BWW Reviews: FLASHDANCE Splashes Down on the OC

Ah, timing. Sometimes, it's awesome. Sometimes... meh, not so much.

Only just a few weeks ago, Orange County's Segerstrom Center for the Arts hosted the national touring company of BILLY ELLIOT, that Tony Award-winning musical about a young kid in a small, working class town, circa mid-1980's, with dreams of entering ballet school. Winning and downright hopeful, the musical is a smile-inducing treat, both as a stage musical and as a dramatized story of a talented pre-teen overcoming the odds under realistic dire circumstances.

It's an unfortunate, ill-timed happenstance, then, that the show that immediately followed it in the same theater space is the national touring company of the similarly-themed FLASHDANCE: THE MUSICAL---the new, Broadway-bound stage musical based on the popular 80's-era movie of the same name (it plays its final show in the OC on May 19). With one musical following the other so closely here in Costa Mesa, one can't help but notice just how many aspects both shows have in common. And, alas, the comparison---unfair as it may be to make---nonetheless reveal just how much one show isn't as successfully rendered as the other.

To wit, both shows have eerily similar traits: both are musicals based on previously-produced hit feature films; both take place in the same exact decade (albeit, in different continents); both feature storylines that highlight the struggles of having low-paying, antiquated, blue-collar jobs in a small town; and, finally, both musicals feature wishful central characters that long to get into ballet school to pursue their dreams and to fully express their natural talents.

But the similarities end there. When you strip away the comparisons and simply analyze FLASHDANCE on its own merits---which, in this case, sits squarely on its (newer) music, its staging, and its less than stellar book---what ultimately emerges is a show that lacks enough vitality and emotional punch to really pack a wallop. For a show that has the word "Flash" in it, there's just not enough of it, frankly.

Even the show's undeniably-talented ensemble---led by the incredible Jillian Mueller as the young lady with the penchant for dancing under a rainshower---can't disguise the fact that this musical needs a lot more refining before its planned Broadway bow later this year (and, perhaps, the show's creative and producing team have realized this, too: it was announced recently that its Broadway opening will now be postponed from its original summer start date, which you can read here).

On paper, turning Adrian Lyne's Flashdance---that 1983 surprise hit film that spawned a best-selling soundtrack of memorable, decade-defining chart toppers---into a full-blown stage musical seemed like an inspired idea. It's got infamous musical roots. It's got the potential for some really great dancing. And it's got a slightly naughty story with a hopeful, triumphant ending. And, wow, wouldn't it be fun to end act one with that infamous bucket-o'-water dance from the movie?

Alex is that oft-seen archetype of musical theater: the young girl with seemingly unattainable big dreams, yet somehow, thanks to a tuneful combination of luck, tenacity, and skill, achieves it by curtain call. FLASHDANCE's central character, more than anything, just wants to get into Shipley Academy, the local ballet school. A hoity-toity place that, apparently, looks down on people like her, she's both defiant of its elitist-ness yet she's achingly desperate to be accepted within its prestigious walls.Deviating only slightly from the film---which, like the movie, was also co-written by Tom Hedley, who came up with the original story--FLASHDANCE tells the tale of young Pittsburgh dreamer Alex Owens (Mueller), who earns a living both as a butch steel-mill welder during the day and as a sexy, um, uh... interpretive (?) dancer at a local dive bar at night. (Sorry for the confusion, but I'm still baffled as to exactly what kind of bar would showcase this type of dancing--it's not a strip joint, there are no stripper poles, there are outrageous costumes involved, but it's not exactly a "put a buck in my g-string" kinda exotic dancing establishment either).

Though she's a tough, independent, cool girl with a hip vibe and a gang of buddies that pretty much think she's all that, Alex is still somehow insecure about her prospects with Shipley. Will they ever let someone like her in since she's, well, economically-challenged, too blue-collar, basically self-taught, and have dance skills that skew more contemporary than classical (we see her enjoy pop-locking and breakdancing with her neighborhood pals)? We hear her sing about it, then dance about it, then bitch and moan about it... pretty much throughout the entire show. But, dang gurrll, she gots obstacles. Well, made up ones in her head, anyway.

Therein lies one of the many frustrations with FLASHDANCE: the main character doesn't really have concrete, believable difficulties to battle. In essence, this version of the dreamer almost seems half-hearted, and we only start to really invest in her success once she gets to her final, full-out, no-holds-barred solo dance to the show's Academy Award-winning title song at the very end of the show.

Ultimately, there's no real character growth because, well, things just end up working out for her---as if it's her reward for all that whining and huffing and puffing she does to pursue her own ascent. While, sure, self-doubt, pride, lack of money, and having just street smarts are indeed genuine obstacles in realizing one's dreams (heck, I can honestly say this from personal experience that they are sometimes paralyzing), they are by no means strong enough traits to hang an entire dramatic arc on, and the way the show goes about to justify her motivations here isn't working at all.

Even the "taboo" romance with her handsome "boss" Nick Hurley (Matthew Hydzik) that she fights off at first isn't really being deterred by any real consequences. He is crazy mad for her but his co-workers try to persuade him not to pursue her. Uh, why?

Natch, they fall for each other anyway (quite rapidly, I might add, shown in a ridiculous sequence of dates set to the song "Manhunt,"). Their obstacle to love? Well, the guy is rich, dresses like a preppy, and is the poster boy for his family's business---which also means he's been tasked to hand out pink slips to most of her friends in the steel mill---well, except she doesn't get a pink slip, of course, because she's a good worker. Um, okay. Oh, and later, OMG, he has the audacity to offer to put in a good word for her at Shipley! The nerve of this man trying to do something nice for her! (Alright, sarcasm now off).

Yikes.

And, on top of all this, though Alex is the main character of the musical, she is often drowned in a sea of zig-zagging multiple peripheral characters with unnecessary B- and C-stories that pad the show with interruptive tangents that pull focus from the main storyline. There's the owner of the club Alex dances at, Harry (Matthew Henerson), who is constantly coming up with creative ways to keep his place open for business. There's his son Jimmy (the likable David R. Gordon), a layabout kid who dreams of becoming a comedian so he, uh, decides to move to New York after a scuffle. He's also in love with Alex's best friend and fellow dancer Gloria (pixie-voiced Kelly Felthous), a naive girl unsure of her own path (may I suggest a career as Kristin Chenoweth's voice double in a Vegas act, Gloria?).

Later we also meet an older curmudgeon in a wheelchair, Hannah (Jo Ann Cunningham), whom Alex visits. At first I forgot who the character was from the movie, but then I realized she was her mentor (while struggling to recall who she was, I thought she was an aunt or grandmother or something---the set up wasn't so clear there).

And while I genuinely enjoyed Alex's BFFs Gloria, Tess (Katie Webber), and Kiki (Dequina Moore)---especially when they perform as Alex's personal Greek Chorus from time to time or have their comedic side numbers---their separate storylines feel "dropped in," particularly Gloria's interactions with Jimmy, and her later descent down the stripper spiral via C.C. (Christian Whelan) owner of the Chameleon, a more tawdry, rival club down the street. (Was renaming the character for the stage show just an excuse to have the ensemble sing Laura Branigan's "Gloria" to her? Ha ha).

At one point during the show's first half, I actually thought to myself... "Gosh, will everyone just stop talking and just dance already?" Oh, but when the cast does, wow, that's when the magic truly happens in the show. With beautiful choreography from director/choreographer Sergio Trujilo, the show's dance numbers---which vary from old school hip-hop to lyrical to ballet---are spectacularly staged, and are clearly the true assets of this show. Also worth lauding: the show's dynamic sets that incorporate drops and projections designed by Klara Zieglerova and Peter Nigrini, respectively.

The music, however, is a bit mixed. Many of the familiar songs plucked from the movie's soundtrack have been fashioned---forcibly---to accommodate the story; some, really well (the finalé "What A Feeling"), others, not so much (the aforementioned "Manhunt" and the chaotic "Gloria"). Meanwhile most of the 16 brand new songs written specifically for this new production by Robbie Roth and Robert Cary are serviceable enough, but not entirely memorable. Funny, though, that the songs that do stick out for me in a more positive way don't service the forward movement of the story at all, but are nonetheless lots of fun: "Justice" which features Nick and a few male co-workers at the mill, and "Put It On" featuring Alex and her girlfriends having some fun in the dressing room of the club.

Luckily for the show, the songs have been handed to some power pipes, particularly leads Mueller and Hydzik (their riffs are magnificent, especially during the quieter ballads), and diva extraordinaire Moore---the show's best singer and most cheerful character in the bunch (incidentally, I thought Moore was also one of the best things about the little-seen Queen Latifah/Dolly Parton/Jeremy Jordan movie musical Joyful Noise).

But despite having this cast of incredible triple threats, overall, FLASHDANCE seems like a well-meant endeavor that needs a serious overhaul in its disjointed execution. It certainly needs a bigger jolt of joy to put some much-needed umph into its storytelling. And with its untapped kitsch factor feeling dulled down, perhaps the show could have used lots more winking, nostalgic nods to the era it's set in (perfect lesson: the ROCK OF AGES stage show). In this current iteration, every situation feels like a frustrating stretch, and not the kind these fabulously limber dancers extend themselves to frequently. Even the first act itself feels like it just trudges along merely to get us to the infamous chair-and-water downpour scene---which goes by so quick, it almost barely registers enough to be a proper homage.

Maybe that's exactly what this show needs: a lot of cleansing to wash away everything it doesn't need, and to have clean surfaces available to showcase a newer, improved treatment.

Follow this reviewer on Twitter: @cre8iveMLQ

Photos by Kyle Froman. Courtesy of SCFTA. From top: Alex Owens get drenched; Kiki (Dequina Moore) dons a maid's apparel; Nick (Matthew Hydzik) ponders his place in his family's legacy.

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Performances of FLASHDANCE: THE MUSICAL at Segerstrom Center for the Arts continue through Sunday, May 19. Tickets can be purchased online at www.SCFTA.org, by phone at 714-556-2787 or in person at the SCFTA box office (open daily at 10 am). Segerstrom Center for the Arts is located at 600 Town Center Drive in Costa Mesa.

For tickets or more information, visit SCFTA.org.