Review: THE ONE At Cirkus

The One is a newly written musical by Fredrik "Benke" Rydman and Åsa Lindholm. In many ways, both the plot and the characters are reminiscent of A Chorus Line - here, however, you only have to find a star who will reach out in social media - but now it's not enough just to be able to dance well, you have to be prepared to show everything, nothing is no longer private. There has been an extensive audition via social media but now a bunch of hopeful dancers have gathered for the final selection where the kind choreographer Alex (Erik Johansson) and the tough and not entirely likable producer Josie (Christine Meltzer) will select the lucky winner.

The dancers who then move on are a group with mixed backgrounds, for example the rich, well-behaved sixteen-year-old Max (Oscar Wallgren), the cocky tough Salima (Amelis Riquelma Nicoletti) from Rinkeby, the dancer Linda (Isa Tengblad) with a world career but who is now by someone reason returned home. Then we have the couple Rodrigo (Alvaro Estrella) and Cyntiha (Victoria Pèrez) who met in their teens and now twenty years later are coming to the end of their careers. Jamal (Emilio Araya) and Lukas (Marcus Møller) are absolutely fantastic in their roles and so is Nina (Janice Kamya Asante) who had a brief relationship with Alex. How equal was that relationship really, are we expecting a #metoo there? A hint that could have been more deeply investigated. The One suffers, just like A Chorus Line, that too many life stories are told in a short time, so there is no time to bond or connect to any of them.  It only scratches on the surface of who they are and what luggage they bring with them.

Compared to A Chorus Line, the girls are tougher and take more space in this musical.  It's more that some of the male dancers are in the shadow of the femalse. Rodrigo is so loyal to Chyntia that he puts his own career on hold, with dreams of now stepping up and showing what he can do and not just be Eternal Swing. It is one of the few songs in the musical that is a bit more serious and touching and Alvaro Estrellas shows that he has mastered both dancing and singing. And Alex is mainpulated by Josie as she has her own agenda.

It is consistently completely newly written music that turns into the cool dance acts, either where one of the dancers is in focus or full ensemble numbers. The dance really maintains a very high and innovative level. The music is not entirely to my taste, but together with the creative and cool choreography it becomes a unit which impress. The music, the dance, the diversity of the characters, the focus on the individual and the nod to social media make The One feel modern, current and right on time. Are you happiest being a solitary star, or being part of a group where you support and improve each other?

On the opening night, the musical was almost three hours long and it could have benefited from being tightened up a bit.

The joy of dancing on stage spreads to the audience and is contagious right up to the closing song of The One.

The One is played until October 29.

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