I saw Never Gonna Dance Saturday. The Never Gonna Dance duo of Noah Racey and Nancy Lemenager can't match Fred and Ginger's verve. To me, everyone in Never Gonna Dance tries to hard to please that it is a pity to report that it is second rate.
It is a stage show derived from the 1936 Fred Astaire-Ginger Rogers screen classic "Swing Time". This may satisfy some customers desperately hungry for old-fashioned song and dance confections.
This show with 16 sweet tunes offers up a pleasantly non-sensical romance between a happy go lucky hoofer and a pert dance teacher. On a bet, vaudeville entertainer Luck (Noah Racey) passes himself off as an ameateur to team up with Penny (Nancy Lemenager) for a dance contest. Lucky has an unlikely finacee, and Penny is half-heartedly involved with a Latin lover but it is obvious that the dancers are fated to be mated. What also was obvious to me was Nancy Lemenager had no stage presence and there seemed to be no chemistry between her and Noah Racey.
Fortunately, several featured players prove good-humored company. Karen Ziemba as Penny's wisecracking best chum, is fun to have around, dancing her way with zest and grace through several lesser numbers. Peter Gerety bumbles about adorably as a bum who cleans up in more ways than one. David Pittu as a very funny temperamental Latin crooner, Peter Bartlett as a fuss-budget and Deidre Goodwin as a charmer from Harlem are terrific.
Never Gonna Dance isn't a bad show. It certainly holds together a piece of easy going entertainment but it is only pretty good to mediocre in quality.
I did like the costumes, set designs and music.
"Life is not measured by the number
of breaths we take, but by moments
that take our breath away."
"Life isn't about how to survive the storm,
but how to dance in the rain."
Updated On: 2/8/04 at 03:36 PM
