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Shereen Pimental

Cats:”The Jellicle Ball”

August 8, 2024

The dynamic and exciting dances include the five elements of voguing: catwalk, duckwalk, hand performances, floor performances and spins and dips in various combinations. The competitions which include almost every song are taken from real ballroom events and the names are appear on the rear wall over the glitter curtain in Brittany Bland’s projection design. These include Virgin Vogue, Pretty Boy, Realness, Body, Bizarre, Opulence, New Way Vs. Old Way, Labels, Women’s, and All American. One razzle dazzle competition is the Tag Team Performance to the song “Mungojerrie & Rumpleteaser” which pitted “knockabout clowns” Jonathan Burke and Dava Havuesca in matching costumes with ballerina Baby as Victoria and gymnastic Bryce Farris subbing for Primo as Tumblebrutus. [more]

West Side Story

March 16, 2020

Van Hove's energetic cast is too often lost among the video images which is sad because they are a wonderfully scrappy group of actor/dancer/singers who give their all.  (I’m told that this is less of an issue in the higher reaches of the theatre due to the difference in perspective.)  To be sure, there are wonderful moments where the groups move about in cityscapes that constantly change around them, but these are countered by long scenes during which the actors appear to be lilliputian figures whose singing and emoting get lost in the confusion of giant faces. [more]