#1
Posted: 4/21/06 at 11:01am
Spoilers
After reading the scathing reviews of its initial run in Washington DC, I immediately bought a ticket to the first preview of Hot Feet, which had its NY debut last night at the Hilton Theater. Despite the shows flaws (and yes, there are many), I still enjoyed myself. No, it's not the best theater, but was it entertaining? Yes.
Let's start with the bad.
The book. A young girl Kalimba, wants so badly to be a famous dancer. She cuts school to audition for Mr. Serpentine's dance company and gets a part in the chorus. The current star, Naomi, is getting old and Kalimba eventually replaces her as the star of the dance company. Kalimba falls in love with Anthony, the choreographer, while the owner of the company, Victor, is falling in love with Kalimba. Kalimba's mother, who used to be a dancer herself, is against Kalimba's dream to become a dancer because only one in a million actually get a big break. Then there is this side story with the devil, Louie, who has Kalimba sell her soul to him in exchange for her becoming a famous dancer. Louie makes a deal with Victor, who already sold his soul to Louie, but the result is fatal. After Kalimba dances the "Hot Feet Ballet," while wearing the enchanted red shoes, instead of Louie taking her soul away from her, he takes her life and Kalimba dies upon completion of the ballet. That is a very abridged version of the book, and yes, it is as awful as it sounds.
The costumes were also awful. At the beginning, the ensemble was wearing multi-colored pants and shirts that are torn. During a scene with a city backdrop in the sunset, four people were wearing skin-tight body suits that blended in with the backdrop. Hideous. At one point, they were all wearing ripped leather pants and random tight shirts that showed a lot of skin. Some of the women had nude-colored tops with pasties on the breasts and some of the men were wearing what looked like random red pieces of cloth that barely covered their chests. And yes, all of the ensemble members are in excellent shape. In the beginning of Act 2, during the airplane dance sequence, they were all wearing silver suits and airplane goggles. Hilarious.
The acting wasn't top notch either. I think most of these people were picked to be in this show due to their extensive background in dance, not their amazing acting skills. But honestly, with the horrible book, no one could really deliver these lines and make them sound believable.
The good.
The music. I was totally unfamiliar with Earth, Wind and Fire before last night, but I found myself tapping my foot most of the show. I really enjoyed the music. Hardly any of the actors on stage did any of the singing though, since most of the singing was done backstage (assuming it wasn't prerecorded).
The dancing. Excellent. For the most part, I enjoyed Maurice Hines' choreography. The opening audition number was excellent, as was Kalimba and Anthony's dance at the end of Act 1 and the entire Hot Feet Ballet. The dancers up on that stage are all amazingly talented and looked like they were having so much fun.
Allen Hidalgo as Louie (the devil) was a bit over the top with his line delivery, but was definitely funny. Some of the lines he had were just so awful. Samanatha Pollino as Emma really doesn't know how to act yet, but she is still very young (probably under 10). Her part in the show was also pointless. Keith David as Victor was ok. He flubbed a couple of lines in Act 1, but caught himself...and his song in Act 2 when he was seducing Kalimba was very funny (probably for the wrong reasons though). Wynonna Smith as Naomi was very funny (again probably for the wrong reasons). Her dancing wasn't the best but she definitely delivered the lines to the audience for laughs (and they totally ate it up). Michael Balderrama as Anthony was excellent. He is am amazing dancer and was the best actor of the bunch. Ann Duquesnay (Tony winner for Bring in Da Noise...) was good. Her part wasn't huge but she has a good singing voice and made the most of her underwritten part. I enjoyed her acting in the scene she has with Keith David in Act 2. Vivan Nixon as Kalimba was fantastic. She is a brilliant dancer, is gorgeous, and has amazing stage presence...it is hard to keep your eyes off of her when she is on stage (which is for the majority of the show). For those of you who don't know, Vivian Nixon is Debbie Allen's daughter...and well deserving of the lead in a dance show.
I also stage doored after the show. The entire cast was extremely nice and all willing to sign. I got to meet Maurice Hines, who signed my playbill and my Bring Back Birdie poster. My congratulations to all the excellent dancers up there on stage. While not the best Broadway show overall, the dancing in Hot Feet was wonderful and I'm glad I got to see it live and from the front row.
After reading the scathing reviews of its initial run in Washington DC, I immediately bought a ticket to the first preview of Hot Feet, which had its NY debut last night at the Hilton Theater. Despite the shows flaws (and yes, there are many), I still enjoyed myself. No, it's not the best theater, but was it entertaining? Yes.
Let's start with the bad.
The book. A young girl Kalimba, wants so badly to be a famous dancer. She cuts school to audition for Mr. Serpentine's dance company and gets a part in the chorus. The current star, Naomi, is getting old and Kalimba eventually replaces her as the star of the dance company. Kalimba falls in love with Anthony, the choreographer, while the owner of the company, Victor, is falling in love with Kalimba. Kalimba's mother, who used to be a dancer herself, is against Kalimba's dream to become a dancer because only one in a million actually get a big break. Then there is this side story with the devil, Louie, who has Kalimba sell her soul to him in exchange for her becoming a famous dancer. Louie makes a deal with Victor, who already sold his soul to Louie, but the result is fatal. After Kalimba dances the "Hot Feet Ballet," while wearing the enchanted red shoes, instead of Louie taking her soul away from her, he takes her life and Kalimba dies upon completion of the ballet. That is a very abridged version of the book, and yes, it is as awful as it sounds.
The costumes were also awful. At the beginning, the ensemble was wearing multi-colored pants and shirts that are torn. During a scene with a city backdrop in the sunset, four people were wearing skin-tight body suits that blended in with the backdrop. Hideous. At one point, they were all wearing ripped leather pants and random tight shirts that showed a lot of skin. Some of the women had nude-colored tops with pasties on the breasts and some of the men were wearing what looked like random red pieces of cloth that barely covered their chests. And yes, all of the ensemble members are in excellent shape. In the beginning of Act 2, during the airplane dance sequence, they were all wearing silver suits and airplane goggles. Hilarious.
The acting wasn't top notch either. I think most of these people were picked to be in this show due to their extensive background in dance, not their amazing acting skills. But honestly, with the horrible book, no one could really deliver these lines and make them sound believable.
The good.
The music. I was totally unfamiliar with Earth, Wind and Fire before last night, but I found myself tapping my foot most of the show. I really enjoyed the music. Hardly any of the actors on stage did any of the singing though, since most of the singing was done backstage (assuming it wasn't prerecorded).
The dancing. Excellent. For the most part, I enjoyed Maurice Hines' choreography. The opening audition number was excellent, as was Kalimba and Anthony's dance at the end of Act 1 and the entire Hot Feet Ballet. The dancers up on that stage are all amazingly talented and looked like they were having so much fun.
Allen Hidalgo as Louie (the devil) was a bit over the top with his line delivery, but was definitely funny. Some of the lines he had were just so awful. Samanatha Pollino as Emma really doesn't know how to act yet, but she is still very young (probably under 10). Her part in the show was also pointless. Keith David as Victor was ok. He flubbed a couple of lines in Act 1, but caught himself...and his song in Act 2 when he was seducing Kalimba was very funny (probably for the wrong reasons though). Wynonna Smith as Naomi was very funny (again probably for the wrong reasons). Her dancing wasn't the best but she definitely delivered the lines to the audience for laughs (and they totally ate it up). Michael Balderrama as Anthony was excellent. He is am amazing dancer and was the best actor of the bunch. Ann Duquesnay (Tony winner for Bring in Da Noise...) was good. Her part wasn't huge but she has a good singing voice and made the most of her underwritten part. I enjoyed her acting in the scene she has with Keith David in Act 2. Vivan Nixon as Kalimba was fantastic. She is a brilliant dancer, is gorgeous, and has amazing stage presence...it is hard to keep your eyes off of her when she is on stage (which is for the majority of the show). For those of you who don't know, Vivian Nixon is Debbie Allen's daughter...and well deserving of the lead in a dance show.
I also stage doored after the show. The entire cast was extremely nice and all willing to sign. I got to meet Maurice Hines, who signed my playbill and my Bring Back Birdie poster. My congratulations to all the excellent dancers up there on stage. While not the best Broadway show overall, the dancing in Hot Feet was wonderful and I'm glad I got to see it live and from the front row.
Updated On: 4/21/06 at 11:01 AM
