What does a professional theatregoer look for in a production? Originality certainly sits high on the list. Yet this show won the 2000 Tony for Best Musical when it contains no original music whatsoever, no original choreographic thoughts, and sweetly predictable stories (written by John Weidman, choreographed and directed by Susan Stroman). Not that the musical selections don't rank among the most glorious: Tchaikovsky's waltz from Eugene Onegin, Stéphane Grappelli's rendition of "My Heart Stood Still," Van Morrison's "Moondance."
A statue of cupid ties together the three benignly hopeful tales. In "Swinging" we see the before and after of the moment caught in time by Fragonard's rococo canvas "The Swing." The dainty damsel on the swing (Mindy Franzese Wild) is pushed by a servant (Keith Kühl) as an aristocrat (Andrew Asnes) offers her a picnic and jewels. Although the swing twists unnervingly when it shouldn't, the sensual acrobatics of the dancers are tightly rehearsed and smoothly executed in this piece, which is more pantomime than dance.
"Did You Move?" finds a couple (Meg Howrey, Adam Dannheisser) dining at an Italian restaurant, buffet style. When the abusive husband excuses himself to forage, having warned his wife "Don't fucking move," she fantasizes, not only about moving but actually about dancing: to Bizet's bouncy "L'Arlesienne Suite" and Grieg's "Peer Gynt Suite." (They're not the first tunes that come to mind in the bistro setting, but then we do seek originality.) The sprightly Howrey possesses a light jump, strong turnout, clean footwork, and a well-rounded technique that lets her work in various styles. But why are those styles tossed in haphazardly here? The choreography consists primarily of ballet clichés, with touches of Russian folk dancing and an occasional buck time step. Onegin does beg a bounding daydream, but its swirling melody and artfully blossoming excitement deserve better than the clambering under tables required of Howrey, with Gary Franco as the headwaiter.
Act Two's "Contact" gives deeply depressed advertising executive Michael Wiley (Alan Campbell) a last chance to find happiness. In his New York apartment (an eye-popper by designer Thomas Lynch), he fails in his darkly comical and rather noisy attempts at self-immolation, while his downstairs neighbor (as yet unseen) begs him via telephone to carpet his apartment. Apparently lost on the streets, he wanders into a club where the dancers compete for the attention of a woman in yellow (Holly Cruikshank). As in the best of fantasies, she has eyes only for him. To myriad pop standards, the clubgoers offer merely adequate examples of swing dancing, although fine control and apparent rehearsal (or a long run) make for smooth lifts and whipping spins.
Cruikshank's improbably long, exquisitely shaped legs only partly sell her technique; her elegant upper-body use, careful extensions, glossy turns, and striking dynamics move the choreography into storytelling, while her character's emotions are honestly rendered. Campbell's rollicking clowning is tight, his self-perceived humiliation all too real. And the two superbly mimic dancing "badly." A real-life cupid here is the clear-eyed bartender (Dannheisser). All wear thin, however, as Benny Goodman's "Sing, Sing, Sing" is wasted on repetitions of the story's themes.
Original, exciting, crisp, and memorable is the sound design (Scott Stauffer), including birdcalls from above the swing, street sounds from behind an upstage window, and audience reaction from the balcony. Costumes (William Ivey Long) are period lovely (with appropriate underthings) and danceable. Lights, however, include dark holes and harsh white spots, like a badly exposed photograph.
"Contact," presented by Center Theatre Group at the Ahmanson Theatre, Music Center of Los Angeles County, 135 N. Grand Ave., Downtown L.A. Tues.-Fri. 8 p.m., Sat. 2 & 8 p.m., Sun. 2 p.m. July 8-Sept. 1. $25-75. (213) 628-2772.