(Note to Producers: Use Shorter Paper.)
Singin’ in the Rain was on TV the other night, so of course we hit record. We had seen Debbie Reynolds’ one-woman live show years back. In it she told stories of her 19-year-old self learning to dance for the 1952 film: blood in her shoes from marathon shoots, blunt critiques from co-star and choreographer Gene Kelly.
So with new eyes we settled down to re-watch her classic movie. And early on, Reynolds’ jumping-out-of-a-cake “All I Do is Dream of You” song had us a) wincing for her feet and b) giggling at the grit she needed to get through the number.
She is cuter than cute in that pink costume. And being a decade younger than the chorus girls around her does not hurt one bit. But those mile-long streamers? How many of those ladies went down in a tangle?
Honestly, the wild party confetti effect should have been, yes, a piece of cake.
All of you planning to mount the stage musical or throw a cake jump of your own, take our advice: Go with 7′-9′ curly strips. You will project all the fun. (And you will skip the moment when a nearly hog-tied Reynolds drags paper off her face and the film cuts to a different take.) For small venues and tight film shoots, skip confetti cannons. Instead, fling your serpentines from noiseless Streamer Flick Sticks. Flick Sticks are easy to hide and utterly simply to use. Get a few extras for practice, so you can judge your arc.
What was easy in the “Dream of You” scene had to be the cleanup: Streamers gather up fast. The cake-in-the-face bit later on would be a different story.
We found a delightful article on “Dancin’ Debbie” Reynold’s honorary Oscar award on The Film Experience site. Enjoy.
