THEATER BEAT : Having Fun While ‘Singin’ in the Rain’

Maybe someday a director will do something startlingly new with the stage version of “Singin’ in the Rain.” Until then, because audiences expect it, it will go on trying to look as much like the film version as possible.

So it goes at Civic Light Opera of South Bay Cities, which finds more than the show’s usual ration of fun at Aviation Park Auditorium. There’s the advantage of Irv Kimber’s musical direction, bright and rich, and sounding very much like a Broadway pit band. Kimber gives fine support to the vocalists.

Director and choreographer Jon Engstrom, mostly working from the original by Gene Kelly and Stanley Donen, knows what makes musical comedy breathe--there’s not a dull moment.

Engstrom has cast the show impeccably, particularly Brad Aspel as Cosmo Brown and Leslie Becker as Kathy Selden. Aspel’s buoyant good humor and energy are boundless, and Becker’s charm and zest are just right for the novice starlet. Michael Guarnera is right on target as Don Lockwood, and would probably be even better if he didn’t have to flash that Kelly smile every other minute. All three are outstanding vocally and dance up a storm.

Gregory Scott Jones stands out as the Production Singer who does “Beautiful Girl,” and Jill Matson’s finely honed, screechy Lina Lamont gets laughs Lina usually doesn’t get.

If only the spray nozzles that provide the rain for the title number weren’t visible at the top of the proscenium, if only the sound system hadn’t deleted some of Guarnera’s lyrics, there would be nothing to complain of in this staging.

* “Singin’ in the Rain,” Aviation Park Auditorium, Manhattan Beach and Aviation boulevards, Redondo Beach. Friday-Sunday, 8 p.m.; Saturday-Sunday, 2 p.m. Ends Sunday. $18.50-$27.50; (310) 372-4477. Running time: 2 hours, 30 minutes.