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From amid the darkness came sweet voices and the smooth scatting of true jazz. Duke Ellington’s “It Don’t Mean a Thing if it Ain’t Got that Swing” pierced the air, as the classic 1930′s Broadway musical “Swing!” took to the stage. From “Caravan” to “Stompin’ at the Savoy,” the old favorites, combined with show-stopping choreography, were brought to life.
By 7p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 26, many UMaine students already had begun the trek home for Thanksgiving break. But those who stuck around for Troika Entertainment’s production of the original Broadway musical “Swing!” were in for an electrifying night of good old fashioned song and dance.
“Swing!” first opened on Broadway in December of 1999, and received critical praise for its music, dance and style. The show is a classic example of a true musical — no lines to memorize and no blocking to remember. In this show there were only song lyrics and dance steps. The musicians were no ordinary pit band, but a central part of the show, including being on stage and having roles in dance numbers.
In Arthur Hamilton’s “Cry Me a River,” the trombone player acted as an apologizing lover to the leading lady. The cellist had a dancer mimicking his every move. The number was full of laughs and great choreography.
The plot seems simple enough. Consisting of two main couples with their own stories, it also incorporates six supporting couples that play out stories about love leaving, and life, yet there was so much more to the show. Each story contained the hidden message that deep inside everyone there is a dancer trying to get out.
There were dance numbers of every type imaginable, from swing to Latin, even a little country line dancing. Every number shared a story of how a couple met, loved or broke up, each step sharing emotion with the audience that spoken lines cannot.
“[It was] very polished,” Chuck McKay, a UMaine graduate, said. “I was very impressed with the dancers. Their years of ballet really showed through the swing dancing.”
McKay came dressed in a turquoise zoot suit complete with a fedora and feather. He wasn’t the only one in the audience that night looking the part of a swing dancer, as several other audience members arrived decked out in classic swing fashion.
“Very inspiring, it makes me want to boogie,” Laren Lynn, a dance instructor at UMaine, said.
“My favorite part of the show had to be the lounge singer in the Army bar. What a voice,” Krista Rancourt, a second-year student, said.
The voices and dance steps that make up “Swing!” proved to the audience why the play was nominated for six Tony Awards, including Best Musical and Best Choreography. “Swing!” gives happy feet a chance.
