Is It Over Already?

Last night consisted of a delectable dinner at Rush Inn and The Verb Ballet’s Song and Dance. This is the first time I’ve seen them. I was pretty excited.

I should, by all accounts, live and work in New York (City). My father was born and raised there, and we visited family there every summer. I love New York.

Act I of Song and Dance is about a girl named Emma (from England) who embarks on her first trip to New York City. It had great potential. She thinks American men are neurotic (so apparently she hasn’t met many America women. I’ll put my neurosis up against any man and throw in a little OCD for good measure!)

The very first song, which is reprised throughout, is called “Take That Look Off Your Face.” With this, she had us right where she wanted us – she just couldn’t keep us there. Twenty minutes later the look on our face was confusion. You see, Emma is in NYC to meet up with her boyfriend, a drummer in a rock band. We can’t wait to see him, but we never do – and there lies the basic problem/confusion with Act I. It is a one-woman show and, while Emma’s voice is powerful and strong, we are left wanting and waiting for more characters to join her on stage. Sadly, they never do.

Emma meets up with a character by the name of Sheldon Bloom. She tells us he’s interesting and leads you to believe not very attractive. That relationship fails, as does one more before she meets up with a married man. And yes, that one ends too. She is simply unlucky in love. Another song reprised throughout was “Let Me Finish.” Honestly, we wanted her to finish about 45 minutes ago. The lights came up just as my friend leaned over and whispered, “That was painful.” I asked sarcastically, “Is it over already?”

Act II proved to be the upbeat, dynamic “kick” we were waiting for. Verb Ballet’s Artistic Director/Co-Director/Choreographer Hernando Cortez just rocks and then (to quote D. Rosenberg of The Cleveland Plain Dealer) the “joint jumps!” Cortez spent more time in the air than on the stage floor. I watched him with amazement and awe. His moves and that of The Verb are elegant, precise, graceful, tough and fluid.

Often times I’ve been told, “Don’t sit too close. It spoils the illusion.” Aside from one female dancer who lacked fluidity during a tap number, nothing could spoil Act II. The costumes were trendy, the dances were energized and the vibe of The Verb was infectious.

The orchestra, conducted by Larry Goodpaster, did Andrew Lloyd Weber’s “rockified” Variations on Paganini’s A Minor Caprice No. 24. I can’t find the words to describe them, but I’ll go with “near perfection.”

Then the lights came on and I leaned toward my friend and asked with disappointment, “Is it over already?”