NEVER GONNA DANCE - Why Bother?

[MasterLcZ]

Posted: 12/6/03 at 6:23am

Saw it last night.

Despite some fine dancing on display, the entire evening seemed oddly listless in a seen-it-all-before kind of way. A pale Xerox of previous cut-and-paste shows set in the 1930s (MY ONE AND ONLY, CRAZY FOR YOU), the show really lacks a good reason for being. Lordy, I am so bored with songwriters catalogue "insta-scores" shows...but if you're goinng to do one, at least integrate the songs better and have them performed and sung beautifully (I cringed all through "The Song Is You" and the gratingly jokey throw-away "Dearly Beloved")....and wouldn't have been truly innovative to place them in a CONTEMPORARY setting for once, instead of sticking them squarely in the '30s?

The plot is flimsy and silly. And Noah Racey and Nancy Lemenager can't sing. But you wouldn't notice either defect if they had real STAR QUALITY and sharply defined stage personalities instead of being blandly agreeable. They're wonderful dancers, but neither posesses that certain IT that seperates the Bambi Lynns from the Gwen Verdons. That's why it was so frustrating to see a couple of performers with real snap and pizazz - Ziemba and Goodwin - strenously kept on the sidelines. No surprise that the former's "Shimmy With Me" is one of the shows few exhilerating moments. It's not a great song, but Ziemba sure as hell knows how to sell it for more than its worth. To be fair, the two leads make a wonderful impression in the title song and the beautifully staged "The Way You Look Tonight" . But too many of the dance numbers don't build and just go nowhere with a lot of aimless running and tapping.

Of the other actors, Fleming made little impression (Actually, I found Spud and Velma's "Yes, we're basically smarmy and unsympathetic but we're really good kids at heart" unbelivable) and I found Gerety, Bartlett (can we have a moratorium on mincing gay stereotypes on Broadway, PLEASE?) and Pittu obnoxious in the extreme. On the plus side was the sound, Paul Gallo's lighting,the elegant "Homage to Van Nest Polglase" sets of Robin Wagner and William Ivey Longs costumes (though he basically re-uses the Charms costumes from the chorus girls in THE PRODUCERS).

[SueleenGay]

Posted: 12/6/03 at 8:35am

Hey, watch it with the Bambi bashing, Buster Brown, or your gonna find your little choir boys face down in the snow!






You think I am kidding? Try me.

[Dollypop]

Posted: 12/6/03 at 8:38am

He wasn't bashing Bambi Lynn--he was just implying that she had a unique talent that put her in a different category from other greats, like Gwen Verdon. The inference was that these two leads lack any real "style".

[MasterLcZ]

Posted: 12/6/03 at 11:35am

Egg Zactly, Dolly!

Awww, I do not mean to diss Bambi, Sulleen. But my comparison means to point out that really magnificent dancing is not enough if you need to go to another level of Broadway legends. You need that quirky extra something.

If you're gonna be an ingenue, you'd better find a way of being INTERESTING, too!