Where are the Sandahl Bergman, René Ceballos, Christopher Chadman, Vicki Frederick, John Mineo and Ann Reinking’s? They are not in Bob Fosse’s Dancin’ now playing on Broadway right now. Only Wayne Cilento, who was in the original, has become the director and  Musical stager of the show on Broadway now.

Dancin‘ originally was created, directed, and choreographed by Bob Fosse and originally produced on Broadway in 1978. This new version holds very little of what Fosse stood for or represented.

I went to show score and someone wrote: Lots of dancin. very little Fosse. See it if You’ve never seen real Fosse. Don’t see it if You’ve seen real Fosse.

This is so true. I came to New York in 1978 and I knew most of the cast of Dancin. If you auditioned for a Fosse show, you did what was known as “Tea For Two” routine. It was the first in a round of cuts. Everyone knew the routine. It was about placement. Your arms and hands had to be a certain way, your fingers, head, legs, Fosse was about precision. This is what Casey Nicholaw, does in spades in Some Like it Hot and it is a joy to behold! Somehow Wayne Cilento has forgotten his training, because what is on stage at the Music Box is a sloppy, over indulgent mess. Only Peter John Chursin who is fabulous, Dylis Croman, Manuel Herrera and Kolton Krouse have an understanding of how a Fosse dancer moved and kept it so easily under control. For that matter why is it called Bob Fosse’s Dancin’ when this reviewer didn’t see a lot of Bob Fosse’s dancing.

Except for the costumes for “Sing, Sing Sing” they are seriously unflattering and ugly. The set list, though a lot is taken from the original is disappointing and unrecognizable. We have music supervision, orchestrations, incidental music, and vocal arrangements by Jim Abbott, music direction by Darryl Archibald and dance arrangements and additional music by David Dabbon to thank. Kirsten Childs has given the show a script that is banal. Robert Brill’s set design, Finn Ross’s projection design, go from utilitarian to stark reality.

In Act 1 we are “treated” to “Big City Mime”, that seemed more sleazy than steamy. When you watch Fosse’s “Take Off With Us” number from “All That Jazz” its erotic, not like moves in a strip joint in the 70’s 42nd Street. Also notice the precise placement of all body parts.

In this piece they did add elements of the “Snake in The Grass” number from “The Little Prince”, and the Pippin “Glory ” ‘ Manson Trio .’Also the choreography of Bob Fosse and Tommy Rall’s “Duet from My Sister Eileen” one of my favorite pieces of dance to watch. That was extremely well done by Peter John Chursin and Manuel Herrera.

Ending the first act is the crowd pleaser “Dancin Man,” but again sloppy.

Jacob Guzman, Ron Todorowski, Karli Dinardo, and Peter Chursin in Bob Fosse’s Dancin’. Photo by Julieta Cervantes.

The second-act opener “Sing, Sing, Sing,” is performed very close to the original, except the female solo goes to the excellent Kolton Krouse who is a they/their. As a matter a fact most of the female solo’s are given to others. Why? During the number the marvelous Gary Seligson is on drums.

Kolton Krouse by Julieta Cervantes

Selections from Sweet Charity‘s “The Rich Man’s Frug”, “Hey Big Spender” and “I’m a Brass Band,” “From This Moment On” from the film version of “Kiss Me Kate” are included.

It was wonderful to see Fosse’s Big Deal back on the stage.

The cast also includes; Ioana Alfonso, Yeman Brown, Tony d’Alelio, Jōvan Dansberry, Karli Dinardo, Jacob Guzman, Mattie Love, Yani Marin, Nando Morland, Khori Michelle Petinaud, Ida Saki and Ron Todorowski.

I am a huge fan of choreography. My go to video’s to wind down are “Whose Got The Pain” from Damn Yankee’s, “Sing, Sing, Sing” from the original Dancin’, “Duet from My Sister Eileen,” “Lets Take a Glass Together” from Grand Hotel and “Turkey Lurkey Time” from Promises, Promises. When Dancing is done well, it is euphoric, but it seems lately on Broadway dancing is going freestyle and technique no longer counts. I miss the days of Bob Fosse.

Bob Fosse’s Dancin: The Music Box Theatre, 239 W 45th Street.

“Will you join us?” This is the compelling question asked within the new Broadway adaptation of Life of Pi by an engaging young man who has just survived a trauma more intense than any of us, most likely, could imagine, let alone survive. He has wound up in a Mexican hospital room and is being asked, most insistently, to tell his story to two interested parties; a representative of the Canadian Embassy, Lulu Chen, played strongly by Kirstin Louie (PBS’s “Endeavour“), and a representative of the shipping company, Mr. Okamoto, captivatingly portrayed by Daisuke Tsuji (“Invasion“), who are not exactly on the same exact page. Or share the same interest.

Hiran Abeysekera, Mahira Kakkar, and the company of Broadway’s Life of Pi. Photo by Matthew Murphy & Evan Zimmerman for MurphyMade.

Crawling out from underneath, the boy, exceptionally well played by Hiran Abeysekera (RSC’s Hamlet), tells them that his name is Pi and that he has “had a terrible trip,” which is the understatement of the Broadway season. All this, just before the stage swells and crashes forward most majestically into a world that draws us in most completely. The transformations, and I definitely mean each and everyone, are utterly magnificent and awe-inspiring, but that first one tells us so much, but not all, about the voyage we have all signed up for, pretty much in the same way that The Lion King found its way to overwhelm our senses back in the day. But this play and this production are just so much more than all that. It delivers in a way that must be seen to be believed, as the stage moves, flows, opens, and emotes in the most astounding of ways, leaving you tantalized at almost every turn.

Lolita Chakrabarti’s Life Of Pi, the new drama is adapted from the novel by Yann Martel makes its Broadway debut  tonight at the Gerald Schoenfeld theatre. T2C talked with Rajesh Bose who plays Pi’s father.

Rajesh is an actor who has worked regional and Off-Broadway. He performed with The Bedlam Theatre Company in The Crucible and Pygmalion, Henry VI forNAATCO),  Against The Hillside for the Ensemble Studio Theatre, Indian Ink at the Roundabout, Oslo at St. Louis Rep, Mary Stuart at the Folger Theatre, Guards at the Taj for Capital Stage, Disgraced at Playmakers Rep, Huntington Theatre, Long Wharf Theatre winning the  Connecticut Critics Circle Award and an IRNE Nomination. The Who & The What at Gulfshore Playhouse and The Invisible Hand at the Westport Country Playhouse and Hartford TheaterWorks.

Rajesh’s film and television roles include “Quantico”, “Blue Bloods”, “Elementary”, “Blacklist”, “Damages”, “Nurse Jackie”, “Madame Secretary”, “The Good Wife”, “Law & Order: SVU”, “Criminal Minds”, the series finale of “The Sopranos”, and the Academy Award nominated film Frozen River. 

T2C wish the Life of Pi and very happy opening.

Video by Magda Katz