Character guide
Lina Lamont
from Singin' in the Rain
Lina Lamont is the vain, squawky-voiced silent film star whose comic downfall drives much of the plot in Singin' in the Rain, the 1985 Broadway musical set to Nacio Herb Brown's songs.
- Show
- Singin' in the Rain
- Broadway premiere
- 1985
- Role
- Supporting
- Music by
- Nacio Herb Brown
Lina Lamont: from the film to Broadway
Broadway compared with the 1952 film
Lina Lamont earned Jean Hagen an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actress for the 1952 film. The joke of the character is her grating, high-pitched voice, yet in the scene where Kathy is shown recording Lina's dialogue, the filmmakers used Hagen's own natural speaking voice, which Stanley Donen preferred to Debbie Reynolds'.
On stage, Sarah Payne played Lina in the 1983 London Palladium premiere and returned to the role in later London productions. Faye Grant originated Lina on Broadway in 1985, and Katherine Kingsley played her in the 2011 Chichester revival and its 2012 West End transfer.
Who is Lina Lamont?
Lina is a glamorous silent-era movie queen who has built her fame on looks and studio publicity rather than genuine talent. When talking pictures arrive and audiences finally hear her grating voice, her carefully constructed image begins to crumble, creating both the show's funniest moments and its central conflict.
She believes herself to be a great star and a natural match for her leading man, Don Lockwood, and her refusal to accept reality fuels much of the show's comic tension.
Lina's role in Singin' in the Rain
Lina is a supporting role, but one of the show's juiciest comic parts. It calls for a performer willing to commit fully to an exaggerated voice and larger-than-life diva behavior without ever losing the character's underlying insecurity. Precise comic timing matters more here than vocal range.
Because the role is so broadly theatrical, it tends to attract performers who relish playing an unapologetic, scene-stealing antagonist.
Why Lina resonates with audiences
Lina works as a satire of manufactured celebrity, and her voice becomes a running gag that lands with nearly every audience. There is also something sympathetic underneath the comedy: a performer whose world is changing faster than she can adapt, which gives the role a surprising bit of depth beneath the laughs.
Lina Lamont: frequently asked questions
What show is Lina Lamont from?
Lina Lamont is a character in Singin' in the Rain, the 1985 Broadway musical based on the classic MGM film.
Is Lina Lamont a lead or supporting role?
Lina is a supporting role, serving as the show's comic antagonist opposite leading man Don Lockwood.
Who wrote the music for Singin' in the Rain?
The score is credited to composer Nacio Herb Brown, adapted from the original film's classic songs.
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