Review: Nic and Desi Tap the Night Away in BUBBLES AND TAPS at Green Room 42

Nicholas Dromard and Desiree Davar, or Nic and Desi as they’re more familiarly known, were utterly charming at their March 23rd show, Bubbles and Taps, at Green Room 42. The married couple are true triple threats. In addition to their singing and acting chops, they’re both trained dancers, a skill they showed off quite a bit. They channeled the essence of the 1930s to 1950s MGM Movie Musical era, with a hefty dose of Disney thrown in for the younger set. The pair regularly performs an adults-only version of their show around New York City and the country, but since this one was a 1 pm matinee, they decided to make it a bit more kid-friendly than normal, and plenty of appreciative parents turned out. Nic and Desi also had their adorable daughter, Zelia, age 5, join them onstage to sing her favorite song (“not what you would expect,” Nic joked, before launching into “You Make Me Feel So Young”).

The show opened with a short, cute pre-filmed “I Love Desi” sketch, in which the parents settle in after a move before realizing they’ve misplaced their daughter, setting them off on a house-wide hunt for Zelia. The show was nonstop fun, camp, and care-free dance after that, with a special appearance by “Liza Minnelli,” a perfect impression by Desi. She did a medley of Disney numbers as Liza herself would have done them, mock-serious. Zelia even joined as a mini Liza in an adorable pre-filmed bit. In the opening number, a fun tap dance routine to “Puttin' on the Ritz,” Nic literally danced his vest off, the costume piece starting to come undone. “You’d better take that off,” Desi joked. The couple had amazing chemistry throughout the night, clearly very much in love with each other and with what they do. (You can see photos of the night, including their fun costume choices and sparkly dance outfits, here, taken by Kevin Alvey, who also snapped the header photo on this page.)

Nic and Desi were joined for the night by Gillian Berkowitz on piano, Caroline Moore on drums and Leo Huppert on bass. They turned out plenty of fresh arrangements for familiar songs, including a touching “Being Alive” reimagined as a duet. Desi also paid tribute to the recently passed Chita Rivera, who she once got to perform in front of at a show honoring the incredible woman (with the photos to prove it!). She sang “All That Jazz” with the Fosse-inspired choreography to go along with it, and Nic joining on the chorus parts.

The couple were back in NYC for the first time after Nic’s battle with vocal cancer. They’re stronger than ever after that harrowing experience, and danced the night away with some truly impressive tap numbers, ready to inspire audiences again with the music they grew up listening to. If you haven’t seen them yet, make sure you go follow them to find out their next show dates.

Learn more about Nic and Desi on their website.

Find more shows at Green Room 42 online here.

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