Following on from the success of ZooNation’s Into the Hoods, director Kate Prince apparently found initial inspiration in Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night and the Billy Wilder film Some Like it Hot.
But you don’t need to know a thing about either to enjoy her latest offering which departs so drastically from them both that I’m hard pushed to see many similarities.
It’s a bit too long, with a surfeit of minor characters whose moves are more interesting than their roles. And the narrator’s lyrics are often swallowed by the sound.
But who cares when she and co-writer Felix Harrison have come up with an athletic, fast-paced production, complete with original music (by DJ Walde and Josh Cohen) and a mix of contemporary ballet and street choreography which had the entire audience on its feet and dancing by the end of the show?
We get women dressing as men, an estranged daughter, and a city where books are banned along with the sun which the grieving Governor (Duwane Taylor) has hidden away for 15 years since the death of his beloved wife. Women are relegated to the role of drudges subservient to the men and, if they break the macho rules, they’re banished.
Limber-limbed Tommy Franzen’s book-loving nerd Simeon steals the limelight along with Teneisha Bonner and Lizzie Gough as the rebellious females in fake moustaches. But with its flips, spins and body-popping verve, everyone gets a chance to shine in this vibrant, well-drilled dance piece.
No comments:
Post a Comment