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NEWHOUSE
NEWS SERVICE
Staten Island Live
Broadway revue is really 'Swing'ing
New Broadway show salutes swing music and the dances it spawned
By MICHAEL SOMMERS
December 13, 1999
Now that "Smokey Joe's Cafe" is winding down after 2,000 performances, its
producers have launched a dynamite new musical revue sure to delight millions of
Broadway-goers.
Now playing at the St. James Theatre, where it's likely to thrive for many a moon,
"Swing!" is a snazzy salute to swing music, both classic and new, and the
high-flying dances its irresistible rhythms evoke.
More musically varied than "Tango Argentino" and lots more fun than
"Fosse," "Swing!" is a pleasure for lovers of Duke Ellington, Count
Basie and Benny Goodman, and a genuine treat for anyone who enjoys exuberant popular dance
styles, from the Lindy hop to salsa.
Smartly staged and choreographed by Lynne Taylor-Corbett under the supervision of
hit-meister Jerry Zaks, the script-free show is a series of terrific song-and-dance
interludes backed by a hot onstage band. Don't expect any museum-type tour through the
evolution of swing here; instead, "Swing!" fuses old and new forms into an
exhilarating celebration of upbeat musical sounds and floor-pounding moves.
It all erupts in a handsome, colorful setting by Thomas Lynch that suggests a vintage
movie palace lobby and otherwise leaves plenty of room for the dancers. More than a score
of splendid vocalists and hoofers, fetchingly dressed by William Ivey Long in a variety of
costumes, from flashy zoot suits to clinging, bias-cut gowns, whirl through the speedy
two-hour show with assurance and pizazz.
Looking glamorous and spreading her honeyed, husky voice over such classics as "Blues
in the Night," cabaret star Ann Hampton Callaway makes a smashing Broadway debut,
fingering the ivories and showing off her champion scatting skills brilliantly.
An enchanting Laura Benanti confirms her star-on-the-rise status by mixing silvery vocal
artistry with a sly sense of comedy, most notably in an amusing "Cry Me a River"
interchange with slide-trombone player Steve Armour.
Backstopping them exuberantly, Everett Bradley is everything one would desire in a
light-hearted leading man, plus more -- a pair of gold hoop earrings that look mighty
peculiar in '30s-style tails.
Still, "Swing!" doesn't confine itself to strict period observances, so
Bradley's fashion mistake doesn't jar too badly. Led by Casey MacGill with a Cab Calloway
flair, the nine-member Gotham City Gates orchestra is more lean and limber than a typical
big band, all but burning down the house with a super-heated ride on "Caravan"
and easily handling the various be-bop, country swing and salsa sounds that accompany the
different types of dance routines.
Of course, these numbers are anything but routine, as Taylor-Corbett's fleet and dynamic
choreography lofts the dancers high in the air with jitterbug abandon and connects them to
the floorboards with kinetic tap and soft-shoe swing sessions certain to dazzle beholders.
Not to cite everyone's gifts individually is a pity, but space permits mention only of the
"Boogie Woogie Country" spin by Robert Royston and Laureen Baldovi, a Latin
swing through "Show Me What You Got" by Carlos Sierra-Lopez and Maria Torres,
and a romantic pas de deux on "I'll Be Seeing You" by Scott Fowler and Carol
Bentley as several standouts. They're all a sexy, sensational bunch, deserving of the
cheers their marvelous performances win from onlookers.
SWING! at the St. James Theater, 246 W. 44th St. For tickets, call Telecharge. The number
is 212-239-6200.
