HOW TO DANCE IN OHIO Opening Night Critics’ Reviews

[jacobsnchz14]

Posted: 12/8/23 at 8:37am

Opening on Sunday, December 10, and based on the Peabody-award-winning HBO documentary, How to Dance in Ohio is a heart-filled new musical exploring the need to connect and the courage it takes to step out into the world. At a group counseling center in Columbus, Ohio, seven autistic young adults prepare for a spring formal dance–a rite of passage that breaks open their routines and sets off hilarious and heartbreaking encounters with love, stress, excitement, and independence. How to Dance in Ohio is a story about people standing on the cusp of the next phase of their lives, facing their hopes and fears, ready to make a very big first move…and dance.

[BETTY22]

Posted: 12/8/23 at 8:43am

With critics coming the next few days, they are giving away tickets to make the house feel full.

 

[dramamama611]

Posted: 12/8/23 at 10:37am

Haven't they been heavily papering all thru previews?   

[amiyagi]

Posted: 12/8/23 at 10:45am

$50 for every unsold seat day of performance until the end of the year. 

Good for them trying to get people in the door but...yikes. This isn't going to run long. 

[emlo99]

Posted: 12/8/23 at 11:38am

$50?!

I’d go again for 15.

 

[BoringBoredBoard40]

Posted: 12/8/23 at 12:19pm

BETTY22 said: "With critics coming the next few days, they are giving away tickets to make the house feel full.

"

most shows do this now on and off broadway, stop being dramatic 

[dramamama611]

Posted: 12/8/23 at 12:21pm

Gee, a simple statement is being dramatic?  Just because SOME shows have to do it, doesn't mean it can't be mentioned.

[KevinKlawitter]

Posted: 12/8/23 at 3:11pm

It's not a review, but Kobi Kassal's new article in Theately about the show is very positive, calling the show "endearing" and praising the music.

[CoffeeBreak]

Posted: 12/8/23 at 4:02pm

dramamama611 said: "Haven't they been heavily papering all thru previews?"

Yes.

 

[Robbie2]

Posted: 12/8/23 at 4:18pm

BoringBoredBoard40 said: "BETTY22 said: "With critics coming the next few days, they are giving away tickets to make the house feel full.

"

most shows do this now on and off broadway, stop being dramatic

 

Harmony is still doing but this will be gone by the new year freeing up the Belasco for the spring.

Updated On: 12/8/23 at 04:18 PM

[JaglinSays]

Posted: 12/8/23 at 11:52pm

This show is a perfect example of “nice is different than good.”  However well-intentioned, the show is simply not good enough. Too much emphasis on “representation,” not enough on quality or craft. 

[HunterK]

Posted: 12/9/23 at 11:44am

JaglinSays said: "This show is aperfectexample of “nice is different than good.” However well-intentioned, the show is simply not good enough. Too much emphasis on “representation,” not enough on quality or craft."

Are we expecting a bunch of "nice" reviews instead of what the critics truly think? I have multiple audience members (even while leaving the theatre) asking this question. Especially Jesse Green, The Post and a few others that usually get very technically or just "picky"? 

[JasonC3]

Posted: 12/9/23 at 11:59am

I think it is possible for thoughtful critics to commend the intention, be positive about what works, and offer constructive feedback on where things fell short.

[anthony84]

Posted: 12/9/23 at 12:44pm

Updated On: 12/9/23 at 12:44 PM

[jacobsnchz14]

Posted: 12/10/23 at 10:32am

Wishing the best to everyone involved for tonight’s opening. They deserve to find their audience and I hope some good reviews help them. 

[bwayphreak234]

Posted: 12/10/23 at 10:35am

JaglinSays said: "This show is a perfect example of “nice is different than good.” However well-intentioned, the show is simply not good enough. Too much emphasis on “representation,” not enough on quality or craft."

THIS. THIS. THIS. I said something similar in my post on the previews thread after seeing this show yesterday... While the representation and themes in the show are great, that does not immediately equate an inherently good show or give the show a free pass from being critically analyzed.

[Jonathan Cohen]

Posted: 12/10/23 at 2:48pm

bwayphreak234 said: " While the representation and themes in the show are great, that does not immediately equate an inherently good show or give the show a free pass from being critically analyzed."

I think it's also a question of representation of what? I've seen both the documentary and musical and didn't think the musical did a great job representing the challenges and personalities of the three young women who were the center of the doc. 

For example, in the documentary, for the most part, people in the program weren't able to ask each other out, without the therapist taking them both aside and basically feeding them lines. Having the kids in the musical able to ask each other out unsupervised, I thought minimized what a huge hurdle the dance represented to the group.

Also in the musical, I thought the kids were more upbeat compared to the doc, where many of the people were considerably more frustrated, argumentative and less empathetic because of issues reading other people. 

I'm not saying people with autism can't be cute and cuddly, I have a two-year-old daughter with autism who is exactly that. However, I wasn't recognizing the individuals profiled in the documentary in the tone of the musical.   

[EDSOSLO858]

Posted: 12/10/23 at 2:55pm

I also found more of a chemistry between the seven young adults compared to the movie. They want to socialize with each other (except maybe Marideth), but they don’t quite know how. 

[emlo99]

Posted: 12/10/23 at 3:20pm

I only found three out of the seven autistic actors to be three-dimensional. I don't know if that's because they're better at acting or if the writing serves their stories better, but Imani Russell, Liam Pearce, and Conor Tague added depth to their characters I didnt see in the others. I do think perhaps the girls were just not written as well? The frustration and fear we see in the documentary is watered down into worrying if a boy likes them or not.

[BroadwayRox3588]

Posted: 12/10/23 at 4:19pm

I hope this show does well. I saw it this past week, and absolutely adored it.

[Bill Snibson]

Posted: 12/10/23 at 4:31pm

What time should we expect reviews to start rolling in?

[BETTY22]

Posted: 12/10/23 at 5:54pm

I love that tonights red carpet press has been given instructions on how to talk to people they are interviewing.

Plus, photographers have been told 'no shouting.'

Together, we are all learning. 

[Springtime]

Posted: 12/10/23 at 8:42pm

9pm

[TaffyDavenport]

Posted: 12/10/23 at 8:46pm

4/5 stars from Time Out:

https://www.timeout.com/newyork/theater/how-to-dance-in-ohio-broadway-review-musical-autism

"Directed with sensitivity by Sammi Cannold, How to Dance in Ohio is an underdog itself: a modest production of an original musical that originated in Syracuse, New York, and—like another sincerely inspirational audience-pleaser, Come From Away—rose on its own merits, without big stars, hit songs or well-known pop-culture IP.  “Going places / I am going places / There are places I need to be,” sing the actors in the opening number. “But most of the spaces / That I want to get to / Were not designed for me.” Whether it was designed for them or not, they’ve made their own space on Broadway now, and proved that they belong."

Updated On: 12/10/23 at 08:46 PM

[Dylan Smith4]

Posted: 12/10/23 at 9:06pm

Here's NYT

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/12/10/theater/how-to-dance-in-ohio-review.html