| NY Times dance critic Brian Siebert on Illinoise & others.. | |
| Posted by: Ballerina56 11:02 am EDT 05/16/24 | |
| In reply to: re: A dissenting opinion on Illinoise - theaterbear 10:13 am EDT 05/16/24 | |
|
|
|
| NY Times dance critic Brian Siebert dissects several new musicals including "ILLINOISE." "To many dance critics, including Peck fans like me, he has lately seemed to be stuck in a kind of arrested development. From that perspective, the choreography in “Illinoise” is stunted. Although arranged with skill and tender care, the basic idiom is constricted, frantically alternating between holding in and reaching out. The dancers look like they’re trying to escape from straitjackets and failing. This might express an aspect of adolescence, but it hobbles these talented dancers too much, limiting their emotional range. Worse, Peck makes them all dance the same, as if trapped inside Peck avatars. When they break out, tangentially (Byron Tittle’s tap solo) or in a breakdown (Ricky Ubeda’s solo of angry grief), it’s a flash of missed potential. The common language establishes a community but it’s a community that seems contrived from the start (where, outside of therapy, do young people sit around reading to one another from their journals?), achieved mainly through forced cheer and hugs. The big feelings that the show can invoke come from the music, despite the choreography’s limitations. Ultimately, the split comes down to differing expectations of what choreography can do, on Broadway or anywhere else. The impact of “Illinoise” isn’t what it could be. Choreography can hit a lot harder." |
|
| Link | Enhancing Broadway, by Any Bodily Means Necessary |
| reply | |
|
|
|
| Previous: | re: A dissenting opinion on Illinoise - theaterbear 10:13 am EDT 05/16/24 |
| Next: | re: NY Times dance critic Brian Siebert on Illinoise & others.. - AlanScott 10:52 pm EDT 05/17/24 |
| Thread: |
|
Time to render: 0.013519 seconds.