GOTTA SEE THIS SHOW!

✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦

I’ve been a fan of American Dance Machine since I was a kid in the 1980s—a company devoted to restaging Broadway choreography with museum-level precision and theatrical verve. Part artifact, part history lesson, and wholly a celebratory toast to Broadway’s golden-age choreographers, their newest venture is the world premiere of Gotta Dance! (in association with Riki Kane Larimer) and conceived by Nikki Feirt Atkins, who co-directs with Randy Skinner.

The opening number is an unexpected mash-up: “Broadway Rhythm” (from two film versions), “Broadway Melody,” and “Gotta Dance” from Singin’ in the Rain. That film-to-Broadway hybrid did appear onstage in 1985–86, but instead of using Twyla Tharp’s Broadway choreography, Gene Kelly/Stanley Donen’s film version (with a touch of Skinner) was preferred. Because the number introduces the show’s title, I happily went along for the ride—especially when Cyd Charisse’s iconic straight-leg extension met Kelly’s fedora. Pure delight. But why pivot back to the movie for “Moses Supposes” when there are countless Broadway gems waiting to be unearthed?

Everything that followed, thankfully, stayed strictly Broadway—and in the hands of dancers who carry first-hand lineage from the original creators:

• Robert La Fosse (“All I Need Is the Girl” from Gypsy, “Cool” from West Side Story, and “Mr. Monotony” from Jerome Robbins’ Broadway)
• Donna McKechnie (“The Music and the Mirror” from A Chorus Line)
• Dustin Layton (“Pas de Deux” from An American in Paris)
• Stephanie Pope (“I’m a Brass Band” fromSweet Charity)
• Pamela Sousa (“Manson Trio” fromPippin)
• Brian Lawton (“Sing, Sing, Sing” fromSwing!)
• Alexis Wilson(“Sweet Georgia Brown” from Bubbling Brown Sugar)
  …and more whose pedigrees anchor the evening.

Randy Skinner’s work from Smokey Joe’s Café and Irving Berlin’s White Christmas appears alongside the titans—Jerome Robbins and Bob Fosse—who, understandably, receive the most stage time.

What I’ve always adored about American Dance Machine is the chance to watch choreography from shows that rarely get revived and from artists who deserve brighter spotlights. Which is why I was thrilled to see Lynne Taylor-Corbett’s work from Swing! (sadly, she passed away earlier this year) and Susan Stroman’s choreography from Contact—the only female choreographers represented. No Agnes de Mille, Pat Birch, Graciela Daniele, Kathleen Marshall, Twyla Tharp, Onna White, etc.? A missed opportunity.

Likewise, it was heartening to see the work of Joey McNeely (Smokey Joe’s Café), Billy Wilson (Bubbling Brown Sugar), Christopher Wheeldon (An American in Paris), and—perfectly, inevitably—the Michael Bennett/Bob Avian finale from A Chorus Line. But again: no Gower Champion, Jack Cole, George Faison, Bill T. Jones, Michael Kidd, Jerry Mitchell, Tommy Tune…? Naturally, no single revue can include everyone, but trimming the singing solo of “Mr. Monotony,” the film detours, and a few repeated Fosse/Robbins moments might make room. Just saying. And since the Playbill notes “musical numbers subject to change,” I offer this as encouragement.

The triple-threat ensemble is impeccable—bounding from number to number with astonishing stamina and stylistic fluency: Brandon Burks, Anthony Cannarella, Baron Cowperthwaite, Deanna Doyle, Paloma Garcia-Lee, Jessica Lee Goldyn, Afra Hines, Jess LeProtto, Kendall LeShanti, Drew Minard, Georgina Pazcoguin, Samantha Siegel, Taylor Stanley, and Blake Zelesnikar.

Marlene Olson Hamm’s costumes beautifully evoke each show (with assists from William Ivey Long for the yellow Contact dress and David C. Woolard for the green Gotta Dance dress). The only miss—likely due to Off-Broadway budgets—was the finale’s “One,” which didn’t recreate the iconic Chorus Line gold costumes. Brian C. Staton’s projection design gives the bare stage cinematic depth—realistic settings, painterly washes, and multilayered moving backdrops—plus invaluable contextual credits for each number: show, year, and choreographer. Ken Billington’s lighting adds polish, shift, and theatrical punctuation.

And what a gift to hear the music played live by a seven-piece band (led by conductor/keyboardist Eugene Gwozdz). With amplification they sounded twice their size, hurling out all the rhythmic flair and percussive syncopations these numbers demand. Save for a few moments of recorded music, they scarcely rested.

Any show that pays tribute to Fosse, Robbins, Bennett, and Stroman is a must-see for me—but I’m rooting for an expanded version in a future run. Ninety minutes is a tease. Give me three acts and two intermissions. Until then, catch this exuberant tribute in its limited run through December 28.

✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦

photos by Bjorn Bolinder

Gotta Dance!
The York Theatre
Theatre at St. Jeans, 150 East 76th St.
Tues-Sat at 7:30; Sat & Sun at 2:30
ends on December 28, 2025
for tickets ($29-$54), call 862.235.0938 or visit The York Theatre

✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦

Gregory Fletcher is an author, theater professor, playwright, director, and stage manager. His publishing credits include a craft book on playwriting entitled Shorts and Briefs, as well as a collection entitled A Playwright’s Dozen: 13 short plays. Other publishing includes two YA novels (Other People’s Crazy, and Other People’s Drama), 2 novellas in the series Inclusive Bedtime Stories, 2 short stories in The Night Bazaar series, and five essays. Website, Facebook, Instagram.