THE BEST LINE overheard during the recent Australian tour of musical Singin' In The Rain came from a patron in the front stalls of Melbourne's Regent Theatre. 'That's the first time I've ever seen an audience applaud plumbing,' observed the wit as thunderous clapping greeted the downpour of rain on stage.
In October, Hong Kong will finally learn what all the fuss is about when Australian producer-director David Atkins, who is staging Fame - The Musical, brings his version of the iconic musical back to the Academy for Performing Arts' Lyric Theatre.
The $12 million production will come with a 40-strong cast, lavish sets and costumes. But what will make Singin' In The Rain the talk of the town is the marvel of engineering that sends 2,500 litres of water bucketing down on the tap-dancing performers - and leaves members of the audience in the first few rows a little damp.
Two tanks, six pumps, overhead spouts, heating and filtering systems and a concealed trough will be installed on stage to create the spectacular showers in both acts. Three of the pumps carry the water to the spouts, while the others drain it from the trough and circulate it back into the tanks. The system requires daily maintenance and water cleaning to ensure it's bacteria-free, careful drying of the rubber-matted stage after each performance and meticulous supervision of all the equipment.
'The water certainly keeps us on our toes,' says head mechanist Mark Henstridge. 'If there was a leak, we could end up with a flood, but touch wood, we've never had a major problem.'
Leading the cast will be seasoned Australian stage actor Dale Pengelly and 21-year-old Pia Morley. They are the latest to inherit an extraordinary legacy that began 50 years ago when Singin' In The Rain made its debut as an MGM movie starring Gene Kelly, Donald O'Connor, Jean Hagen and a teenaged Debbie Reynolds. For many, one indelible image is considered an iconic moment on the silver screen: the euphoric Kelly, decked out in a yellow mac and black brolly, swinging around a lamp post and dancing in a downpour celebrating his new-found love.