While Patrick Stewart and his fellow Royal Shakespeare Company cast members seem to have completely taken over the limelight for this fall's campus productions, students need not wait for another worldwide acclaimed company to enter Ann Arbor's town limits: one has been here all along. MUSKET, a student theater group founded in 1908, will be performing the 1985 Broadway classic "Singin' in the Rain." The show opens tomorrow at the Power Center and runs through Sunday.

In 1927 silent-film Hollywood, all great joys come from just singin' in the rain - not to mention a good tap dance. Tinseltown stud Don Lockwood (Music School sophomore Alex Puette) and diva Lina Lamont (Music School junior Ruth Pferdehirt) act their carefully crafted on-screen relationship to the delight of film audiences. Things for Lina get problematic when she begins to believe what she's acting. But when "talkies" (the first films with sound) burst onto the scene, Lina's hideous voice poses a problem for producers, who realize the advent of cinematic audio demands vocal quality along with a pretty face. That pretty face is hopeful actress Kathy Selden (Music School junior Jessica Hershberg). And just like in the 1952 movie, Don falls for Kathy and the couple attempt to expose Lina's voice for what it is.

As for the show, audiences can't expect more from the set, choreography and voices that MUSKET's production has to offer.

"It's so easy for actors to fall into stereotypes in this show. We really tried to make these characters. We wanted to showcase our actors' talent, not just show them Gene Kelly and Debbie Reynolds," said Natalie Malotke, Music School senior and co-director.

Puette builds up his macho Lockwood-star persona while still managing to woo both Cathy and the audience with his candy-sweet voice. Likewise, Hershberg perfectly displays hopeful-innocence balanced by powerhouse vocals. Once Lina unleashes the high-pitched squeal she claims as a voice, her fate is clear. Fantastically funny Cosmo Brown (Music School senior Andrew Keenan-Bolger) rounds out the bunch with his onstage antics and classic gimmicks, perfectly filling his role - "make 'em laugh."

"People should come to the show and leave happier," Hershberg said.

The production's set keeps the audience captivated even without actors present. From the first onstage downpour (and this is real, authentic pitter-patter rain) right until the bubble-gum sweet finale, "Singin' in the Rain" provides both entertainment and delight.

And the dancing. Oh, the dancing. Jazz, tap and a little tango round out the production's point-perfect choreography.

"The music, the dance, the show - that's what students will enjoy," said Gina Rattan, Music School junior and co-director. "We didn't just want to recreate the movie. Things in our show are new and innovative. This is a musical made from a movie, which is very rare."

Though caught up in the non-stop foot tapping and contagious glee permeating from the stage, Act Two may cause a trivial protest with original-film lovers.

"We have a 'dramaturgical concern' here - we rearranged the scenes in the second act," Rattan said. Despite the minor glitch, the production is seamless.

Because most of all, the cast, crew and directors just want the audience to enjoy themselves.

"We want you to go out and take tap-dancing lessons afterwards," Malotke said. "We want you to be dancing in the aisles and to be taken away from reality."

Singin' in the Rain
Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m., Sunday at 2 p.m.
$7 for students with ID, $13 for public

At the Power Center