Chicago Tribune - Recommended
"...Director William Brown's production at the Marriott is much better than the clunky 2012 staging in Oakbrook Terrace. Brown, an incurable romantic of the Chicago stage, has given the show the fluidity and lightness of touch it needs. If you recall the film, you remember it's set as the talkies kill off silent movies and follows the travails of the stars Don Lockwood (Danny Gardner) and Lina Lamont (Alexandra Palkovic) as they try to navigate the change alongside Don's sidekick Cosmo Brown (Richard Riaz Yoder). Don is capable of talking and singing - he's a guy, you see - whereas screechy Lina cannot, necessitating that Don replace her with a younger woman, Kathy Selden (Mary Michael Patterson)."
Chicago Sun Times - Recommended
"...It is a fact universally acknowledged, that the 1952 MGM film "Singin' in the Rain" might be the most glorious movie musical ever made. And now that it can easily be screened and re-screened in the comfort of your living room, you might wonder what possible reason there could be for seeing its "live" incarnation, particularly since the sheer cost and peril involved in creating a downpour in a theater might easily be one challenge too far for most producers."
Daily Herald - Highly Recommended
"...The stage adaptation, based almost verbatim on the screenplay by Betty Comden and Adolph Green, with songs by Nacio Herb Brown and Arthur Freed, must capture the film's memorable imagery -- right down to Kelly dancing with street lamps in the rain. Marriott Theatre's current production succeeds, delivering these timeless scenes with aplomb. More importantly, it faithfully recreates the milieu of motion pictures."
Chicago Reader - Somewhat Recommended
"...The 1952 celluloid performances by Gene Kelly, Donald O'Connor, and Debbie Reynolds haunt each scene and song here. In fact, Brown and Mader abet the haunting (what choice do they have?) by duplicating the film's classic moments, from the upset sofa in "Good Morning" to, of course, the deluge in the title number. You leave the theater humming the tunes, sure enough, but also wondering why you didn't simply stream the movie."
ShowBizChicago - Highly Recommended
"...Joined by four-time Jeff Award winning Choreographer Tammy Mader (42nd Street and My One and Only at The Marriott Theatre) and Musical Director Ryan T. Nelson, Director William Brown bring the iconic musical’s high power, toe-tapping energy to life on stage in this splashy adaptation of the beloved Oscar-winning MGM film. This production is better than the film in that it gives life to a very flimsy story through the incredible performances of a highly talented company and is a loving homage to the early days of Hollywood."
Stage and Cinema - Highly Recommended
"...Simply put, Singin' in the Rain teems with infectious tunes that demand to be danced-and Tammy Mader's joy-crammed choreography delivers that spectacular hoofing.
There's stylish strutting (in the awesome "Gotta Dance" ballet, Hollywood's homage to Broadway's bustle), tumultuous tap dancing (in "Good Morning"), and splash-happy waterworks for the title song, performed by Gardner with the happiest feet in six counties. (The downpour is itself elegantly distinctive, more spraying and misting than garden-variety rain-and none wets the crowd.) Terpsichorally speaking, the most delight explodes in "Moses Supposes," a contagiously carefree case of cutting up for pure pleasure and infectious delight."
ChicagoCritic - Recommended
"...Singin' In The Rain is a musical fable filled with rich humor, exaggerated film satire, and, of course, explosive tap numbers that bring goose-bums to tap lovers (like me). This classic film musical works nicely on stage. Young audiences will see a Golden Age musical comedies in its pure form. Who doesn't love a tap show?"
Around The Town Chicago - Recommended
"...I must tell you that this IS an enjoyable theatrical experience. In particular, if you enjoy lots of tap dancing numbers. Directed by William Brown, who is far better doing plays on regular stages than working in the arena or round stage with very little set. Despite his lack of arena expertise, the efficient choreography by Tammy Mader (if you saw her "42nd Street", you will LOVE this ) truly makes this show take life."
Chicago Theatre Review - Highly Recommended
"...Wringing down the curtain on this current season, Marriott’s new offering is a glitzy, glamorous homage to one of the most celebrated movie musicals of all time. Staged with energy and creativity by William Brown, choreographed with magnificent precision by Tammy Mader and beautifully musical directed by Ryan T. Nelson, this large, dynamite cast of triple threats, a veritable deluge of talent, offers up a flood of entertainment, putting the singin’ and the dancin’ back into the rain."
Chicagoland Theater Reviews - Recommended
"...William Brown is the revival’s director. Brown is one of the area’s finest directors of drama classics, and his legitimate stage background may be responsible for the highly successful renderings of Lena Lamont, the studio head, the dialect coach, and the studio publicist. Brown mines exceptional comic value out of the characters, and the scenes in which Lena stumbles her way through rehearsals of a new sound film are especially hilarious. Too bad Brown isn’t able to ignite the three central performances, though in fairness to the Marriott stars, they are competing with the giant shadows of Gene Kelly, Debbie Reynolds, and Donald O’Connor, and not many song and dance actors today are going to win that battle. Not to mention the audience being distracted on opening night by the seventh game of the World Series."
Chicagoland Musical Theatre - Highly Recommended
"...The cast is buoyed, too, by several standout performances outside the leading trio. Alexandra Palkovic is a stunning, hysterical Lina Lamont. Catherine Smitko and Amangua Tanguay are lovingly memorable as Doran Bailey and Zelda Zanders. Jason Grimm is fabulous as Monumental Pictures head R.F. Simpson. And Jessica Wolfrum Raun as the Lady in Green represents the entire stellar dance ensemble with her unforgettable moves."
Third Coast Review - Highly Recommended
"...Overall, though, we thought Singin' in the Rain at the Marriott Lincolnshire was a huge success. It was beyond our imagining how they could take such a big film full of amazing sets and scenes and bring it to their own, smaller stage, but they stunned, and we were transported to the red carpet, Lockwood's home, and even the rain-soaked streets in ways we just didn't expect. Surprises and delights abound, and this is a play that is absolutely worth the trip to the suburbs to see."
Picture This Post - Highly Recommended
"...But the one who steals the show and brought out a loud roar when she took her curtain call is Alexandra Palkovic as the decibel shattering Lina Lamont, a train wreck of a silent movie star with no talent and a high pitched nasally voice that shatters ear drums. In a role made famous by Jean Hagen, Alexandra, under Brown's skillful direction, never goes into parody as the bleached blonde, dumber-than-dirt, slept-her-way-to-the-top seductive siren. As the show progresses so does the pitch and volume of her shrieking voice that by the end you want to strangle her. She plays this role magnificently and has the audience on the floor laughing, especially in the dialect coaching scene where she is a tone-deaf Eliza Doolittle. Not in any way demeaning, this wonderful production Palkovic is worth the drive out to Lincolnshire and the ticket price. Yes, she is that good."
