Review Roundup: JEROME ROBBINS' BROADWAY at TUTS; What Did The Critics Think?

TUTS' Jerome Robbins' Broadway - the final show in the company's 2018/19 Season, is now on stage!

Leading off the amazing cast of 47 brilliant performers is Jeffrey Schecter. Joining him are Giselle O. Alvarez, Jordan Beall, Danielle Betscher, Anne Brummel, Julio Catano-Yee, Austin Colburn, Beth Crandall, Joshua de Alba, Gabriella Enriquez, Sean Ewing, Veronica Fiaoni, Joseph Fierberg, Carlos Garza, Kelsey Gibbs, Maura Gill, Tyler Hanes, Stephen Hanna, Tasha Heggem, Michael Hoey, Sara Marie Jenkins, Michael Karash, Maya Kazzaz, Logan Keslar, Akina Kitazawa, Kelly Lomonte, Ashlyn Maddox, Melissa Hunter McCann, Connor McRory, Courtney Ortiz, Jessie Peltier, Daniel Pahl, Tanner Pflueger, Amber Barbee Pickens, Sean Rozanski, Vinnie Smith, Cooper Stanton, Gabi Stapula, Alyssa Sunew, Christopher Tipps, Waldemar Quinones-Villanueva, Kristin Warren, Matt Wiercinski, Andrew Wilson, Minami Yusui, Blake Zelesnikar, and Teresa Zimmermann.

Jerome Robbins Broadway, is be directed by Cynthia Onrubia with production supervision by Chris Bailey. Music supervision by Michael Horsley, with music direction byStephen W. Jones and additional choreography by Harrison Beal. They are joined by Set DesignerRyan McGettigan, Costume Designer Colleen Grady, Lighting Designer Jason Lyons, Sound DesignerAndrew Harper, and Projection Designer Nathan W. Scheuer. Casting for Jerome Robbins' Broadway is provided by Associate Artistic Director, Megan Larche Dominick, CSA. Associate Director Matt Kunkel and Associate Choreographer Beth Crandell round out the team.

Jerome Robbins' Broadway is an epic musical anthology that honors the career highlights of Tony Award-winning director and choreographer, Jerome Robbins. Filled with mesmerizing production numbers from some of Robbins' biggest hits, including West Side Story, Gypsy, On the Town, Peter Pan, The King and I and Fiddler on the Roof, this monumental TUTS premiere is the crown jewel of the musical theatre company's 50th Anniversary Season. Jerome Robbins' Broadway runs May 28 through June 9 at theHobby Center for the Performing Arts. Tickets start at just $30, and are available online at TUTS.com, or by contacting the TUTS Box Office by phone at (713) 558-8887 or in person by visiting the Box Office located at 800 Bagby Street.

Let's see what the critics have to say!

Brett Cullum, BroadwayWorld: Overall the dancing is precise and well executed from the entire ensemble. They switch modes to keep up with the demands of the styles of each piece, and somehow make it all look seamless. There wasn't a hiccup at any moment in regards to the performance and execution. This is a dance lover's dream! It's hard to pick out performers in a show like this with 47 dancers on the stage at any given moment and many of them doing double duty in roles across the entire running time. But there are a few standouts I was drawn to in many numbers. Gabriella Enriquez made for an impressive passionate Anita in THE WEST SIDE STORY sequences. All of the lead Three Sailors in the first ON THE TOWN sequence are amazingly good including Tyler Hanes, Connor McRory, and Jordan Beall. They all bookend the show with their athletic and fun routines. Akina Kitazawa does marvelous work as Eliza in THE KING AND I portion of the show. Teresa Zimmermann, Kristin Warren, and Anne Brummel almost steal the entire evening with their crowd-pleasing rendition of "You Gotta Have a Gimmick" from GYPSY. Sarah Marie Jenkins also does a fun job of updating the Peter Pan role.

D. L. Groover, Houston Press: The ensemble doubles and triples up roles, but the standouts include Jordan Beall, as innocent gob Gabey in On the Town; brassy Anne Brummel, as trumpet-strutting Mazeppa in Gypsy and Miss Liberty's Torch Singer sheathed in black velvet for "Mr. Monotony;" Gabriella Enriquez as fiery Anita in West Side Story; Akina Kitazawa, as indomitable Eliza in The King and I; Sean Rozanski, as hothead Bernardo in West Side Story; Teresa Zimmermann, as light-encrusted Electra in Gypsy and befuddled Golde in Fiddler; and Jeffrey Schecter, as Narrator, who then morphs into various roles, notably kind and exasperated Tevye from Fiddler. Everyone dances up a storm, exits, then reappears as somebody else, and continues dancing. It's non-stop and beautifully danced.

Christopher Grum, Local Blogger: There were a few standouts in the cast. Beyond Jeffrey Schecter's wonderful turn as narrator and various characters throughout, attention must be paid to Akina Kitazawa, who danced the role of Eliza in THE KING AND I segment flawlessly, Anne Brummel, who sang beautifully in every segment that she was featured in, and Teresa Zimmermann, who was solid as well in each of her featured roles. Overall the cast was extremely solid, a tough task with a group this large. It also featured several students from TUTS' Humphreys School, something always nice to see in their productions.

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