ANATOMY OF A DANCER choreographed by Adam Martino (Breakaway Entertainment/Next Stage). At the Factory Mainspace (125 Bathurst). Jan 15 at 6:45 pm, Jan 17 at 7:45 pm, Jan 20 at 2:45 pm. See listing. Rating NNN
Fans of Hollywood musicals such as An American in Paris will likely love this overly sincere homage to ultimate song and dance man Gene Kelly.
Singer/actors Robbie Fenton and Maddison Hayes-Crook introduce a series of numbers that loosely follow Kellys career path from his early days at the family dance studio in Pittsburgh to his glory days on the silver screen during the 40s and 50s.
Although the production doesnt shed much light on exactly what made Kelly so great, the cast does a pretty good technical job re-interpreting numbers from classics like Singin In The Rain and I Got Rhythm, as well as other iconic numbers from the era like Cheek To Cheek from Top Hat (which starred Kellys rival Fred Astaire) and Charlie Chaplins Smile.
The action is smartly constructed, the ensemble numbers genuinely rousing, and the Kelly canon is nothing if not toe-tapping.
Note: this review is of the Fringe 2018 production of Anatomy Of A Dancer.
