A summer rain is almost always welcome in Kansas and none could be more welcome than the shower that is dancing across Century II's Concert Hall stage in "Singin' in the Rain."

In Music Theatre of Wichita's finale presentation of its 21st season, which opened Wednesday, the company of 71 performers came together in a happy, heart-warming show packed with show tunes and tap dancing. The stage production of "Singing' in the Rain," which debuted in London in 1983, is based on the classic 1952 MGM movie starring Gene Kelly, Donald O'Connor, Debbie Reynolds, Jean Hagen and Cyd Charisse.

The story is set in Hollywood in 1927 as the fledging motion picture industry faces the challenge of talkies. As the show opens, Don Lockwood, played by Michael Gruber, and Lina Lamont, played by Heidi Karol Johnson, have just made another of their blockbuster silent movies. As the story and talking pictures unfold, studio moguls have to come to grips with Lamont's harsher-than-a-fishwife's voice and demeanor.

As Lockwood, Gruber has the steps immortalized by Gene Kelly down pat. From the opening vaudeville schtick to the brilliant dance in the rain to the lush contemporary "Broadway Melody," Gruber moves every part of his body with that Kelly grace. There's the Kelly lilt of the shoulder, the lingering pause of the foot, the giddy twirl around the lamppost in the rain.

Randy Rogel, as Cosmo Brown, Lockwood's sidekick, proves he is no second banana. His flawless comic timing and fancy footwork with his partner, a cloth dummy, were dazzling in "Make 'Em Laugh." They flipped and flopped unflappably as he scaled a trompe l'oeil flat and crashed through a brick wall. The Wichita production of "Singin' " is one of three Rogel has appeared in this summer. His curtain call brought the opening-night audience to its feet in a burst felt throughout the hall: YES!

Playing the hopeful Kathy Selden, Karyn Quackenbush settles in to her role, finishing strongly. She's at her best when she teams with Gruber and Rogel in the zesty "Good Mornin' ." After talking "the whole night through," the trio launches into a song-and-dance routine in the best tradition of Hollywood musicals. Her voice is strong lyrically in "You Are My Lucky Star."

Johnson's raspy voice and mean-spirited character border on the overdrawn, as she sees her star descend.

The cast moves comfortably through 20 scene changes, surely a record for a MTW production. And the sets are spectacular, from the deft lighting touches that evoke the sun setting on the "HOLLYWOODLAND" to the audience-pleasing "Singin' in the Rain" which closes the first act. The reality of the rain shower on Kathy's street comes alive as Lockwood dances under the burst from a downspout and then wistfully leaps in the best Gene Kelly manner to swing from the lamppost.

Like the musical genre on which "Singin' in the Rain" is based, a few song and dance numbers including the snappy red-and-yellow finale seem to come out of nowhere. But who would want to give up a charming "The Wedding of the Painted Doll," performed by the Tiny Tappers and Talented Teens, some 20 kids dressed up like toys, dolls, flowers and animals? Especially beguiling at the opening performance was the tiny magic wand-wielding princess whose lack of timing was overshadowed by her giant smile.

"Singin' in the Rain" is the pot of gold at the end of MTW's season.