Last year Chicago Tap Theatre introduced The Hourglass, a superheroine with the ability to slow time down, often assisted by her chick sidekick, The Secondhand. In this show, The Hourglass is reconceived and expanded with a more complete personal history in traditional DC Comics fashion. Indeed, the program, scenic and projection designs (by Andrew Pepoy, Chelsea Meyers and Jenna Deidel respectively) replicate the illustrations and typefaces of comic books.
Playwright: Andrew Pepoy & company. At: Chicago Tap Theatre, The Athenaeum, 2936 N. Southport. Phone: 312-902-1500; $30
Runs through: July 20
But the personal history is mere prologue backstory. The main tale, the Poisoned Pen of the title, is about a magic quill passed down through history, of which its successive owners have made astonishing—but sometimes sinister—use. If you’re a Harry Potter fan, think the Elder Wand. The comic book-like program records that the quill dates from the Library of Alexandria and was owned by Shakespeare, Mozart and Poe. In the show, the quill turns a music conductor and then—horrors!—a music critic to the dark side.
Spoken dialogue and usual stage movement are out at Chicago Tap Theatre. Instead, tap dancing to pre-recorded music is used for all physical action, and for emotive expression as well. The approach is original and is designed to engage the audience as a pop entertainment. In pre-show comments, choreographer, performer and Chicago Tap Artistic Director Mark Yonally urges the audience to cheer, boo, hoot and holler. It’s a live-action tap dance comic book, fer cry-eye, and not a dance concert.
Chicago Tap Theatre succeeds on many counts, but there are limitations. For example, the narrative is loosely structured. There are gaps and leaps in action with little explanation. For example, The Conductor and the music critic use the quill to make people kill each other over Thanksgiving dinner. But how do they do this, and why? Also, the music—Mozart, Kronos Quartet, The Ditty Bops, Sia, etc.—sometimes serves only as beat-and-tempo wallpaper. Musical choices fit the action much better in Act II than in Act I. Of course, the concept really needs an original score, but that’s a lengthy and costly undertaking.
If Stomp and/or Riverdance are your thing, this show might disappoint. The techniques and choreography emerge from fairly-narrowly defined traditional tap, and individual virtuosity mostly is secondary to the action narrative. You won’t find a soft-shoe routine, or a tap break or a time step doubled purely for showmanship. But you WILL find athletic and hard-driving rhythm and moves, with excellent solos for the principal characters and thundering full-company Act I and Act II closing numbers. The production is colorful—The Hourglass’ robin’s-egg blue dress and canary-yellow boots are smashing!—and certainly fulfills its comic book mandate through complex dance and simple entertainment. Running under two hours, this would be an excellent choice to introduce kids to live dance.