The all-singing, all-dancing spectacular Singing in the Rain shows no sign of putting away its umbrellas any time soon, as it extends through Junet 2013. The production first premiered at Chichester Festival Theatre in 2011 before transferring to the West End on 4 February 2012. It has proven to be a hit with audiences and critics alike, earning a slew of four- and five-star reviews.

Along with this announcement, Robert Powell has been named to join the cast of Singing in the Rain from 1 October. He is perhaps best known for his appearance as the title role in Franco Zeffirelli’s epic television miniseries Jesus of Nazareth. He also played Mark Williams on the BBC series Holby City for six years and Richard Hannoy in the television adaptation of The 39 Steps. His many theatre credits include Travesties, Tovarich, Kind Hearts and Coronets, Double Double, A Question of Attribution, and Jeffrey Bernard is Unwell. In Singing in the Rain, he will play the role of RF Simpson, the Head of Monumental Pictures left scrambling to come up with a plan when his competitors invent talking pictures.

He joins original cast members Adam Cooper (Don Lockwood), Scarlett Strallen (Kathy Selden), Daniel Crossley (Cosmo Brown), and Katherine Kingsley (Lina Lamont). The production is directed by Jonathan Church, with choreography by Andrew Wright, designs by Simon Higlitt, and lighting by Tim Mitchell. Based on the classic MGM film, the musical features songs by Nacio Herb Brown and Arthur Freed and the book was adapted by Betty Comden and Adolph Green from their original screenplay. It is one of Chichester Festival Theatre’s most recent hits in the West End, with Sweeney Todd and South Downs/Browning Version recently making London appearances, and transfers of Kiss Me, Kate to the Old Vic and Goodnight Mister Tom to the Phoenix Theatre announced for this autumn.