By Deanna Alisa Ablesen for Los Easy Reader
Never Gonna Dance Theater Review

Okay, okay... I fully admit it. I'm a David Engel junkie! He's brilliant. He's gorgeous. He's talented. He can sing and dance with the charm of angels. He just has that unspeakable 'star' quality. So, when I got the chance to see him and Tami Tappan Damiano headline the West Coast premiere of the Broadway musical Never Gonna Dance, featuring the music of Jerome Kern, who was I to pass it up?

Never Gonna Dance brings Jerome Kern's music to the forefront with lyrics by Dorothy Fields, Oscar Hammerstein II, Otto Harbach, Johnny Mercer, Ira Gershwin, Bernard Dougall, P.G. Wodehouse, and Jimmy McHugh and is based on the RKO picture Swing Time. It's a slightly complicated plot, but I will try to simplify... in musical theatre fashion. Boy, a professional dancer, is engaged to Girl. Boy misses wedding and Mother of Bride forbids him to marry Girl unless he comes up with $25,000... and he can't dance to get the money. Boy heads to New York and meets Swell Gal. They get entered in an 'amateur' dance contest and fall madly in love. Unfortunately, there are more than a few flies in the ointment. Swell Gal already has a Latin Lover who proposes to her daily. Boy must return to hometown to marry Girl since he already has the $25,000... due to helpful hands of older Broker turned Bum. Girl hears about new fortune and arrives in NY to find boy and get married. Ringers in the 'amateur' dance contest try to 'out' boy for lying if he turns them in for being professionals. Confused yet? Well, that's just half the plot. But, never fear, it's all churned up more and more until it comes out exactly as it should be. Girl finds long lost love she had been pining for... Swell Gal's Latin Lover. Older Broker turned Bum rediscovers the beauty of love with Swell Gal's older colleague/friend. Boy and Swell Gal work out all the kinks, dance again with passion, and true enduring love is in the stars... and it's all just as sweet as can be.

Surprisingly, music wise, it's not that memorable. For a show featuring the music of Jerome Kern, most of it was not truly remarkable. There are some slightly catchy tunes and some intriguing lyrics, but you just don't leave the theater humming the tunes... except for Field's "The Way You Look Tonight."

Performance wise, it's a remarkably entertaining show. Choreography (Lee Martino) was exemplary. Dancing was fluid, connected, stylized and yet still beautifully individualized. Each dancer had their own style and form and each dancer brought their physicality to life in a unique way.

In terms of the cast, it's not easy to compete with Tami and David, but they sure put their best foot forward. Standouts include Joshua Finkel, Seth Belliston, Chip Abbott, Aaron Pomeroy and strong supporting actors Harriet Harris and Henry Polic II.

That all being said, the show really belongs to Tami Tappan Damiano (Penny Carroll) and David Engel (Lucky Garnett). These two leads own the stage in every way, shape, and form, and transport us with awe into their lives. Their singing and acting are flawless and their dancing and chemistry is just pure magic.

Director Larry Raben is no fool. He allows the dance and music to speak radiantly for themselves. He facilitates and doesn't fix what is not broken, adds his own touch of panache, and just lets his baby take off and fly.

Technically, the show is a bit weak. Sets (Joe Yakovetic) and Lights (Leigh Allen) were pedantic and Sound Design (Julie Ferrin) was highly flawed. The only technical high points of the evening were the delightfully designed costumes (Thomas G. Marquez).

To conclude simply, Musical Theatre West's production of Never Gonna Dance is an exquisite reincarnation of the old time musicals. There's a strong ensemble, humorous supporting players, and above all, two marvelous lead performers. You may very well waltz into the lobby afterwards wishing you had listened to your mother begging you to take dance lessons... but perhaps re-inspired to start taking a lesson or two now. At the very least, just go and see David Engel live on stage again. That itself is worth the price of admission alone.

3/1/2006

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