Review: A Feel Good GOTTA DANCE

The Broadway-bound musical GOTTA DANCE, enjoying a pre-Broadway run at Chicago's Bank of America Theatre through Jan. 17, 2016, is a feel-good romp that showcases the talents of some truly iconic Broadway performers including Andre De Shields, Georgia Engel and Lillias White as well as some here-to-for unknown singing talents of TV and film star Stefanie Powers in her Broadway debut.

Based loosely on the 2008 documentary of the same name, the plot involves a New Jersey basketball team (renamed here to "The Cougars" no doubt to avoid having to pay some hefty NBA licensing fees) that puts together a 60+ dance group to entertain the crowds during half-time. The book is by Chad Beguelin ("Aladdin") and Bob Martin ("The Drowsy Chaperone) and features music by Matthew Sklar ("Elf") and lyrics by Nell Benjamin ("Legally Blonde"). Two additional songs (some of the best in the show --"Dorothy/Dottie" and "The Prince of Swing") were written by Marvin Hamlisch (who was working on the show when he died in 2012).

Hamlisch seems to loom large over the proceedings. The structure of the show is very similar to Hamlisch's mega-hit "A Chorus Line" in that a group of dancers are auditioning for a shot on stage and featured performers have songs that reveal something about themselves.

Coaching the seniors is Tara (Haven Burton). In a bit of irony that is not lost on her, at 27 she is now too old to dance with the team's main group and has instead been charged with coaching the senior citizens into a winning group. Burton is even given a "Cassie" moment alone in front of the mirror in the second act. It's a defining moment for her character and one in which we see why she empathizes with her team.

The dancers include a widowed Ron (De Shields; who again shows off some fine dance moves and a touching back story in "The Prince of Swing/There You Are"), a bitter first wife looking to get back at her ex-husband (Powers as Joanne), a grandmother trying to rekindle her connection with her granddaughter through dance (a dynamic powerhouse White as Bea), an enthusiastic, but bungling woman whose husband is in the final stages of Alzheimer's (a lovable Lori Tan Chinn as Mae), a Latina cougar (Nancy Ticotin as the sexy dynamo Camilla whose performance of "¿Como No?" ignites the second act) and an elementary school teacher with a secret passion for rap and hip hop (Engel in a Tony-worthy performance as Dorothy).

In supporting roles worth a shout out are Kay Walbye as the nearly blind dancer Muriel and Lenora Nemetz as the Mary Kay cosmetics-pushing fellow dancer Fran who gives her a make-over.

Director/Choreographer Jerry Mitchell ("Kinky Boots") has become the go-to guy for crowd-pleasing shows and he succeeds again here. Along with co-choreographer Nick Kenkel, Mitchell has managed to blend the sometimes overtly sexual hip hop moves with more traditional forms of dance that don't feel quite as uncomfortable. It's wholesome, but still manages to somehow keep a bit of its street cred.

Suffice to say, GOTTA DANCE has got legs to do well on Broadway -particularly with the bridge and tunnel crowd.

GOTTA DANCE runs through Jan. 17, 2016 at the Bank of America Theatre, 18 W. Monroe. Tickets $38-$105. Call 800-775-2000.

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