NEW YORK STAGES: Are the
stars out tonight?
Fall theater season ensures that they are
The Dallas Morning News
By Lawson Taitte / Theater Critic of The Dallas Morning News
12-25-1999
Singer, songwriter and
cabaret stylist Ann Hampton Callaway makes her Broadway debut in Swing! Cabaret fans have
long speculated that their favorites might make better Broadway stars than many stage
performers, and Ms. Callaway reinforces the notion. She doesn't have to act or even dance
much in this celebration of the swing dance craze. But she has stage presence, and her
voice can keep an audience very, very happy.
Swing!: Outstepping
the craze
The dictators of what's hot
and what's not are declaring the swing- dance fad passe, but Swing! will survive any such
swings of fashion. This revue proves you can transfer social dancing to the stage with no
loss of energy.
On the way, it gives its
audiences a good look at three fresh singers. Songwriters Everett Bradley and Ann Hampton
Callaway contribute new songs and write new verses to old ones, then warble them with
aplomb. The very young Laura Benanti, who created a big stir when she joined the recent
revival of The Sound of Music as Maria, gets her first original starring role.
Swing! remembers that its
dance style was highly individualistic and competitive. Unison dancing is kept to a
minimum, and every member of the ensemble gets a chance to shine. Choreographer Lynne
Taylor- Corbett's hot inventions are supplemented by numbers devised by the dancers
themselves - many of whom are national competition winners.
This show takes on the
competition across the street, Fosse, even ending with the same song, Sing, Sing, Sing.
Partly because old Broadway hand Jerry Zaks supervised Swing!, we never dive into the
emotional depths that Fosse occasionally explores. But it would be churlish to complain,
because Swing! honors swing music and shows off some terrific dancers.
