©New York Post
Dec. 10, 1999



Dance Fans, SWING! Is Your Thing!
By Brad Hamilton

IF you like shows based on specific dances, you're in luck.Broadway is brimming with full-scale productions centered on such styles as disco, tango and tap. And perhaps the biggest hit of the season, Contact, has virtually created a new form of dance musical.

Now comes Swing! a slick, sexy extravaganza of twirling couples who jump and jive with more energy than circus acrobats on double cappuccino.

Accompanied by an eight-piece big band that belts out classic tunes like "It Don't Mean a Thing (If It Ain't Got That Swing)" and "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy," these dancers spin, kick and throw each other around with zesty abandon. It's all singing, all dancing, all action.

The show, which opened last night at the St. James Theatre, features some 30 swing numbers, capitalizing on the retro craze that's a hit everywhere from small clubs to TV ads for the Gap. And it's a non-stop treat for the eyes and ears.

Directed and choreographed by Lynne Taylor-Corbett (who did the choreography for the Broadway version of Titanic), the show offers dance and music vignettes and a three-way MC role shared by Casey MacGill, Ann Hampton Callaway and Everett Bradley, each of whom sings terrifically.

Callaway and Bradley show great chemistry together, particularly during the comic number "Bli-Blip" when, in syncopated scat, they have a mock conversation during a date at a bar. Callaway has such great range and stage presence it's hard to believe that this is her Broadway debut.

The dances, though, are the real appeal. There's a tap number in which a guy who can't sleep because his upstairs neighbor is playing the drums, is joined by a contingent of hoofers in pajamas -- all dressed in vibrant pinks, purples and reds.

A big USO segment is contrasted with a country version of swing. "Cry Me a River" shows Laura Benanti wooed by wandering beau Steve Armour, who pleads for forgiveness with a trombone solo in which you can imagine the words he's saying. And one piece features two female dancers bouncing on bungee chords. Swing! could hardly be more exuberant or fun. It's a sure winner.


Back to the Swing! page