Musicals without Dancing

[Wee Thomas2]

Posted: 9/21/15 at 10:47am

Saw "Waitress" yesterday (formulaic, but they do it well), and realized afterwards that although there were all those songs, there was very almost zero choreography.  I mean, there's a choreographer listed in the credits, and there are non singing scenes that obviously required choreography, but there's no real dancing in the show.

 

Trying to figure out how common this is, looking for input from the crowd

[dramamama611]

Posted: 9/21/15 at 11:02am

Next to Normal

Once

[JoseLee_]

Posted: 9/21/15 at 11:04am

Once had choreography. 

[Mr Roxy]

Posted: 9/21/15 at 11:06am

Next To Normal?

[ggersten]

Posted: 9/21/15 at 11:09am

Spring Awakening? (I kid!  I kid! sort of) (*and yes, I know it won the Tony Award for Choreography)

[LizzieCurry]

Posted: 9/21/15 at 11:11am

After Les Miz beat A Chorus Line as the longest-running Broadway show (in 2002) and did "One" as a special finale, Ivan Rutherford said, "We all got into Les Miz cuz we can't dance."

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UX0hs_GtKpo

[SonofRobbieJ]

Posted: 9/21/15 at 11:26am

ONCE had a great deal of Tony-nominated choreography by Steven Hoggett.  I mean...I guess you could argue that it's more 'musical staging' than 'dance', but I wouldn't agree with you on that.  

Even Les Miz had a little bit of waltzing in the wedding scene.  

Sunday in the Park With George has mostly musical staging and very little (if any) dance.  I might make the same argument about Passion, but I may just be drawing a blank.  

[Mr Roxy]

Posted: 9/21/15 at 11:28am

I Do  I Do

[James885]

Posted: 9/21/15 at 11:29am

Little Women is the only one that comes to mind - there's a brief dance break during 'Five Forever' but other than that, no dancing.

[CATSNYrevival]

Posted: 9/21/15 at 11:36am

The original production of Jekyll and Hyde had very little choreography and probably would have faired better without it since what little there was got made fun of, like the umbrella dance.

[dramamama611]

Posted: 9/21/15 at 11:44am

Yes, I agree with the statements about Once....but since it was non-traditional, I thought it might be what the poster was looking for.

[yankeefan7]

Posted: 9/21/15 at 11:47am

I know "Next To Normal" did not have any and thought maybe "Avenue Q" but not sure.

[givesmevoice]

Posted: 9/21/15 at 11:54am

Mr Roxy said: "I Do  I Do"

I think there's choreography in I Do, I Do that qualifies as dancing.

[newintown]

Posted: 9/21/15 at 12:17pm

Differentiating between "musical staging" (the kind of movement that can be performed by any actor who knows the difference between left and right) and "choreography" or "dancing," (which takes more specialized skill or training), I would say that these shows have little to no real dancing:

 

1776

Avenue Q

Summer of '42

[title of show]

The Secret Garden

Falsettos

25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee

Blood Brothers

Passion

Sunset Boulevard

Rent

Triumph of Love

Putting It Together

Sweeney Todd

Jane Eyre

A Class Act

Assassins

Caroline, or Change

The Light in the Piazza

The Woman in White

Grey Gardens

A Catered Affair

Next To Normal

A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder

Fun Home

[CATSNYrevival]

Posted: 9/21/15 at 12:20pm

I would add Les Miserables to that list. Unless you count the dancing in the wedding scene there really isn't much else.

[hanabana]

Posted: 9/21/15 at 12:20pm

I am not 100% sure, but I remember that The Bridges of Madison County had little to no choreography...?

[KathyNYC2]

Posted: 9/21/15 at 12:23pm

Fun Home doesn't have too much...the kids at once point and then the retro number..

[ChildofEarth]

Posted: 9/21/15 at 12:23pm

That list is pretty comprehensive, but I would argue that "Come to the Fun Home" negates Fun Home. There is clearly some dancing and choreography there.

[Mr Roxy]

Posted: 9/21/15 at 12:25pm

Wldhorn's Dracula & The Civil War ?

[Falling]

Posted: 9/21/15 at 12:27pm

"Come to the Fun Home" and "Raincoat of Love" aren't really that complicated. It's not the same level as "A Chorus Line" or "Chicago" or even something like "The King and I". (Not knocking the cast of Fun Home at all...but the choreography of the two songs mentioned above is probably not enough to warrant calling it a 'dance piece' or a 'dance heavy' one-and I suspect that cast would agree.)

[SonofRobbieJ]

Posted: 9/21/15 at 12:32pm

^ Well...sure.  But there is a credited choreographer and those numbers have set choreography.  It's not a lot, but it's there.  I'd also argue that rent has choreography, particularly in Contact.  I'd never call either of these dance musicals, but, as a musical actor who doesn't really do a lot of choreography, I couldn't do what those that little kid in Fun Home does...nor could I dance Contact in Rent.  But the rest of newintown's list is pretty spot on.  

[newintown]

Posted: 9/21/15 at 12:32pm

Also:

 

Floyd Collins

Goblin Market

Smoke On The Mountain

Pump Boys and Dinettes

Oil City Symphony

Romance in Hard Times

My Life with Albertine

Far From Heaven

The Green Heart

 

[Falling]

Posted: 9/21/15 at 12:36pm

Many of the shows listed were nominees for best choreography. Choreography means movement-I don't think of it always having to be 'dancing'. (Perhaps a more apt term here is dance-driven musicals or 'dance-heavy'?)

[GavestonPS]

Posted: 9/21/15 at 7:03pm

Perhaps most oddly, Do I Hear a Waltz? Arthur Laurents, IIRC, called it "2 hours of strolling".

 

Also A Little Night Music, Passion, Into the Woods and, as far as I can recall, Sunday in the Park with George. I believe Sweeney has only a bit of faux minuet during the rape scene.

 

Updated On: 9/21/15 at 07:03 PM

[asmith0307]

Posted: 9/21/15 at 8:39pm

Next to Normal had a little choreography. I'm Alive and My Psychopharmacologist and I both had dancing (given it was very basic, but it existed none the less).