HOW TO DANCE IN OHIO from Jacob Yandura & Rebekah Greer Melocik sets Broadway premiere

[KevinKlawitter]

Posted: 7/20/23 at 9:11am

Previews begin at the Belasco on November 15 ahead of December 10 opening

[jkcohen626]

Posted: 7/20/23 at 9:46am

This is so exciting! Can't wait to see it! 

[ErmengardeStopSniveling]

Posted: 7/20/23 at 9:52am

Excited to see this. Anyone see it at Syracuse Stage?

Always interesting when conversations surrounding autism come up in the entertainment industry, as so many of our most prominent figures are on the spectrum (diagnosed or not). It might be the most populated area of diversity after LGBTQ+ folks, yet it isn't talked about because of the stigma.

That press release & website are trying REALLY hard to stress the representation/consulting elements to cover their bases of any controversy.

Updated On: 7/20/23 at 09:52 AM

[quizking101]

Posted: 7/20/23 at 9:56am

This definitely seems like one of those out-of-left-field transfers that wasn’t on anyone’s radar.

The premise seems very interesting and I’m definitely going to see it. I just wonder how commercially viable it will be. 

[n2nbaby]

Posted: 7/20/23 at 10:01am

I saw this at Syracuse Stage, where it didn’t play for very long because of Covid issues within the cast. 

I am so mixed on this coming to Broadway. It was perfectly fine and cute, but also needed a lot of work. It’s INCREDIBLY overlong, most songs are forgettable and is just “cute.” I would compare it to something like Trevor. 

I hope they did the work, because it is an important subject matter, which Broadway desperately needs. But it DESPERATELY needs a lot of work as well. NY critics will tear it apart if they didn’t and the Belasco ain’t a tiny theatre. 

[n2nbaby]

Posted: 7/20/23 at 10:09am

Also worthy to note: this is now the second production since that pandemic that premiered at Syracuse Stage that has gone on to Broadway (the first being Thoughts of a Colored Man).

[MayAudraBlessYou2]

Posted: 7/20/23 at 10:21am

Not out of left field at all. This musical has been doing workshops in midtown on and off for more than a year. With the express goal of getting it ready for Broadway. So I expect some significant re-tooling has gone into this since Syracuse Stage, given all the rehearsal/tinkering time they've put into it.

It could be a challenge to make this commercially viable on Broadway, but they've certainly put in plenty of work to make it the best it can be.

[jkcohen626]

Posted: 7/20/23 at 10:30am

Was also pretty public information that it was transferring as it's been on the Broadway in Bryant Park schedule for over a month now. 

[n2nbaby]

Posted: 7/20/23 at 10:33am

MayAudraBlessYou2 said: "Not out of left field at all. This musical has been doing workshops in midtown on and off for more than a year. With the express goal of getting it ready for Broadway. So I expect some significant re-tooling has gone into this since Syracuse Stage, given all the rehearsal/tinkering time they've put into it.

It could be a challenge to make this commercially viable on Broadway, but they've certainly put in plenty of work to make it the best it can be."

And I truly hope they did! The cast is great, they just needed better material. 

[theatregoer3]

Posted: 7/20/23 at 11:00am

I'm very excited about this. If anything, this can open the door for greater diversity on Broadway not just in terms of cast but in terms of the stories that are told.

[pethian]

Posted: 7/20/23 at 11:34am

Good for them. Meanwhile, if the rumors about Days of Wine and Roses at the Lyceum are true, we've got six new musicals already in the '23-'24 season, five of which have original scores (and three of them begin with the letter 'H'.) This also assumes Gutenberg is considered a revival, otherwise we have seven.

Updated On: 7/20/23 at 11:34 AM

[jkcohen626]

Posted: 7/20/23 at 11:47am

And this season is only going to get more packed. The Notebook is definitely coming, Here We Are (another H) is likely al well, Lempicka and Suffs are still trying, and there could be some curveballs too! Plus there are so many revivals trying to come in. It's gonna be a crazy crazy season. 

[pethian]

Posted: 7/20/23 at 12:06pm

jkcohen626 said: "And this season is only going to get more packed. The Notebook is definitely coming, Here We Are (another H) is likely al well, Lempicka and Suffs are still trying, and there could be some curveballs too! Plus there are so many revivals trying to come in. It's gonna be a crazy crazy season."

Ha! Yes, a fourth H-show. And the second show to begin with the word 'Here'.

[Sutton Ross]

Posted: 7/20/23 at 12:08pm

I am so mixed on this coming to Broadway. It was perfectly fine and cute, but also needed a lot of work. It’s INCREDIBLY overlong, most songs are forgettable and is just “cute.” I would compare it to something like Trevor. 

That's exactly how I felt seeing it. Cute, serviceable, but not ready for anything bigger. Hopefully with all the retooling they have been doing over the last year has vastly improved it. This is a great story, it just needed something more. Congratulations to all involved! 

[jkcohen626]

Posted: 7/20/23 at 12:12pm

pethian said: "jkcohen626 said: "And this season is only going to get more packed. The Notebook is definitely coming, Here We Are (another H) is likely al well, Lempicka and Suffs are still trying, and there could be some curveballs too! Plus there are so many revivals trying to come in. It's gonna be a crazy crazy season."

Ha! Yes, a fourth H-show. And the second show to begin with the word 'Here'."

How long before someone trying to attend he disco musical about Filipino dictators ends up at the Sondheim about eating dinner (or vice versa)?

[slow_the_rain]

Posted: 7/20/23 at 1:26pm

Not being facetious here: Can someone explain the Sammi Cannold appeal to me? Having seen her Evita at City Center, plus clips of just about everything else she's had her hand in in the past 5 years, I've yet to see anything that makes a case for her ascension to the top echelon of the theatrical directing world at such a young age. As her mother is a producer, the #1 thing I can see working in her favor is nepotism.

The dramaturgy and respect for the material seems to always be there, but the final staged product doesn't come off as groundbreaking or even unique. If someone can make an argument for her work, I'd love to hear it, because everything I've seen has left me scratching my head.

[Hey, Zelda!]

Posted: 7/20/23 at 1:48pm

Food for thought: If JRB's eulogy was right, this is probably one of the last new musicals (if not the last) Hal Prince was involved with in some way.

Updated On: 7/20/23 at 01:48 PM

[Voter]

Posted: 7/20/23 at 1:57pm

slow_the_rain said: "Not being facetious here: Can someone explain the Sammi Cannold appeal to me? Having seen her Evita at City Center, plus clips of just about everything else she's had her hand in in the past 5 years, I've yet to see anything that makes a case for her ascension to the top echelon of the theatrical directing world at such a young age. As her mother is a producer, the #1 thing I can see working in her favor is nepotism.

The dramaturgy and respect for the material seems to always be there, but the final staged product doesn't come off as groundbreaking or even unique. If someone can make an argument for her work, I'd love to hear it, because everything I've seen has left me scratching my head."

 

"Cannold comes from a theater family, which may explain some, but not all, of her early ability to actualize stories, which is what directors do. Her father, Mitchell Cannold is primarily known as a producer of documentary films, and her mother, Dori Berinstein, is a Broadway producer."

(https://www.backstage.com/magazine/article/sammi-connold-director-new-york-theatre-workshop-advice-70088/)

Edit: Sorry, didn't see the last sentence! But to agree-- I see nothing but nepotism that has led to opportunity after opportunity

Updated On: 7/20/23 at 01:57 PM

[RippedMan]

Posted: 7/20/23 at 2:02pm

So Nepotism and connections. 

[ErmengardeStopSniveling]

Posted: 7/20/23 at 2:32pm

FWIW, Dori has not produced any of the shows Sammi has directed. Yes, she's had doors opened, but (as with Ben Platt and others), she wouldn't continue working if people didn't see merit in her talent. And as far as successful producers are concerned, Dori's accomplishments are minimal.

She probably presents herself well in a pitch meeting. As we've discussed with Schelle Williams, it's easier to project potential onto someone who doesn't have a huge body of directing work.

She's also a young female director who has worked on a larger scale, and that's a perspective that's not all that common these days.

[RippedMan]

Posted: 7/20/23 at 5:50pm

This feels like a cross between Dear Evan Hansen and The Prom. I really don’t like that modern nasal vocal that is so common these days. 

[n2nbaby]

Posted: 7/20/23 at 8:49pm

I would say it may be compared to The Prom, just because of the basic plot but it absolutely has none of Dear Evan Hansen in its DNA. 

[DiscoCrows]

Posted: 7/20/23 at 11:38pm

n2nbaby said: "I would say it may be compared to The Prom, just because of the basic plot but it absolutely has none of Dear Evan Hansen in its DNA."

Coincidentally, Dori was a lead producer of The Prom.

[RippedMan]

Posted: 7/21/23 at 7:22am

n2nbaby said: "I would say it may be compared to The Prom, just because of the basic plot but it absolutely has none of Dear Evan Hansen in its DNA."

For sure I just mean the look and sound seem to be in line with it. But that could probably be said for any modern musical about teens. 

[chrishuyen]

Posted: 7/21/23 at 11:27am

I'm sure the producers are hoping it succeeds, and I love that there are more neurodivergent stories being represented on Broadway, but does this seem like a move that was made so they could market it better to regional theaters?  I haven't seen the show, but from the clips that are online I agree that it feels "cute".