UMD’S ‘Singin’ in the Rain’ makes a splash on stage

UMD’s Singin’ in the Rain is one week into its run and has been warmly received by audiences. Actor Trevor Hendrix says the stage adaptation follows the movie quite well. “There’s so much dancing and all the same songs that you love. There’s a little homage to some of those parts of the original, like Broadway Melody.”

One of the highlights of this production is the tap dancing. Director Matt Wagner says that he chose this show for the dance talent within the department. “I’d show up to rehearsal and give them all this hard movement. They would show up the next night having learned it, and they kept upping the bar for what we can do- I kind of can’t believe it. I don’t think I’ve ever seen this level of tap dancing in Duluth.”

Hendrix has only taken 2.5 semesters of tap dancing with Wagner, saying it’s been both challenging and rewarding.

Wagner says that tap dance is also true to Duluth’s history, “Duluth was on the vaudeville circuit… Acts would oftentimes try out routines in Duluth because we had a wealthy audience, and a discerning audience. But it was far enough of the beaten path that you could try something here,. But if it didn’t work, Duluth audiences would let you know.”

Their next performances are Wednesday through Saturday. Tickets are available both online and at the box office.