Review: LET’S DANCE The Musical

Live and in person at the Winter Garden Theatre, Toronto, Ont. Produced by Terra Bruce Productions.  Plays until Aug. 20, 2023

www.elginwintergarden.ca

Original concept and story by Walter Schroeder

Book by Victoria Wells-Smith

Directed by Keith Pike

Arranged by Aaron Eyre

Additional Arrangements and musical direction by Paul Moody

Choreography by Victoria Wells-Smith

Set by Joshua Quinlan

Costumes by Graham McMonagle

Lighting by Frank Donato

Sound by Brian Kenny

Cast: Alexander Batycki

Celeste Brillon

Dylan Corscadden

Eric Dahlinger

Luciano Decicco

Kenzie Drover

Timothy Harder

Jaden Kim

Océane Kitura Bohémier-Tootoo

Sarah Parlatore

Ali Powell

Rebecca Sellars

Michele Shuster

Levi Stepp

Jacques St-Pierre

Mikayla Stradiotto

 Diego Terán

Dreadful

The Story. Here’s their handy synopsis: “It’s 1963 and Marco Del Monte is going back to his former high school–Northumberland high—to lead the school’s vocal department.

It wasn’t his first choice. But after several not-so-great-auditions he decided he would have to take a teaching job. His sister Debra is still a student at the old-fashioned and conservative prep school. Once there, Marco meets Sophia—a quirky, free-spirited dance teacher and together with their fantastic students, they create something the school has never seen before.”

And it’s a jukebox musical using songs of the early 1960s to forward the story or express the emotions of the characters.  

The Production. It’s 1963 in New York City. A spotlight is on a record player that sits on a stand. A woman enters with a determined walk, puts a record on the record player and then puts the needle on the record. The music that plays is upbeat, rock music. The woman begins to sway and move to the music. She gets more into the music and is going full tilt until the end when she takes the needle off the record. At this point we don’t know who she is or the context of her playing the music, except she likes it a lot.

Then others come out of the wings and put a graduation cap and gown on the woman revealing she is Principal Sherman (Michele Shuster), head of the Northumberland High School. She is officious, commanding and overly enthusiastic to all she meets. For some reason director Keith Pike directs her to speak in a voice so swooping in modulation you can hardly understand a word she is saying. Her main job seems to be commanding her minion John (Dylan Corscadden) to follow her with a large bowl/bucket to catch the drips in the leaky roof of the school. The school is old and crumbling. Principal Sherman tries to keep a handle on following the conservative rules of the school.

Then a young man enters, in a suit and tie and sings “It Never Rains in Southern California.” Again, we don’t know who he is or why he’s singing the song. He turns out to be Marco (Luciano Decicco), a former graduate of the school. He tried to have a career in opera but he couldn’t get any jobs after several auditions. Why he was in California at all is never explained. It’s not as if it’s a bastion of musical opportunities, and singing the song doesn’t explain anything except he was lonely. So Marco came home and decided his life should have stability, so he is now the head of the vocal department of the school. His sister Debra (Ali Powell) is a dancer in the school.

Marco is introduced to Sophia, the confident dance teacher. Together they have to plan the school production. In keeping with tradition Marco plans to do a production based on the classical music of the 1800s. Sophia suggests they go wild and plan an evening of 60s music, as in the 1960s but have to keep it quiet from Principal Sherman.

There are all sorts of other stories of unrequited love, requited love between a poor young man and his rich girlfriend, a break-up of a friendship because of jealousy, and generally excitable students who so over perform every reaction you wonder if they are on anything. And we learn that the future of the school might be in jeopardy. A huge donor wants to withdraw her funding—I don’t know who the actor is who plays her (not listed in the program and unrecognizable in the cast photos).

Again, Keith Pike directs her to be so exaggerated in her delivery of the lines, comprehension is a challenge. Indeed everybody seems directed to over-act; over-emote; over-react and do everything to show they are not capable of being a cohesive ensemble because they are all grabbing at our attention. Why the character of Norm (Levi Stepp—directed to be so over the top he is grating) is even in that so called professional school, is a mystery.

Let’s Dance The Musical is a mess. The book by Victoria Wells-Smith has more holes in it than the roof of Northumberland High. Characters sing songs of emotion, whistfullness, and heartache before their characters are fleshed out to us or given context. Note Marco sings “It Never Rains in Southern California” before we know who he is or why he’s singing the song.   In other cases, characters are little more than sketches. Someone named Peter (Alexander Batycki) sings (beautifully), “Down in the Boondocks” about his love for a rich girl while he’s a poor kid, without any context at all it seems. Who is he? Who is his girlfriend? Why is he singing the song? Just to tick a box of class distinction?  CONTEXT PLEASE!

We are told that Debra (Ali Powell) is the best dancer in the school and Andrea (Rebecca Sellars) is the best singer, yet they don’t have any number that would show them to the best of their abilities. Marco has a scene where he is auditioning for an opera job. Luciano Decicco as Marco is downstage singing his heart out and up stage behind him is Debra doing barre work showing her technique. Really? Whose scene is it? Where are we supposed to focus? Any clues director Keith Pike?

Later Andrea is given a chance to show her powerful voice only it’s in a duet with her once estranged friend Brenda (Kenzie Drover) who is accompanying her on the guitar. Both women are so over amplified, that what should be beautiful singing now sounds like shrieking. Now that can’t be right.

When the students are ready to do their show for the sold-out audience it was confusing what was a rehearsal and what was the show, because neither Marco or Sophia introduced them or explained, this is not going to be what you expected. It’s common sense to think about the details.

Let’s go back to that very first scene. It’s obvious that Principal Sherman loves rock music, music from the 60s because she was secretly dancing to it in the first scene. Yet writer Victoria Wells-Smith doesn’t then reference that at the end to have her naturally embrace the decision to do a show of 60s music. We only see her dancing at the finale with the other students with no reference. Another good opportunity for context, ignored.    

One scratched one’s head wondering why anyone thought this was a good idea. And then I thought that with all the deliberate over acting, mugging, bad direction and bad writing, maybe it was actually a sendup of a second-rate arts school with misfit students doing a second-rate production. Even that doesn’t work here.

Juke box musicals, with their surprise mix of established songs in the narrative, are often clever and funny. Let’s Dance The Musical is neither.

Comment. Why?

Terra Bruce Productions

Plays until Aug. 20, 2023

Running Time: 2 hours (1 intermission)

www.elginwintergarden.ca