Sunday, August 16, 2009

Review: Burn the Floor

Dancing with the Stars Meets Broadway
By Lauren Yarger
It’s Dancing with the Stars meets Broadway as Ricky Rojas and Rebecca Tapia of the famed television show headline a group of 20 dancers performing some of the most unrelenting demanding choreography you’ll see on Broadway this year in Burn the Floor at the Longacre Theatre.

The non-stop nirvana for fans of international style ballroom competition features direction and choreography by Jason Gilkison who intertwines cha-cha, tango, waltz, samba, rumba, quickstep, pop, boogie and, well, just about every form of dance known to man, with the musical renderings of a heavily percussion band conducted by Henry Soriano (set up left and right behind the performers on the stage). Gilkison uses the aisles and incorporates some gasp-inducing lifts and face-almost-touching the stage spins as well as some nice softer visual moments where instrumentalists are silhouetted upstage behind two dancing lovers (Rick Belzer, lighting design), for example.

There’s lots of flash: Janet Hine’s costumes are liberal in their display of sequins and billowing, twirling skirts for the women and a sleek and sexy, often black and white, wardrobe for the men. They are a show in themselves, especially in their detail. Each dress worn by a group of women for a number appears at first glance to be the same, but closer examination reveals subtle changes and detailing to make each frock unique.

That’s where the flash, stops, however, as there is an apparent lack of chemistry between the dancers. They execute their moves well, but the extra sexy quality of ballroom dancing, and particularly a connection between Rojas and Tapia, seems to be missing, despite the show’s mature rating (there is one sort of bondage number, but compared to much of what we’re seeing on theatrical stages these days, it’s pretty tame).

There’s no real plot to this musical – it began as a special request for a party being thrown by Sir Elton John and then someone said, “Hey, this should be a musical,” though some of the numbers do express contained storylines. We’re treated to vocals by Rojas and Tapia. The ensemble dancer teams, worked so hard that the 15-minute intermission hardly seems long enough to replenish the water they must lose in the first half (sweat flies visibly with each turn), boast numerous ballroom dancing credits and awards and come from a myriad of countries, through surprisingly, not from any of the Latin countries associated with many of the dances.

Burn the Floor has been extended through Jan. 6 at the Longacre Theatre, 220 W. 48th Street, NYC. For tickets, click here (and make sure you indicate that the charity you wish to support is Masterwork Productions by clicking on “religious” and then on our name).

Christians Might also like to know:
• Mature rating (the above-mentioned bondage-themed dance, but again, I’ve seen worse. None of the costumes even qualify for what I would call “scantily clad.” )

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Our reviews are professional reviews written without a religious bias. At the end of them, you can find a listing of language, content or theological issues that Christians might want to know about when deciding which shows to see.

** Mature indicates that the show has posted an advisory because of content. Usually this means I would recommend no one under the age of 16 attend.

Theater Critic Lauren Yarger

Theater Critic Lauren Yarger

My Bio

Lauren Yarger has written, directed and produced numerous shows and special events for both secular and Christian audiences. She co-wrote a Christian musical version of “A Christmas Carol” which played to sold-out audiences of over 3,000 in Vermont and was awarded the Vermont Bessie (theater and film awards) for “People’s Choice for Theatre.” She also has written two other dinner theaters, sketches for church services and devotions for Christian artists. Her play concept, "From Reel to Real: The Jennifer O'Neill Story" was presented as part of the League of professional Theatre Women's Julia's reading Room Series in New York. Shifting from reviewing to producing, Yarger owns Gracewell Productions, which produced the Table Reading Series at the Palace Theater in Waterbury, CT. She trained for three years in the Broadway League’s Producer Development Program, completed the Commercial Theater Institute's Producing Intensive and other training and produced a one-woman musical about Mary Magdalene that toured nationally and closed with an off-Broadway run. She was a Fellow at the National Critics Institute at the O'Neill Theater Center in Waterford, CT. She wrote reviews of Broadway and Off-Broadway theater (the only ones you can find in the US with an added Christian perspective) at http://reflectionsinthelight.blogspot.com/.

She is editor of The Connecticut Arts Connection (http://ctarts.blogspot.com), an award-winning website featuring theater and arts news for the state. She was a contributing editor for BroadwayWorld.com. She previously served as theater reviewer for the Manchester Journal-Inquirer, Connecticut theater editor for CurtainUp.com and as Connecticut and New York reviewer for American Theater Web.

She is a Co-Founder of the Connecticut Chapter of the League of Professional Theatre Women. She is a former vice president and voting member of The Drama Desk.

She is a freelance writer and playwright (member Dramatists Guild of America). She is a member if the The Outer Critics Circle (producer of the annual awards ceremony) and a member of The League of Professional Theatre Women, serving as Co-Founder of the Connecticut Chapter. Yarger was a book reviewer for Publishers Weekly A former newspaper editor and graduate of the University of Missouri’s School of Journalism, Yarger also worked in arts management for the Bushnell Center for the Performing Arts, the Hartford Symphony Orchestra and served for nine years as the Executive Director of Masterwork Productions, Inc. She lives with her husband in West Granby, CT. They have two adult children.

Copyright

All material is copyright 2008- 2022 by Lauren Yarger. Reviews and articles may not be reprinted without permission. Contact reflectionsinthelight@gmail.com

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Key to Content Notes:

God's name taken in vain -- means God or Jesus is used in dialogue without speaking directly to or about them.

Language -- means some curse words are used. "Minor" usually means the words are not too strong or that it only occurs once or twice throughout the show.

Strong Language -- means some of the more heavy duty curse words are used.

Nudity -- means a man or woman's backside, a man's lower front or a woman's front are revealed.

Scantily clad -- means actors' private areas are technically covered, but I can see a lot of them.

Sexual Language -- means the dialogue contains sexually explicit language but there's no action.

Sexual Activity -- means a man and woman are performing sexual acts.

Adultery -- Means a married man or woman is involved sexually with someone besides their spouse. If this is depicted with sexual acts on stage, the list would include "sexual activity" as well.

Sex Outside of Marriage -- means a man and woman are involved sexually without being married. If this is depicted sexually on stage, the list would include "sexual activity" as well.

Homosexuality -- means this is in the show, but not physically depicted.

Homosexual activity -- means two persons of the same sex are embracing/kissing. If they do more than that, the list would include "sexual activity" as well.

Cross Dresser -- Means someone is dressing as the opposite sex. If they do more than that on stage the listing would include the corresponding "sexual activity" and/or "homosexual activity" as well.

Cross Gender -- A man is playing a female part or a woman is playing a man's part.

Suggestive Dancing -- means dancing contains sexually suggestive moves.

Derogatory (category added Fall 2012) Language or circumstances where women or people of a certain race are referred to or treated in a negative and demeaning manner.

Other content matters such as torture, suicide, or rape will be noted, with details revealed only as necessary in the review itself.

The term "throughout" added to any of the above means it happens many times throughout the show.

Reviewing Policy

I receive free seats to Broadway and Off-Broadway shows made available to all voting members of the Outer Critics Circle. Journalistically, I provide an unbiased review and am under no obligation to make positive statements. Sometimes shows do not make tickets available to reviewers. If these are shows my readers want to know about I will purchase a ticket. If a personal friend is involved in a production, I'll let you know, but it won't influence a review. If I feel there is a conflict, I won't review their portion of the production.

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