[NEohioPAL] Review of "Flashdance" at PlayhouseSquare

Bob Abelman r.abelman at adelphia.net
Fri Apr 4 10:01:16 PDT 2014


Flash in the pan 'Flashdance' is a mediocre musical

 

Bob Abelman

Cleveland Jewish News

Member, International Association of Theatre Critics 

 

This review will appear in the Cleveland Jewish News on 4/11/14

 

 

It was announced on NPR's "All Things Considered" last week that a remake of the 1941 classic film "Citizen Kane" is premiering in Toronto.  Starring in the movie is Keanu Reeves as Charles Foster Kane, John Malkovich as the miserly guardian who fuels Kane's anger at the world, and Charlize Theron as the untalented singer who becomes Kane's second wife.

 

This story, of course, aired on April 1.  

 

Watching "Flashdance: The Musical," currently on stage at PlayhouseSquare, is like April Fool's Day all over again. 

 

A musical based on a dated, music-video-inspired film about a female welder/exotic dancer who wants to be a ballerina?  Really?  

 

A show that never actually played on Broadway being a part of the Keybank Broadway Series?   April Fools!  Right?

 

Wrong.  

 

 "Flashdance: The Musical" surfaced in the U.K. in 2008, 25 years after the iconic film, and played in London in 2010 amidst mediocre reviews followed by an earlier-than-expected departure.  The play was revised, brought to the U.S., and has been on tour since 2013.  

 

In their effort to make the film's paper-thin story more suitable for live theater, original screenwriter Tom Hedley and Robert Cary added dialogue to replace cinematic storytelling.   Much of it is bulky back story about Alex and her exotic dancer friends and the stuff of minor plot complications that offers no real substance, suspense or surprise. In fact, it manages to stall on stage what was once vibrant on the screen.  

 

The score features evergreen hits from the film, including "Maniac," "Gloria," "Manhunt," "I Love Rock and Roll" and the Oscar-winning "What a Feeling."  But to make a musical out of a film with music, 16 new songs have been added that are little more than generic ballads and pedestrian anthems written by Robert Cary (lyrics) and Robbie Roth (music and lyrics).  

 

Supported by a rock band (keyboard, drums and guitars) with benefits (one reed player) rather than an orchestra, the Palace Theatre is filled with sound and fury signifying nothing.

 

The show is directed and choreographed by "Memphis" and "Jersey Boys" choreographer Sergio Trujillo, who knows his way around period-specific musicals and stays true to the 1980s sensibilities of the film.  

 

Sadly, much of the choreography showcases specialty break dancers, which comes across as a novelty act rather than an essential extension of the storytelling.  Only some of the familiar moves from the film work their way into this production, and only in spurts, and the balletic interludes in which Alex dreams of auditioning at a prestigious ballet school are beautifully performed but far from dream-like in their staging.

 

In short, "Flashdance" is a color-by-number musical.  It amuses but never amazes.

 

It is not for want of trying by a very talented cast and team of designers.  

 

Every member of the ensemble sings and dances well and appears to be working hard at making this show work.  Spunky Sydney Morton as flashdancer Alex, the ballerina wannabe, is exceptionally talented but seems sucked into the inertia of the overall production.  Rather than dancing with absolute abandon, which is at the very heart of this story, Morton's actions seem overly choreographed and too carefully executed.  They lack the illusion of spontaneity.  

 

Strongsville native and Baldwin Wallace University graduate Corey Mach, as Alex's love interest and privileged boss Nick Hurley, is absolutely charming and totally handcuffed by the predictable words he is required to speak and the uninspired songs he is obligated to sing.  

 

The romanticized back streets of Pittsburgh are beautifully captured by Peter Nigrini's animated projections.  Klara Zieglerova's set design, featuring sliding panels that quickly transition us from the steel mill, to a bar to a refined ballet school, is functional and attractive.  Undermining all of this is the lighting design by Howell Binkley, which over saturates every dramatic moment as if the audience was incapable of recognizing them on their own.

 

"Flashdance: The Musical" is all glitz and no guts.   Its only saving grace is a hard-working cast and the fact that that Keanu Reeves is not among them.

 

WHAT:           "Flashdance: The Musical""
WHERE:        Palace Theatre, PlayhouseSquare in downtown Cleveland 

WHEN:           Through Sunday, April 13

TICKETS:       $10 - $90, call 216-241-6000 or visit www.playhousesquare.com.

 

 
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