When "Singin' in the Rain" opened Monday night at the Muny, thousands of people in the audience envied the star, Tony Yazbeck.

Partly that was because of his talent as a supple song-and-dance man. Partly it's because he was playing one of the great musical theater roles, Don Lockwood, a likable silent-movie star who makes the transition to talkies with a perky girl-next-door at his side.

But mainly it's because he got to dance in the "rain" that poured down over the Muny set. It looked so refreshing; it's amazing that Yazbeck's big number remained a solo. Plenty of people in the audience would have loved to join him under that inviting spray.

Yazbeck and his co-stars, Shannon M. O'Bryan as the all-American girl who captures Don's heart and Curtis Holbrook as his clever pal Cosmo, establish a warm rapport right away — and like so much in this happy production, their relationship emerges through dance.

Originally written for the screen, "Singin' in the Rain" translates breezily to the stage, full of big numbers that burst with verve and intimate numbers that simmer with feeling.

Kelli Barclay, who choreographed the Muny production, based the dances on the 1952 movie (which was choreographed by the star, Gene Kelly, and Stanley Donen). Yazbeck nails the centerpiece, the title number in which Don hangs from a lamppost, waving his hat as he grins. It's a truly iconic image, encapsulating the joy of both musical theater and of love.

Yazbeck and O'Bryan reveal another face of early love, tender and tentative, in their languid duet "You Were Meant for Me," one of the show's time-tested songs by Nacio Herb Brown and Arthur Freed. Holbrook adds to the comedy with a sharp slapstick performance of "Make 'Em Laugh," and they all bring charm to their big trio, "Good Mornin'."

The large dance ensemble adds a lot of style, right down to the finale in colorful raincoats and umbrellas. Kelly Sheehan steams through her dance duet with Yazbeck as a vamp in a green dress; two young performers, Matthew Howard and Rexford C. Calkins, have a tasty turn as little Don and Cosmo.

Onstage, this show about the movies demands actual film, and these sequences are among the best in the show. Shown on a big on-stage screen, the movies-within-a-play spoof cliches of the silent era that are just as funny today. Watch out for an in-joke that regular Muny-goers will savor.

Michele Ragusa, who plays a glamorous movie star with a perfect voice for silent pictures, has an oddly varied accent but exquisite timing. Laura Ackermann and John Contini play a pair of voice teachers to the hilt. In fact, director Rick Conant stuffs the show with bright, quick character sketches, many enacted by regular Muny performers. Michael Horsley directs the lively orchestra.

On opening night, there were more costume glitches than Muny-goers expect (we expect none). In one scene, Yazbeck's tear-away sleeve tore off his jacket way too soon; O'Bryan entered another scene with her dress wide open in the back; in yet another, Sheehan wore a dress that was too long. But Yazbeck kept dancing, O'Bryan got a hand from Holbrook, who gallantly zipped her up, and Sheehan simply held up her skirt with her hands as she played her part. The show, which must go on, did so with aplomb.

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"Singin' in the Rain"

When 8:15 nightly through Sunday July 24 • Where The Muny in Forest Park • How much $10-$68, plus the free seats • More info 314-534-1111; muny.org