CONTACT - a dance musical

June 13, 2001

Choreographed and directed by Susan Stroman

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A Broadway musical without singing is quite a novel idea. Susan Stroman has succeeded in creating such a musical with Contact. This musical is special because the stories are all told through dance. There is a little dialogue in Contact, but this is truly a dance show.

Contact is segmented into three sections or short stories. The first was called “Swinging” and was inspired by the 1768 painting “The Swing” by Jean-Honore Fragonard. This segment showed exceptional use of a prop, the swing dangling down the stage right diagonal. I was lucky enough to be sitting directly in the swing’s course and got to enjoy the hysterical facial expressions of the woman on the swing. Stroman’s swing choreography was beautiful and artfully performed, but what the audience enjoys most are the sexual overtones of this story told without any dialogue. “Swinging” is hilarious without being crude, and the period costumes are the perfect touch. This was a great opening to the show for it let the audience know that Stroman was not afraid to show us what was on her mind.

The second segment further reinforced the notion that Stroman is not one to hold back an idea, no matter how disturbing it may be. “Did You Move?” was set in an Italian restaurant in Queens in 1954 and tells the story of a wife who endures verbal abuse by her husband. She escapes from her sadness with elaborate dance daydreams which showed the audience her feelings quite clearly. Though this topic was serious and sad, Stroman used the right blend of humor in the choreography, which was very much ballet-based, to make it enjoyable for the audience. I found this to be the strongest piece in the show.

“Contact,” the third segment, is perhaps the most well-known of the three pieces and was the show closer. This is the story of the woman in the yellow dress and an advertising executive who must make contact with her if he is to survive. Again attempting to tell a rather serious story, Stroman intersperses humor with more somber ideas, thus balancing this segment so it is both entertaining and thought-provoking. “Contact” features ensemble swing dancing but it is obvious that these dancers are classically trained. Throughout the performance, all dancers displayed refined technical skill and great emotive quality.

Is Contact a glimpse at the future of the Broadway musical? I am sure there will always be traditional musical theater productions on the Broadway circuit, but it is nice to know that dance alone can fill 2 hours of exciting entertainment and tell stories on its own. Susan Stroman is definitely doing her part to ensure that theater-goers will put the value on dance as a storytelling medium that it deserves.

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