Author: jason

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Mean Girls

Mean Girls was AMAZING!!!!! ❤️

What an incredible and energetic cast. Erika Henningsen as Cady was genuine, lovable, with a superb voice and charming interactions with everyone else on stage. Love the pairing of Barrett Weed as Janis and Grey Henson as Damian. Taylor Louderman as Regina, Jonalyn Saxer as Karen, and Tee Boyich as Gretchen each brought out their characters perfectly. Bravos and thanks to Mean Girls for a great evening!

The musical followed the movie’s overall narrative, with some wonderful additional touches. I especially enjoyed the songs that revealed how the individual characters felt, the ever-changing stage/lighting design, the non-stop movements, and the empowering messages for women and girls.

On a side note: The show received an update to reflect on today’s social media-saturated world (compared to the 2004 film) but retained the photocopier scene. It’s a cool scene, but I wonder how many kids even recognize the xerox copier now???

#MeanGirlsBway

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My Fair Lady

A great cast and a great performance tonight at My Fair Lady.

Rather old-fashioned script though. Wish Eliza had left Higgins much earlier so we didn’t have to endure all the angry monologue by a self-centered privileged man about how he’s victimized. Also, give the women more lines please!

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    Head Over Heels

    Thanks for the great fun tonight, Head Over Heels!!!

    Catch the Head Over Heels cast at Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade tomorrow!

    Love the feel-good story, the colorful characters, the fabulous choreographies by Spencer Liff and Ellenore Scott, and the catchy songs.

    Shoutout to the dancers who filled the stage with so much energy: Amber Ardolino, Yurel Echezarreta, Ari Groover, Tanya Haglund, Greg Liles, Samantha Pollino, Justin Prescott, and Ricardo A. Zayas.

    #HeadOverHeels #broadway #musical #dance #dancenyc #nycdance #ThanksgivingDayParade

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    PMT Fall Dance Series

    Beautiful performance by Julia Kane Dance Collective tonight at the PMT Fall Dance Series!!! Go dance with Julia Kane on Mondays if you like what you saw!

    Great to see the amazing Sadie McNamara on stage again, the unexpected hip hop side of Micaela Butnar (That solo in the jam circle! 🤗), Janine Fittipaldi outside of ballet (🤩), and Julie Hricko being all sassy.

    Also enjoyed the waacking+theatre choreo (Yes you read that right.) by Miki Tuesday.

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    Minimalism and Me by Twyla Tharp

    Minimalism and Me: A fascinating lesson through dance history this afternoon with Twyla Tharp at the Joyce Theater.

    Who wants go to back and see the show again with me???

    Today’s program is by far my favorite among the different works I’ve seen by Twyla.

    Twyla explored minimalism at the start of her career. In her first ever work “Tank Dive”, premiered in 1965, she held second position in elevé for 3.5 continuous minutes while Petula Clark’s recording of “Downtown” played in the background. And that’s it. That is the entirety of choreography. Yet “Tank Dive” was oddly satisfying to watch.

    From there, Twyla explored how she could continue to reduce dance into even simpler movements. What could possibly be less than holding the second position, you ask? The answer is… a lot!!!

    She and her close-knit group of female dancers “did not take curtain bows” back then because “often there was no audience left by the end of the performance” according to Twyla, as she retold the stories jokingly and proudly. “We danced wherever we could dance.” Indeed, they experimented with and redefined the boundaries of dance.

    Act I on minimalism ended with the amazing “The Fugue”, premiered in 1970. I’ve seen the piece before, but Twyla’s stories today gave the piece a whole new interpretation.

    Bravos to all the talented and passionate dancers, Kara Chan, Kellie Drobnick, Mary Beth Hansohn, Matthew Dibble, Ronnie Todorowski, Reed Tankersley, for recreating the dances for us today. Thank you for a marvelous show!!!

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    Columbia Ballet Collaborative

    Fall Performance by Columbia Ballet Collaborative tonight at the Alvin Ailey Theater.

    Love “Where We Go” by Zhongjing Fang and her empowering message to dancers. Bravos to the five lovely ballerinas: Sophia Loo, Grace Puckett, Samantha Sacks, Bethany Schwartz, and Alexandra Waterbury.

    Also love “it starts with one” by Emily Schoen especially the beautiful and fluid movements by Katrina Crawford, Paige Hinkley, Nicholas Rio, Grace Puckett, and Maya Weiss.

    Overall, the seven choreographies each presented its own unique take on ballet. It was wonderful to see the amazing talents of this student-run organization.

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    A Chorus Line

    A Chorus Line: An inspiring and emotional performance at New York City Center tonight. ❤️

    So glad to see a live production of this musical. The show reminded me why I am in New York City and what we would do for love.

    Shoutouts and thanks to everyone I’ve met in the dance and theatre community here. You all have so much spirit, courage, heart, and love in you. You are my inspiration. Keep reaching for your dreams. Best of luck to each one of you. Whatever happens, love will always be there. Love will be never gone. Someday when we look back, love is what we’ll remember. So keep doing what you do (we do) for love.

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    Harry Potter: A History of Magic

    I usually write about dance and theatre, but flying on a broomstick is just like dancing and is equally theatrical, right?

    “Harry Potter: A History of Magic” at New-York History Soceity is eye opening, mind boggling, and outright incredible!!!

    Did you know that there is a *REAL* recipe for the Philosopher’s Stone? You can see the instructions, originally created circa 1570, inscribed on a scroll that unfurls over 20 feet, and is the only one of 22 known to exist, at the exhibit. (Sorcerer’s Stone if you read the American version of the Harry Potter books.)

    Did you know Nicholas Flamel, rumored to have discovered the Philosopher’s Stone, is a *REAL* person? He died in 1418, but you can also see his tombstone from the church of Saint-Jacques-de-la Boucherie in Paris at the exhibit, too.

    What else is on display?

    J. K. Rowling’s handwritten drafts of the Harry Potter books, including an alternate opening chapter.

    A specimen of the mandrake except in the real world it doesn’t actually scream; it’s just poisonous.

    … and many many more fascinating facts about the magical world.

    Thanks Shana Fung for inviting me to the show!

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    The Prom

    I just want to dance with you at the Prom tonight.

    ❤️❤️❤️ LOVE LOVE LOVE THE SHOW! ❤️❤️❤️

    WOW!!! Love the script. Love the dancing and singing. Love the humor but also the heart-felt stories. Love the self-deprecating jokes about the liberal democrats on Broadway but also why we need theatre. The cast is fabulous from the leads to the entire triple-threat ensemble. …aaand the show is only in preview. Can’t wait to see the final production!!

    Go see this absolutely fabulous show!!! I already got tickets to return next month. #theprommusical

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    The Tenant

    The Tenant at the Joyce Theater with a post-show chat with the cast.

    A complex dance play that’s dark, disturbing yet at a deep level, completely relatable. A stunning performance for those open to experiences.

    Love Cassie Trenary‘s solo at the start of the show depicting the mental state of Simone. Love James Whiteside‘s and Cassie’s duets; James’ transformation; and the final dance where they mirror each other. I would go back just to see those dance scenes again!

    However, the show has so much more. Love Kibrea Carmichael‘s movements and portrayal of her various characters. I generally try to focus on the dancers, but major kudos to Frank Moon for the live music, sounds, and voice.

    At the post-show chat, we learnt about:

    The significant amount of research that the dancers undertook to master their characters.

    How the cast wind down at the end of the night, after being so emotionally invested in dark roles that involve suicide, deep anxiety, paranoia, and so on.

    And the various coincidental events that happened during the creation of the piece. Are we really watching a story replaying in a loop? Or perhaps… just perhaps… are we all living the story ourselves?