WHEN I heard that Ryedale Youth Theatre’s 25th anniversary show was going to beSingin’ In The Rain, I wondered how on earth they were going to stage it in the Milton Rooms. I needn’t have worried.

This all singing, all dancing and yes, very rainy production was full of exciting choreography, magnificent costumes and superb singing and dancing, all of which left the audience calling for more.

From the opening scenes where we were introduced to Don Lockwood (Ollie Fearn), Cosmo Brown (Ben Greenhough) and Kathy Selden (Beth Armstrong), the show moved along at a rollicking pace.

As the story unfolded and we met Lina Lamont (Hannah Richardson) - she of the beautiful face and terrible voice - along with R F Simpson (Adam Peel), the owner of Monumental Pictures, and director Roscoe Dexter (Mathew Hodsman-Summers), we were drawn into their problem of how to salvage their silent movie, The Duelling Cavalier, and change it into a “talkie” now that talking pictures were all the rage.

But change it they did, and on the way we enjoyed some wonderful entertainment. Don, Cosmo and Kathy worked out the best way, although they took all night to do so (cue the song Good Morning),  and along the way Don and Kathy fell head over heels in love.

This led us nicely to the title song, Singin’ In The Rain, and what a tour de force it was for Ollie Fearn as he sang, danced, splashed his way through this routine, which has ingrained itself into the heart of cinema goers the world over. The rain fell, and for once we all cheered.

This was a show full of superlatives: the split-second timing and syncopation of Moses Supposes, featuring Don, Ollie, ensemble and a fine cameo performance by Ellen Longworth as an elocution teacher, was a joy to watch. Hannah Richardson's Lina asked us “What’s Wrong with Me?” and gave a wonderful comic and vocal performance as her voice grated like fingernails on a blackboard: definitely a case of having to be able to do it right in order to get it so hysterically wrong.

The choreography by director Angela Kirkham and Ali Kirkham was outstanding, featuring so many different styles of dance; beautiful ballet sequences, thundering tap dances, poignant solos, and high-energy solos (“Make'em Laugh).

The costumes were stunning, thanks to wardrobe mistress Yvonne Young and the amazing “feathers” loaned by Ali Kirkham, with so many beautiful outfits and styles for the dances and authentic clothes for the “normal” scenes. The set was inventive and scenes were changed completely unobtrusively.

The seven-piece band, under musical director Chris Hocking, and vocals in the care of musical choral director Martin Dixon ensured that all the songs, both solos and full company, were first class.

Ryedale Youth Theatre is celebrating its 25th anniversary performance with this show and this fabulous production would have graced any major stage. The four leads were, to paraphrase a line from the show, "a triple threat" who "can act, can dance and can sing" and they did them all amazingly well.

The finale, in the pouring rain, with Don, Kathy and Cosmo and the whole cast in their yellow waterproofs, yellow wellies and colourful umbrellas all “just singin’ and dancin’ in the rain” was a complete triumph that the audience just didn’t want to end.

I just don’t know how they’re going to follow that, but I do know they will and that I’m already looking forward to show number 26.

Review by Ann Marie Gatford