to pretend is interesting. It takes a LONG time to get ready when you have kids and giant dogs. ESPECIALLY GIANT DOGS WHO DECIDE TO LOSE THEIR MIND WHEN YOU WALK AROUND GETTING DRESSED. Thor follows you even if you jump up to go to the bathroom. So can you imagine me walking from the bathroom to do hair to bedroom to lounge room doing Mum stuff and getting ready stuff with two dogs with separation anxiety even when you are behind a door.
I needed a big drink. And I don’t drink much at all.
First thing we did when we got to Star city…drank the tastiest champagne. It was GOOD.
Second was wander the red carpet. Not many people had arrived apart from some people hanging around wanting to see who walked on the red carpet. Paparazzi did not swarm me that’s for sure. We did notice peoples little faces get that initial look of ‘who is it’ because the pink hair attracts looks, but quickly the gazes turned to each other to either talk about my hair(I’m used to it) or look for some sort of celebrity type humanoid.
We had a chat with one of the ushers at the door and had a laugh about us being able to use both hands because no kids were attached to us or dogs were bashing into our legs. He was a nice guy…let’s face it, anyone who laughs at my jokes is my favourite human alive. We went upstairs to grab the fanciest champagne they had, because for some reason, when I go out, and after 1 glass of champagne, I seem to think I am made of money and why not get 2 glasses of $13 champagne. So two glasses of the fancy shit later and I was ready to watch some dancing numbers.
I don’t wear heels often, so I had popped the only black pair I owned and they were not comfy, and I felt like the inside was falling apart, so the minute we sat down the shoes were off and under the seats. It would be dark, no one could see. It felt amazing.
The vibe around us was adorable and excited. The crowd was clearly musical goers, and I was so pleasantly surprised to see younger kids and groups of teenagers sitting in the theatre as well as Nannas and couples and all walks of life. There was just the best mix of people, and I loved looking at everyone and seeing how happy they all were.
There was a big roar of excitement when everything started. Being in a theatre feels so nostalgic. It feels like you are in a time you’ve never lived in but only watched on tv and movies. The scene was set, and it was glorious. Every little detail was a perfect throwback to the 1920’s. Above the stage was a half circle glass window and behind it was the orchestra. When it started, there was electricity in the air. We were adding buzz to it with our energy.
When it began and as I was studying each character and getting to know them with the audience, because my eyes are not fantastic even when I have my contacts in, I had read that the part of Don Lockwood was played by Adam Garcia, and I was really interested to see him perform live, but it took me a while to work out he wasn’t actually on the stage. I found out later he had an injury and his understudy also had an injury so the second understudy Grant Almirall was playing the part. I know that they like to have well knowns as the leads, but I honestly don’t think it even mattered one bit. He was fantastic.
So you think you can dance winner Jack Chambers was unbelievable. That dude has some serious talent. He played Cosmo Brown and his presence on stage is addictive. You can’t wait for him to be on stage. He was hilarious and holy shitballs that dude can dance.
I think my favourite was the very surprising Erika Heynatz playing Lina Lamont. At first I had no clue it was her. I don’t like to read too much about what I’m about to watch. I like to be surprised. I really didn’t know the story too well only a few of the popular songs, so I didn’t even know Erika was in it. She blew my mind. The character of Lina Lamont was both glamorous and comedy. The voice she needed to play this character was the bases of the entire production. Her character and Don Lockwood are famous silent film stars. And the show is all about the transition to talking pictures. Only Lina Lamont has the most hideous talking and singing voice. Her entire career is based on what she looks like. So her performance is sparkling fucking gold. You need to see it, just to see her performance. I had to go and stalk her instagram for a bit just to make sure it was actually her, because it doesn’t sound like her at all. She splashed(BOOM told you I would use the word Splashed) her way into my soul. I’ve always liked her, but now I’m a hardcore fan.
I think everyone was waiting for the ‘rain’. And in the flyer it said you will get wet in the ‘splash zone’ which was the first 3 rows. So we were waiting on the edge of our little flip up seats when the water would start. I thought it would be a sprinkling. I was wrong. When Don started singing in the rain, the rain is like proper hard pelting down rain. It was so fantastic to watch. Everyone was leaning forward to see people getting splashed.
Whenever any performer did a dance in the water they would purposely stomp and kick the water more to get the audience laughing and saturated. It was so entertaining. The entire audience was loving it. After each dance number the crowd really gave them a good hearty round of applause, then after ‘singin’ in the rain’, there were actual ‘BRAVO BRAVO’ being said. I was like WHAT!? I thought that was just in the movies. You guys, they actually say it in the audience.
What an excellent night out. We left grabbing a couple of mini yellow umbrellas for the kids, and looking at the people who were being interviewed trying to listen inconspicuously behind them, but my feet were forming blisters and it was time to get to the car.
Steve said he loved it. Everyone that has asked us about it, he is the first to say ‘it was actually so good’. This is a dude, that has not many opinions of anything. He usually just cruises. If it doesn’t involve mountain biking or skiing he usually isn’t all that enthusiastic about ‘stuff’, but he loved it. I was blown away I loved it that much. But it tells you more, that it was a stellar show when Steve Leeder gives it the 5 out of 5.
I haven’t been to a show in so long, and I realised when I was there, it’s such a magical night out, I’m for sure doing it again. The only problem is, the next show I see, has to live up to Singin’ in the rain. I think it’s going to be hard to beat. Take your Mum or your Nan or your husband or your teenage kids. It’s a show that everyone will love.
Are you going to see Singin’ in the rain in Sydney soon?!?! You HAVE to. It’s SO much fun.