Abilene Christian University
Singin’ in the Rain
Study Guide!
Table of Contents
Synopsis………………………………………….Page 1
Director’s Concept……………………………….Page 2
The Creation of Singin’ in the Rain………………Page 3
Slang of the 1920’………………………………..Page 6
History of the 1920’………………………..…..Page 8
1920’s Hollywood Stars….………………………….Page 12
Singin’ in the Rain in YOUR class…………………Page 14
Synopsis:
Main Characters:
Don Lockwood, Hollywood Star
Lina Lamont, Hollywood Star
Cosmo Brown, Don’ best friend, plays piano for silent films
Kathy Seldon, Aspiring Actress
R. F. Simpson, Head of Monumental Pictures
Roscoe Dexter, Hollywood Director
It is 1927 and Monumental Pictures’ actors, Don Lockwood and Lina Lamont are
the greatest silent-film stars of their generation – all the fans flock to see their films and
read about their budding romance in the fan magazines. The truth behind the glamorous
“Lockwood and Lamont” façade, however, is a burnt-out actor and an oblivious actress
with a squeaky voice. Their world is turned upside down, and their fame threatened,
when the talkies, or movies that record sound, take over Hollywood. The grand and
gentile persona of Lockwood and Lamont is endangered when Lina speaks on screen and
reveals her true and rather unappealing nature. Enter Kathy, an up-and-coming actress
who has caught Monumental Pictures’ – and Don Lockwood’s – eye. She has a beautiful
voice and secretly dubs over Lina’s voice for the final cut of the first Lockwood and
Lamont Talkie. When Lina finds out that Kathy has not only been dubbing her voice, but
also kissing Don, she uses all her power as a big star to ruin Kathy’s career. Will
Monumental Pictures stand up to Lina’s fury or will the pressure to produce “what the
public wants” crush the love between Don and Kathy? Will “Hurricane Lina” wash away
the love between Don and Kathy, or can they toss off their umbrellas and go Singin’ in
the Rain?
Director’s Concept:
Mike Fernandez, the director of Singin’ in the Rain has approached this show as a
Factory of Illusions – a concept inspired by Stanley Donen, director of the original film.
It is the story of a group of people trying to put on a production – it just so happens to be
one of the first talking movies ever made. Exotic film sets and performers in dazzling
costumes move about like fireflies at night. Hollywood of the 1920s was a place of
extreme glitz and glamour. Stars were beautifully crafted by their production companies
and expected to maintain a very particular persona. This is the land of Hollywood
magic. But Fernandez did not wish to remain in the mysterious and awe-inspiring realm
of the Hollywood mystique; rather he has chosen to look beyond the façade and see the
chaos that lies just below the surface. Taking his cue from Don Lockwood’s opening
monologue – and his obvious twisting of the truth – Fernandez has sculpted the
production to showcase the drastic difference between what individuals and communities
put forth (in life and in shows) and reality. The idea of madness underneath seeming
calm is found throughout the script and our particular production, but can be especially
noted in Lina’s character, Monumental Pictures’ usage of Kathy’s talent and the end of
our Beautiful Girls number. Fernandez challenges us to look beyond our own glitz and
glamour, raise the curtain and present the truth.
The Creation of Singin’ in the Rain
Singin’:
While the
musical Singin’ in the Rain was written
in the 1950s, most of the songs you hear
in the show were written in the 1920s,
most by Arthur Freed and Nacio Herb
Brown. In fact, they provided the basis
for the entire show. In 1950, Arthur
Freed approached Betty Comden and
Adolph Green and asked them to write a
story around his songs. Because Freed
had originally written the songs for early
talkie films Comden and Green based
their production around Hollywood of
the 1920s and the transition from silent
films to talkies.
And Dancin’:
Gene Kelly, who also stared in and
directed the original Singin’ in the Rain,
created the original choreography.
Kelly’s is known and revered as the
quintessential film musical
choreography. Both in his heyday and
for years after, Kelly was known as the
expert musical tap dancer. He was a
taskmaster who demanded hard work,
but it paid off. In part because of his
bright, energetic and original dancing,
Kelly served as a fantastic escape for a
society fresh from World War II and
sinking into a Cold War of their own.
Everyone loved him.
Because of his standing as a
significant choreographer, many stage
productions choose to use Kelly’s
choreography. Our choreographer
Dawne Swearingen, however, has
decided to keep certain elements of
Kelly choreography – the aspects the
audience will be most familiar with –
while allowing for new and collective
creativity. “Singin’ in the Rain is a
thematic number” She said, “there must
be rain, an umbrella and tap dancing”.
She hasn’t kept all the choreography,
though. Together with director Mike
Fernandez, Swearingen has decided to
play up their actor’s specific talents and
showcase their strengths. Swearingen
and Fernandez were also concerned
about including the entire cast in an
enjoyable and challenging way. Much
of the choreography for the chorus in
Kelly’s work is minimal, but Swearingen
wanted to make sure the experience was
an educational one for all involved and
so changed much of the choreography to
teach and stimulate her students. In the
end, she has found a great balance in her
choreography, both serving the actor
while still paying homage to Kelly.
In the Rain:
While it may appear that the original
film version of Singin’ in the Rain is
glamorous and easy, everyone involved
worked very hard to make it so.
They all encountered many bumps along the road to production. The following are a few
examples:

After they finished the "Good
Morning" number, Debbie
Reynolds had to be carried to her
dressing room because she had
burst some blood vessels in her
feet. Despite her hard work on
the "Good Morning" number,
Gene Kelly decided that someone
should dub her tap sounds, so he
went into a dubbing room to dub
the sound of her feet as well as
his own.



Debbie Reynolds remarked many
years later that making this
movie and surviving childbirth
were the two hardest things she's
ever had to do.
The original negative of this film
was destroyed in a fire.
Cyd Charisse had to be taught how to smoke for her vampy dance sequence.
(http://www.imdb.com)
Singin’ in Reality:
The Story behind Singin’ in the Rain
Many characters in Singin’ in the Rain are purported to be based on real people and the
events on real events.
“Singin' in the Rain was first conceived as a "catalogue" picture by Arthur Freed for
MGM in 1949. He had written the song 20 years earlier with the composer Nacio Herb
Brown for the Hollywood Music Box Revue in 1927, a stage show of showgirls and songs
and spectacular sets of the type made famous by the Ziegfeld Follies. After the sound
revolution swept through Hollywood in the wake of the 1927 Jazz Singer, Irving
Thalberg hired Freed and Brown to write music for MGM's first revue musical,
Broadway Melody, in 1929. Freed had worked as a mood pianist in silent films when he
first moved from New York to Hollywood in 1925 (like Cosmo) and helped Thalberg
(like R. F.) and the MGM studio (like Monumental Pictures) make the transition to
sound. The characters of Lina Lamont (like Judy Holliday), director Roscoe Dexter (like
Busby Berkeley), Dora Bailey (like Louella Parsons) were based on real people. The
song "Singin' in the Rain" and other Freed-Brown songs would be used in repeatedly in
many MGM pictures, starting with Hollywood Revue of 1929. Arthur Freed became a
leading producer of musicals at MGM, putting together a talented group known as the
Freed Unit after it made The Wizard of Oz in 1938.”
(http://history.sandiego.edu/gen/filmnotes/singin.html)
Arthur Freed
Betty Comden and Adolph Green
Slang of the 1920's
Bee's Knees - An extraordinary person, thing, idea; the ultimate. Dozens of "animal
anatomy" variations existed: elephant's eyebrows, gnat's whistle, eel's hips, etc.
Big Cheese - The most important or influential person; boss. Same as big shot
Bull - (1) a policeman or law-enforcement officer including FBI (2) nonsense (3) to chat
idly, to exaggerate
Cat's Meow - Something splendid or stylish; similar to bee's knees; The best or greatest,
wonderful.
Ciggy – cigarette
Dewdropper - a young man who sleeps all day and doesn't have a job
Doll - an attractive woman
Don't know from nothing - don't have any information
Dry up - shut up, get lost
Ducky - very good
Earful – enough
Fish -(1) a college freshman (2) a first timer in prison
Flapper - A stylish, brash, hedonistic young woman with short skirts & shorter hair
Floorflusher - an insatiable dancer
Gay - happy or lively
Get-up – an outfit
Giggle Water - An intoxicating beverage; alcohol
Goods – the right material or the person who has it, the facts, the truth
Glad rags - "going out on the town" clothes
Hip to the Jive – trendy, cool
Hoofer – Dancer
Hot dawg! - Great!; also: "Hot socks!" Rarely spelled as shown outside of flapper
circles until popularized by 1940s comic strips.
Joint – a club, usually selling alcohol
Keen –attractive or appealing
Kisser - Mouth
Lay off –cut the crap
Mind your potatoes – mind your own business
Neck – kissing with passion
Oh yeah! - I doubt it!
Petting pantry - movie theater
Pos-i-lute-ly – affirmative, also ‘pos-i-tive-ly’
Rain pitchforks - a downpour
Rhatz! – how disappointing
So's your old man - a reply of irritation
Sugar daddy - older boyfriend who showers girlfriend with gifts
What’s eating you? – what’s wrong
Whoopee – to have a good time
Pretend you are living in the 1920s. Pick a type of person to be – are you very
trendy, or are you still a bit old fashioned, wealthy or pulling yourself up by your
bootstraps? Use the 1920s vocabulary list to interact with the others in your class
according to the status in society they’ve chosen.
Historical Timeline of 1920s
(http://history.sandiego.edu/gen/filmnotes/singin.html)
Year
1920
1921
1922
1923
Humanities
*Harlem
Renaissance
begins
*Roscoe
“Fatty”
Arbunkle
Scandal
*Tomb of
King Tut
discovered
*The
Reader’s
Digest is
published
*Charleston
dance
becomes
popular
Technology
*First commercial
radio broadcast
aired
*Lie detector
invented
Government
*League of
Nations
Established
*Pancho Villa
Retures
*Women
granted the right
to vote in the
U.S.
*Irish Free State
proclaimed
*Kemal Ataturk
founds modern
Turkey
*Michael
Collins killed in
ambush
*Mussolini
marches on
Rome
*Hitler jailed
after failed coup
*Ruhr occupied
by French and
Belgian forces
Health
*Bubonic Plague
in India
Economy
*Extreme
inflation in
Germany
1924
1925
1925
*Talking
movies
invented
*Time
magazine
founded
*First
Olympic
Winter
Games
*Leopold
and Loeb
murder a
neighbor
our of
boredom
*Flapper
dresses in
style
*A.A.Milne
published
Winnie-thePooh
*Houdini
dies
*J. Edgar
Hoover
appointed
Director of the
FBI
*V.I. Lenin dies
*Hitler
published Mein
Kampf
*The Scopes
(Monkey) Trial
Robert Goddard
fires his first
liquid-fuel rocket
1927
*Babe Ruth
makes
home-run
record
*BBC
founded
*First talkie,
The Jazz
Singer is
produced
*Lindbergh
flies solo
across the
Atlantic
1928
*Sacco and
Vanzetti are
executed
amidst antiItalian
propaganda.
*Bubble
gum
Invented
*Penicillin
discovered
*Kellogg-Briand
treaty outlaws
war
*First
Mickey
Mouse
Cartoon
produced
1929
*Oxford
English
Dictionary
published
*Byrd and
Bennett fly
over South
*Car radio is
invented
*St. Valentines
*New York
Stock Market
crashes
Pole
*First
Academy
Awards
Day Massacre
Use History to Create a Character:
How is a society affected by current events (think of clothing/hair style, gender
roles, what people do for fun etc.)? What do you as an actor need to know about
the historical environment of your character’s lives as you begin to rehearse and
build a character?
Hollywood Stars of the 1920s:
All of the following Stars are mentioned in the Singin’ in the Rain Script:
Tom Mix:
The First Western Star. Mix defined the silent-era western as the pursuit of the “bad
guy”. He was most popular with a younger audience and influenced the western genre
forever. Both John Wayne and Ronald Regan watched Tom Mix while growing up.
Mary Pickford:
Pickford was known as “America’s Sweetheart”. She was a pioneer for strong women in
Hollywood, creating gentile characters and demanding large sums of money to play them.
She could ask for so much because she was so loved by the fans. Pickford is one of the
first major celebrities.
Charlie Chaplin:
The British comedian who brought laughs to his audience while challenging them to
question their world. His signature character, The Tramp, provided comedic commentary
on the modern world and great entertainment for his peers.
John Barrymore:
Known for his strong profile (actually called “The Profile”) and celebrated for his
Shakespearean roles, Barrymore was a part of a famous and powerful acting family. The
family was respected for their serious approach to acting -- and ridiculed for their
outlandish approach to partying.
Ethel Barrymore:
John’s sister, and Academy Award winner, Ethel is most known for her strong Broadway
roles in serious productions.
Now YOU’RE in Singin’ in the Rain:
Character Study:
Pretend you are one of the stars from the opening scene. How do you feel about Lina?
You might fear her power, admire her beauty, or feel you should be in her place – after
all, you have a normal voice. After you have chosen a character and a specific response
to Lina, experiment how you might express that on stage – while still staying within the
producer’s good graces
Different Styles of Acting:
Having to evoke and idea without sound is difficult. Take a scene with dialogue and try
to present the scene to the rest of the class without ANY sound. What do you have to do
to get the ideas/relationships/situations across? Now add sound. How does that change
what you as an actor do? Is there anything new you need to be aware of?
If you have the resources, try this activity by making your our own silent film. You may
wish to research a silent film and create a new one based on the original, or come up with
your own plot idea. Use the above questions and have fun!
Many actors did not survive the switch from silent films to talkies, but some did. Discuss
how the addition of sound must have affected actors of the late 1920s, and what one
would have to do to make a successful transition. Is there any technological development
in our age which might threaten actors as sound did in the 1920s? Discuss the growing
use of computer generation in films. How will computers effect what is expected of
actors in the future? Are there any other developments which might change what an
actor does in the future?
Themes of Singin’ in the Rain:
There are many themes of Singin’ in the Rain which easily relate to a life in the
theatre. The difference between Appearance and Reality is one of them. In what ways
do we, in the theatre, still create this façade of ease and glamour -- and what is
underneath that façade?
Another theme is one of high verses low art. In the first scene we see Kathy, she
claims to be a real actress because she is going to New York, and that screen actors are
just pantomiming. “If you’ve seen one, you’ve seen ‘em all!” she says. Do we still have
standards for “high” art and “low” art. What are they? How are both types important and
useful within both the artistic and the general society? Cosmo’s song Make ‘Em Laugh
suggests that the general public wants and enjoys watching a man slip on a banana peel
more than they enjoy watching Shakespeare – is this true? How does this discussion
affect you as a theatre artist? How would a vaudeville act be received today? Create a
vaudeville act (perhaps based upon the lyrics of Make ‘Em Laugh) with a friend. What
does such an act involve? How is it received?