Casey Nicholaw Choreography

[BystanderTim]

Posted: 11/23/18 at 10:34am

This topic has been on my mind for a couple days after watching clips from the prom, but it was really reaffirmed with the macy’s Parade. Do you think Casey Nicholaw’s Choreography is too busy in shows like Mean Girls and The Prom? For those shows, in my opinion, some of the dance moves come across as unnecessary or simply being there to be a “big broadway number.” I say this hesitantly because I really enjoyed Casey’s work in shows like Something Rotten and Book of Mormon, but am ho-hum about Mean Girls and Prom.

[BwayLB]

Posted: 11/23/18 at 10:45am

I haven’t seen Aladdin yet but the tap dancing in Friend Like Me is EPIC. I’m seeing the whole show in March

[BroadwayConcierge]

Posted: 11/23/18 at 11:09am

I don’t think Casey’s given us good, focused choreography since his excellent work in The Book of Mormon. Everything since Mormon has been insane and crazy and “look at us dancing manically in the background even though it’s not relevant to anything that’s happening in the show.” It’s disappointing to see.

[robskynyc]

Posted: 11/23/18 at 12:38pm

BroadwayConcierge said: "I don’t think Casey’s given us good, focused choreography since his excellent work in The Book of Mormon. Everything since Mormon has been insane and crazy and “look at us dancing manically in the background even though it’s not relevant to anything that’s happening in the show.” It’s disappointing to see."

ONE. HUNDRED. PERCENT. as much as i loved prom, there were points where it was this unncessecary dancing frenzy like if i stop dancing im going to die. it was a TAD much. lol but book of mormons choreo is restrained when it needs to be (i am africa), and over the top when its necessary (hasa diga eebowai)

[everythingtaboo]

Posted: 11/23/18 at 1:05pm

Casey Nicholaw choreography leaves me winded just looking at it. There's just way too much of it at any given time! Truth be told, when I went to The Prom, I totally forgot who the creative team was, and didn't even look at my Playbill until afterwards. But as I was watching it, I was like, "Is this Casey Nicholaw? It's way too caffeinated to be anyone else!"

[BystanderTim]

Posted: 11/23/18 at 1:19pm

Even if all his shows are high energy, most of his shows knew when to slow down at points, I.E up to Something Rotten. Mean Girls and by extension: the prom have a, in my opinion, issue with trying to stop the show with every number. High energy choreography can have it’s place if we get it in small doses, but as previously mentioned, I shouldn’t be winded watching a show.

[BroadwayConcierge]

Posted: 11/23/18 at 1:32pm

Oops, I totally forgot about Something Rotten!, which was fabulously choreographed (it doesn't get better than "A Musical" ). So, that's been a good piece of his since Mormon. I was thinking about all the others in my above post (Aladdin, Tuck Everlasting, Mean Girls, The Prom).

Updated On: 11/23/18 at 01:32 PM

[RippedMan]

Posted: 11/23/18 at 3:14pm

I think he over choreographs to hide his lack of direction and design. 

[romain2]

Posted: 11/23/18 at 7:58pm

I personally love The Prom and enjoyed his choreography. The numbers for the older actors especially. But keep in mind I haven’t seen Mean Girls and yes seeing scenes from that show does make me wonder if his work is too similar on those shows. I have seen many of his other shows and I like his energy.

Many current musical productions have this gymnastic, busy quality to the choreography. Dancers seem like they’re going out for the Olympics. Flipping and diving. It’s the Newsies effect it seems. It’s not just Casey’s work. It’s other shows too. I still get a thrill from it though. And I found The Prom delightfully silly in its mania.

[Scarlet Leigh]

Posted: 11/23/18 at 8:29pm

romain2 said: "Many current musical productions have this gymnastic, busy quality to the choreography. Dancers seem like they’re going out for the Olympics. Flipping and diving. It’s the Newsies effect it seems. It’s not just Casey’s work. It’s other shows too. I still get a thrill from it though. And I found The Prom delightfully silly in its mania."

The issue with Nicholaw's more recent shows however is that it's not just about the busy high energy numbers like to many other shows have. It's about to MANY busy high energy numbers as well as forcing one in when the number does not call for it. You bring up a perfect example to compare and contrast with. A show like Newsies is crazy dance heavy in some numbers but then knows when to save those numbers to make them count more and seem even more impressive often with dance breaks. But a good majority of the show actually LACKS dancing and is very focused on the plot. The chorus is never used outside of scene that they do not logically belong in. Meanwhile, on the other hand, you have a show like Tuck Everlasting where the ensemble is shoehorned into numbers at every chance that they could be and often making no logical sense as to why they were there in the first place. The song "Top of the World" instantly comes to mind. It's a duet between two characters in the middle of the forest with no one else around... and here comes a dozen people dancing around the stage below where the focus SHOULD be distracting you and making you wonder, "Why?"

I don't really put Aladdin into the over choreographed category as it's Disney and Disney tends to always go big and flashy. It's pretty much what I expected for Disney's Aladdin. Tuck Everlasting and beyond however often are drowning in dancing and lacking in genuine character or plot development moments.

[BystanderTim]

Posted: 11/23/18 at 8:46pm

Bouncing off of this once again, many of us are referencing in the thread, the genuinely good choreography in Book of Mormon and Something Rotten. Book of Mormon knew when to breath even when keeping the energy high, going into say Making Things Up Again to Spooky Mormon Hell Dream, or in Something Rotten from I love the way to willpower, current Casey seems like he would give the background characters a dance routine in Making Things Up Again, just to make the number “Bigger”. I just wanted to incite discussion on why his choreography style may have gone dry.

[romain2]

Posted: 11/23/18 at 8:49pm

Thanks Scarlet. I simply disagree about The Prom. The show has smaller numbers (like Zazz and others). It also has big ones with the students which make sense in context of a show about kids dancing or getting ready to dance at a Prom. When I go to a show with a plot like The Prom’s, one with larger than life personalities, broad comedy, and people getting to ready to dance, well I expect the kind of choreography he serves up.

Again I haven’t seen Mean Girls. When I watched the Macy’s parade number from MG I did say that’s an awful like The Prom. But to be honest I thought The Prom number made more sense while yes, and it’s hard to judge a number out of context the MG number seemed a bit too busy. He might want to not to do another show about high schoolers for a while since the criticism is growing.

But everything he did in The Prom made sense to me. And I love that silly show. I get the feeling it might not last though despite some decent reviews.

[BwayLB]

Posted: 11/23/18 at 8:51pm

romain2 said: "Thanks Scarlet. I simply disagree about The Prom. The show has smaller numbers (like Zazz and others). It also has big ones with the students which make sense in context of a show about kids dancing or getting ready to dance at a Prom. When I go to a show with a plot like The Prom’s, one with larger than life personalities, broad comedy, and people getting to ready to dance, well I expect the kind of choreography he serves up.

Again I haven’t seen Mean Girls. When I watched the Macy’s parade number from MG I did say that’s an awful like The Prom. But to be honest I thought The Prom number made more sense while yes, and it’s hard to judge a number out of context the MG number seemed a bit too busy. He might want to not to do another show about high schoolers for a while since the criticism is growing.

But everything he did in The Prom made sense to me. And I love that silly show. I get the feeling it might not last though despite some decent reviews. "

Well have you seen Aladdin then?

[romain2]

Posted: 11/23/18 at 9:10pm

In my eyes Book of Mormon, Something Rotten, and The Prom are very different shows. For example, Mormon wasn’t created to be a dance show, despite a couple of big numbers. That show is about the South Park creators’ crude verbal humor. 

I view The Prom as a slightly distant cousin to Hairspray. It’s about kids who want to dance and the adults who either get in their way or join them in the dance. All over a social cause. I understand the complaints. I’m not saying The Prom is a perfect show. It seems to be sprinkling in elements of other shows. Even Dear Evan Hansen with the social media part. It’s a trend follower and not a trend setter, although that same sex kiss was a groundbreaker on the Macy’s Day Parade. But it is a dance show. Many dances are big. But there are smaller numbers too.

As for Something Rotten, I loved the first half but barely remember the second.

But in all 3 cases the choreography suited the material just fine.

I was asked if I have seen Aladdin. No. I have never been interested due to mixed reviews, and hearing the Genie is the only great part. So yes I know this is a hole in my argument, that I haven’t seen Aladdin and Mean Girls. So I trust those who say he’s relying on too many busy tricks. The Prom felt fun and fresh to me though; and the dance numbers felt appropriate in spirit and true to the story it is telling.

Updated On: 11/23/18 at 09:10 PM

[romain2]

Posted: 11/23/18 at 9:20pm

PS and his numbers in The Drowsy Chaperone were also a lot of fun. And different from the other shows I have seen of his. But yes it does sound like he needs to change things up. Although I personally found his work on The Prom delightful.

[JBC3]

Posted: 11/23/18 at 10:22pm

BroadwayConcierge said: "Oops, I totally forgot about Something Rotten!, which was fabulously choreographed (it doesn't get better than "A Musical" )."

It doesn't get better A Musical?

I can't even with this nonsense.

[DiscoCrows]

Posted: 11/24/18 at 12:48pm

Scarlet Leigh said: "romain2 said: "I don't really put Aladdin into the over choreographed category as it's Disney and Disney tends to always go big and flashy. It's pretty much what I expected for Disney's Aladdin. Tuck Everlasting and beyond however often are drowning in dancing and lacking in genuine character or plot development moments."

Just to play devil's advocate though, couldn't one say the same thing about The Prom? The entire point of the show is to represent all the ridiculous stereotypes you can find either in the south, or on a flashy Broadway stage. The entire point of the show is big, flashy, and over-exaggerated. It's literally everything I expected it to be.

[everythingtaboo]

Posted: 11/24/18 at 1:17pm

You know, with Mean Girls and The Prom so fresh in my mind, I totally forgot about when Nicholaw's stuff does work, like Rotten and Drowsy and Mormon. Maybe when it's teenager characters involved he feels the need to "amp it up" because he thinks that's what teenagers will respond to nowadays? Using The Prom as an example, I loved the Fosse number and the simple staging of Brooks jumping around his hotel room. But when it's a group a kids, it's like he thinks all kids drink Red Bull or something. 

[Bwayfan292]

Posted: 11/24/18 at 1:19pm

Tuck everlasting was a hot mess. Every single number was a dance number, every song had the ensemble dancing in some way.

I enjoyed Rotten, I thought the choreography was great! God, I miss that show.

[GreeneStreet]

Posted: 11/24/18 at 1:36pm

The worst offense was the prom in Atlanta. During “You happened” when just Emma and alyssa sung it in the band room storage closet, Casey made the entire ensemble dance this crazy 11 o clock number on the sides of the storage closet.

[BystanderTim]

Posted: 11/24/18 at 2:19pm

The video of "You Happened" and "Tonight belongs to Us." and my overall response to Mean Girls inspired this post. I'm glad that we're atleast appreciating the good work casey has done. And I will say that numbers like "Where do you Belong" in Mean Girls work brilliantly, mostly because Grey Henson hams it up and the bold, high energy choreography works for Damien's numbers.