STAGE REVIEW : GREAT DANCING, LATE RAIN IN ‘SINGIN’ ’

Picture the finale of the first act of “Singin’ in the Rain,” where the skies are supposed to open up on the love-sodden hero as he dances down the street in the wee hours of the morning. Except the skies at the Grand Dinner Theatre weren’t cooperating.

It’s the curse of having to rely on things mechanical. And although the downpour finally materialized as the hero gamely danced on, the parallel was inescapable: There is a mechanical glint in the eye of this show.

The production has some terrific dancing and a nostalgic allegiance to the 1952 movie, but there is a distinctly calculated charm to the proceedings. The firm hand of manipulation is always at the elbow, determinedly steering the dot-to-dot plot from song to song.

“Singin’ in the Rain” was written as a movie and refashioned into a stage musical in 1985 by the original writers, Betty Comden and Adolph Green. The story has been lifted pretty much intact: A vain silent film star and a cute bit player conspire to dub the lines for his dim-witted, shrill-voiced co-star in their first “talkie.”

Certainly the production at the Grand owes much to the film version. Props, costumes and sets are all purposely familiar. But what worked on film too often stumbles on stage. The film version could cut from scene to scene with logic gracefully following, but the stage version has 21 scenes that add up to a choppy, sometimes confusing scenario.

This cast can really dance, and that’s a big plus in a show that depends as heavily on its production numbers as this one does. (Director Rob Barron also choreographed, showcasing expert tapping.) But the iron-on character development that accompanies this story produces some forced chemistry between Steve Bellin as a very slick Don Lockwood, the matinee idol, and Lisa Lujan as pert Kathy Selden, the sweet young thing who wins him over.

There’s no more complexity in Cosmo Brown, the good-natured sidekick, but Alan Bardsley manages to make the character’s affability genuine and the dizzying high jinks of “Moses” and “Make ‘Em Laugh” look effortless. Those high jinks may be derivative, but Bardsley attacks them as if they were written expressly for him. Barbara Stamm gives a huge and affectionate spoof of dumb blond screen sirens in the vocally demanding role of Lina Lamont, the screechy-voiced actress who faces extinction with the advent of “talkies.”

A show with 21 scenes demands heroic efforts from its set designer (Robert Hill) and costume designer (Garland Riddle), and they respond in kind.

“SINGIN’ IN THE RAIN” Produced by Franklin J. Wyka through special arrangement with Music Theatre International. Book: Betty Comden and Adolph Green. Songs: Nacio Herb Brown and Arthur Freed. Director and choreographer: Rob Barron. Principal cast members: Alan Bardsley, Bill Bateman, Steve Bellin, Lisa Lujan, Roger Michelson and Barbara Stamm. Scenery: Robert Hill. Costumes: Garland Riddle. Lighting: Walter De Jong. Musical direction: William H. Lockwood. Plays at 8:15 p.m. Tuesday-Thursday, 8:45 p.m. Friday-Saturday, 7:45 p.m. Sunday, with Saturday and Sunday matinees at 1:30 p.m. Closes Aug. 23. Tickets $21.95-$29.95; children under 12, $18-$18.50. Grand Dinner Theatre, 7 Freedman Way, Anaheim. (714) 772-7710.