Scott and Rosie Karlin of Plainsboro, pictured at right, are featured in “Singin’ in the Rain,” a musical presented by Maurer Productions OnStage at Kelsey Theater from Friday, March 28, to Sunday, April 6. Rosie plays the female diction coach, Miss Dinsmore, and Scott plays the unnamed male diction coach. An opening night reception with the cast and crew will be held following the performance on March 28.##M:[more]##
The 1952 MGM film starring Gene Kelly, Donald O’Connor, and Debbie Reynolds offers a backstage look at the transition from silent films to talkies, when actors had to either adapt to new demands — or fade from the big screen. Set against the backdrop of a 1927 Hollywood set, the studio cooks up a scheme to dub in the voice of a starlet for a star with an unpleasant voice who cannot sing or dance.
Both of the characters portrayed by the Karlins also appear in the film. “While these characters don’t actually interact with one another, we are both in several dance numbers together as part of the ensemble,” says Scott. They dance the tango together in “Temptation,” and both appear in “Broadway Melody” and the final reprise of “Singin in the Rain.”
The couple met in California, when they both enrolled in a singing class. They moved to Plainsboro in 1996 so that Scott could attend graduate school at Princeton. “Since Rosie had never lived outside of Southern California, the move was a big leap of faith — as well as a bit of a culture shock,” he says.
Rosie, born and raised in the Los Angeles area, became involved in theater in a grade school production of “Hansel and Gretel” and portrayed Sarah Brown in a high school production of “Guys and Dolls.” An elementary school teacher in California, Rosie has taught music in pre-schools since moving to New Jersey. She is currently on a long-term assignment as a substitute Spanish teacher at Wicoff and Town Center schools. She also leads the Children’s Choir at Queenship of Mary Church.
Dancing most of her adult life, she received most of her training in California. She teaches adult and senior tap dancing at the Dance Corner’s West Windsor and Plainsboro studios.
Since living in New Jersey she has been in productions on “Annie,” “The Sound of Music,” “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat,” “Tom Sawyer,” “Annie Get Your Gun,” “Winnie the Pooh,” and “Emperor’s New Clothes,” mostly at Kelsey and Washington Crossing Open Air theaters.
Although Scott’s father was in the Air Force and moved about the country, Scott spent most of his youth in the Los Angeles area and became involved in high school in a little-known play called, “Out of the Frying Pan.”
His undergraduate degree is in electrical engineering and his graduate degrees are in computer science. He is the manager for computing facilities in the computer science department at Princeton University.
Most of Scott’s training has been on the stage in various shows he has been in. “This has been augmented with several years of tap instruction -including taking various beginner and advanced beginner classes over and over again,” says Scott. “My favorite tap teacher is, of course, Rosie.”
Since living in New Jersey, he has been in performances of “Annie,” “The Sound of Music,” “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat,” “Tom Sawyer,” “Get Your Gun,” “Winnie-the Pooh,” and “Emperor’s New Clothes.”
Their daughter, Molly, an eighth grade student at Community Middle School has already caught the triple threat bug of singing, dancing, and acting from her parents. She has been singing with the Princeton Girlchoir since third grade and danced with Dance Corner and is in rehearsal for its affiliated West Windsor Plainsboro Dance Company’s production of “The Tale of the Little Mermaid.” Last week she played the role of the oldest daughter, Anne, in the Community production of “Cheaper by the Dozen.” Molly has shared the stage with Scott and Rosie in area productions of “Annie,” “Tom Sawyer,” “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat,” and “Annie Get Your Gun.”
“This celebrated family musical is faithfully adapted right down to a live rain storm on the Kelsey stage,” says John Maurer, director of the production and a former West Windsor resident.
—Lynn Miller
Singin’ in the Rain, Kelsey Theater, Mercer County Community College, 1200 Old Trenton Road, 609-570-3333. www.kelseytheatre.net Family musical adapted from the screenplay presented by Maurer Productions OnStage. Through April 6. Opening night reception with cast and crew follows performance. $16. Friday, March 28, to Sunday, April 6.
