Even if pulled off perfectly, the Wick Theatre’s “Swing!” would still be what it is: empty calories for Greatest Generation audiences. This nostalgic revue of ‘30s and ‘40s song and dance, which premiered on Broadway in 1999, is fundamentally unadventurous. And while director/choreographer Kelly Shook brings some ambitious ideas to the production, it still has all the edge of a circle and all the bite of a docile Chihuahua. The result lacks the infectiousness and the rambunctious wit that helped turn the Wick’s “Ain’t Misbehavin’” revue into a memorable romp.
The production features 12 dancers and two credited singers—Michael Ursua and Alix Paige—though plenty of the dancers have the opportunity to showcase their pipes as well. There’s no story, but there’s a definitive structure, with the action beginning at the dawn of swing (1931) and continuing as various incarnations of the dance sweep the nation, first at nightclubs and then at military barracks. There are emotive torch songs and jazz crooning along the way, and pianist/musical director Paul Reekie leads the faultless six-piece band through the familiar toe-tappers and ballads. Though a few “characters,” if you can call them that, from Act One are revisited in the second act, it’s difficult to feel any emotional connection to the performances.
Shook’s choreography runs an inventive gamut beyond such swing variations as the jitterbug and lindy hop; injections of Latin dance, line dance, ballet and tap add welcome eccentricity to the production. With its ensemble of dancers shedding their work clothes for a night at the clubs, there’s a pulsating bawdiness to “Kitchen Mechanic’s Night Out”—the only bona fide showstopper in the first act—that I wanted more of throughout the show.
Elsewhere, dancer Ashley Klinger brings a feline quality to her supple movements, best represented in “Harlem Nocturne,” in which she seems to slink out of a stand-up bass. Other highlights include “Cry Me a River,” in which singer/dancer Amelia Millar harmonizes the rhythm with trombonist Jason Pyle; “Bli-blip,” in which Ursua and Paige engage in a dinner conversation comprised entirely of jazz scatting; and “Bill’s Bounce,” a tap-driven military number in which the dancers impossibly leapfrog over each other from a sit-up position.
But in other places, her arrangements were perhaps too ambitious. “Throw That Girl Around” is intended to be a centerpiece of Act One, with its breathless examples of the title theme. The song contains more lifts than the Empire Stage Building, with female dancers tossed about like so many rag dolls, but the result lacks smoothness—it’s exuberant in theory but careful and clunky in practice. (The less you analyze the dancers’ feet positions, the more you’ll enjoy the show). It felt, at times, like I was watching a preview performance: In Paige’s solo numbers in Act One, she doesn’t project her voice enough to be understood over the band, at least in the upper seating section—a seemingly simple fix that shouldn’t be needed in the second week of a show’s run.
Granted, I’m 32, and therefore not the target audience for this show. But even Boomers might feel that it represents their parents’ culture, not theirs. The thing is, there are few moments of rousing excitement in “Swing!” Even the show’s pleasures are transient ones, unlikely to be remembered next year or next month. We know what the Wick is capable of, and with such a finite number of productions each season, “Swing!” makes for a questionable use of its resources.
“Swing!” runs through Nov. 16 at the Wick Theatre, 7901 N. Federal Highway, Boca Raton. Tickets cost $58-$62. Call 561/995-2333 or visit thewick.org.
