Interludes

THE HANGOVER REPORT – GOTTA DANCE! takes a nostalgic choreographic trip down memory lane through the various eras of the American musical

• By drediman
• December 5, 2025
• No Comments

This week, The York Theatre and American Dance Machine’s co-production — in association with producer Riki Kane Larimer — of Gotta Dance! opened Off-Broadway at the Theatre at St. Jean’s on Upper East Side of Manhattan. The musical revue follows in the footsteps of other dance retrospectives (e.g., Bob Fosse’s Dancin’ and Fosse, Jerome Robbins’ Broadway) that attempt to faithfully recreate iconic original choreography — often providing some sort of dramatic context leading into each number — across the many eras of the American musical theater. The main difference in the case of Gotta Dance! is that it does’t focus on a single choreographer’s body of work, opting instead to take a more nostalgically panoramic look at the evolution of dance on Broadway.

As conceived by American Dance Machine’s Nikki Feirt Atkins — and co-directed by Atkins and veteran director/choreographer Randy Skinner — the show is essentially a lovingly curated parade of reconstructed dance numbers by such recognizable choreographers as Bob Fosse, Jerome Robbins, Susan Stroman, Gene Kelly, Michael Bennett, Christoper Wheeldon, and of course Randy Skinner. I applaud Atkins and Skinner for also including the works of relatively lesser known dance makers like Joey McNeely (Smokey Joe’s Cafe), Lynne Taylor-Corbett (Swing!), and Billy Wilson (Bubbling Brown Sugar). Although it’s by no means a definitive overview, Gotta Dance! gives audiences a small glimpse of the rich, scintillatingly ephemeral choreographic heritage of the American musical. Thankfully, live musical accompaniment is provided by a seven-piece orchestra, which manages somehow to emulate that big, distinctively brassy Broadway sound. That being said, as enjoyable as it is to take this zippy trip down memory lane, I couldn’t shake the “museum piece” feeling from watching the production unfold.

The pliable, hard-working 14-member cast — culled from the worlds of Broadway, ballet, and commercial dance — exhibit an impressively wide array of strengths, even if some unevenness occasionally breaks through the slick veneer of it all (e.g., the An American in Paris sequence was a bit unsteady on the late preview performance I attended). For the most part, however, they acclimate themselves to each choreographer’s distinctive dance aesthetic — in addition to singing — with admirable deftness. Several soloists get repeated opportunities to shine, chief among them being (unsurprisingly) New York City Ballet’s Taylor Stanley (a gorgeously musical dancer who lends his artistry to the “Manson Trio” from Pippin and Robbins’ “Mr. Monotony” ballet) and sensational Broadway hoofer Jessica Lee Goldyn (who shines in “I’m a Brass Band” from Sweet Charity and thrills in “The Music and the Mirror” from A Chorus Line).

RECOMMENDED

GOTTA DANCE!
Off-Broadway, Musical / Dance
The York Theatre / American Dance Machine
1 hour, 35 minutes (with one intermission)
Through December 28