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At some point in 19th century New York, tap dancing (or something like it) was born.
But in the Five Points, where some neighbors protected each other, the mobswere pushed back.
Production queasiness is part of the problem, as is the scripts upside-down logic.
Corruption-by-a-thousand-fixes accounts for the rest.
asks Nelly to house her poor Irish nephew Owen (A.J.
Nelly now makes her first big choice of the musical the men willsharethe room!
People keepsayingvarious decisions are up to her, but she has very little agency in the plot itself.
Even her reactions to crises are strangely delayed and muted.
Why must it hurt to hold space for a dream?
Now, Kalukango herself is amazing.
The plot,though, wouldnt miss her.
Cut the part, and the story wouldnt change.
Do we need to know that Washington Henrys lover Angelina was rescued by a woman who wears trousers?
No, but theres a lugubrious flashback, so we know the creative team hasnt erased the queer community.
Howlands standard-issue musical theater works against their movements, so they stamp out beats that dont exist.
It makes the virtuosic Black dancers seem unmusical but really its the musical itself failing to listen.
Those were the places the show and history kept choosing to forget.
So, feeling a little desperate, thats where I looked.
Paradise Squareis at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre.
