Michael Berresse

[Princeton78]

Posted: 8/20/04 at 11:53am

Ok, so this guy was one of the most talented performers I have seen. A true triple threat as especially evidenced in "Kiss Me Kate," "Chicago," and "Fascinating Rhythm." Anyone have any idea where he went? Someone needs to get him back to Broadway. OK, and I'll admit it, he was really hunky also. Anyone notice he managed to bare his chest in almost every show he was in? (Chicago, KMK, Fascinating, Joseph, Damn Yankees)

[NBC]

Posted: 8/20/04 at 12:16pm

He's directing and choreographing one of the New York Musical Theatre Festival shows, called [title of show].

(That's actually the title.)


New York Musical Theatre Festival

[IssaMe]

Posted: 10/9/04 at 4:23pm

The first week of November, Michael will be appearing the New York workshop of "The Studio" - a 90 minute play with dance ....written, directed, and choreographed by Christopher d'Amboise. Three person cast - Berresse, Nadine Isenegger, and Torn Nelis.

[IssaMe]

Posted: 11/6/04 at 8:51am

The workshop performances of "The Studio" were terrific - particularly Michael. It was certainly worth my flying in from London to see.

A story told mainly in dance - it is about a choreographer of modern dance who after the premiere some years before of his new ballet based on the classic "Rite of Spring" disappears from public life. He is eccentric at best --- at this premiere he refused to allow the curtain to go up and made the dance company perform the entire ballet behind the curtain with the audience on the other side of it unable to see it. That was his end at the dance company and the end of his career.

Living in seclusion, this wild and often abusive man (think Jerome Robbins gone underground) hires the star of his "Rite of Spring" - a dancer played by Berresse...and couples him with a young woman dancer in order to break his creative block by putting together a new dance piece using the two dancers as his experimental raw material.

The two young dancers have an affair of sorts (he is bisexual and she is unsure of herself)...and the story is basically the interaction among the three of them, onstage and off.

Michael is onstage for almost the entire hour-forty minutes (no intermission) and frankly, he has never been better. He really gets to show his acting chops and dancing prowess...with tons of personality to spare. And has never looked better.

Some of the dance moves are interesting and innovative...the story is a bit sketchy and cliched at times. Music is basic classical and modern dance music - and not a Broadway type score.

Building up to a spectacular dance finish, perhaps the absence of the effects planned for the full stage production led to a bit of a let-down! She danced her freedom and emancipation in a solo--- and it came off a bit like Jules Feiffer's annual cartoon of a stick-figure woman jumping around in "A Dance to Spring". A bit more choreographic thought might make this part work. The previous choreography in the piece was much more engrossing.

Despite the platinum status of the theatrical producers involved, this still felt a bit more like material for a film than stage....along the lines of Altman's recent dance film "The Company" - speaking of which Neve Campbell's actor brother Christian Campbell was in attendance at one of the performances of the workshop. Plenty of other stage stars came to see it as well.

Anyway, the workshop was quite worthwhile and, above all, was a reminder that it would be really nice to see Michael back on Broadway REAL soon!



Updated On: 11/6/04 at 08:51 AM

[redhotinnyc2]

Posted: 11/6/04 at 10:21am

several years ago, one summer, I was laying out in the sun in Sheep's meadow in Central Park - it was mid-day and most of the people were sitting or lying down and suddenly, in this sea of people - this beautiful hunk of manhood came strolling through the center of the meadow, walking his bike through the crowd. He found a spot in the middle of the meadow, layed his bike down and proceeded to strip down to a bikini and get comfortable - I could have sworn that every eye in the park was trained on him - Michael Berresse is really an awesome looking man, not to mention incredibly talented. I hope we get to see him on Broadway again soon.