Broadway Comes to Raleigh

When I first met Dancing Man Productions co-founder Mark Steward in person at Raleigh Little Theatre, he was helping me find my way to where I'd be watching rehearsal.

During my first look at "Singin' in the Rain Sr.," a local production with an all-55+ cast and crew, I learned he and co-founder/director Freddie-Lee Heath had already been doing that for a whole lot of people.

After Mark introduced me to everyone, Freddie-Lee began to get everyone in position for this matinee-focused, 60-minute version of Singin' in the Rain. Within just a few minutes of watching the rehearsal take shape, it was evident that what they’ve built is something everyone up on stage was able to feel.

Even as an observer, I could tell that this group had become tight-knit, and the goal of bringing these 55+ adults (many are much older) together to find "friendship, purpose, and a place to shine" was already a reality.

All that was left was to bring out even more friends and family to join in on the fun.

It may surprise you to know that many of these local performances don’t always get a ton of time to get everything right. I was surprised to hear that they only had 5 weeks of room to rehearse as a group before opening night, which was actually an increase from last year, when they only had 4.

Even with plenty of snacks and water breaks (Freddie-Lee was adamant that nobody was going to be passing out from low blood sugar on his watch) and accounting for people that could not make rehearsal that day, the pace was surprisingly quick.

In just the short hour or two that I was there, I saw the major beats of the performance from start to finish a few times with and without props (mostly the umbrellas). Freddie-Lee kept everyone on target and was patient, dedicated, and thrilled to get this show dialed in for opening night.

During the rehearsal, I stepped back to the lobby to have a chat with Mark again about the upcoming performance. I asked him what he felt was the most important part of this whole production, and he told me:

Even after visiting onsite, I feel that I only captured a fraction of the magic that is going on over at Dancing Man Productions. I saw glimpses of the work going on behind the scenes and it was a reminder that a performance like this is always a team effort.

Co-founder Mark Steward was helping Stage Manager Stephanie Toney with props, Freddie-Lee was directing, Diane Petteway was leading as Music Director from the keyboard, and an entire team of people came in and out while I was there.

There were people recording social media content, practicing the music, reviewing beat counts, and taking measurements for costumes all afternoon.

As I mentioned, tickets are going fast and this limited run can only be witnessed in person, this Thursday through Sunday. If you’d like to come out and support this wonderful performance (tap dancing included), grab your seats down below.

Oh, and if you haven’t been before and need a bit of help like I did at the top, this Raleigh Little Theatre performance takes place just a few blocks away from the NC State main campus off Hillsborough Street.

If you’re in the neighborhood, come check it out!

The story above is not sponsored — but for transparency I was gifted a pair of tickets.

If you’re interested in getting your business, service, or event in front of 16,000+ Triangle locals — get in touch with us.

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