Thursday, March 24, 2022

reviews - FLASHDANCE - Arizona Broadway Theatre

 
Zach Perrin, Liz Fallon, and Cast
Photo by Nader Abushhab


highlights from local critics reviews - (click link at bottom of each review to read complete review)

Click here for more information on this production that runs through April 24

"It's either a testament to the lasting impression of the films of the 1980s or possibly that there are no original stories left to tell, but in the past week I saw and reviewed four musicals that were based on hit movies from the 1980s. The stage musical of Flashdance, a far cry from the beautiful musical adaptation of The Color Purple (currently at Phoenix Theatre Company), is more on par with the semi-successful, but also somewhat problematic, stage versions of Tootsie and An Officer and a Gentleman, whose national tours were in town last week. Arizona Broadway Theatre is presenting the local premiere of the show in a production in which the supporting cast and creative elements somewhat outshine the leads...."   -Gil Benbrook, Talkin' Broadway (click here to read the complete review)

"The problem with FLASHDANCE THE MUSICAL is that it's not the movie. That can't be said of all adaptations from the screen to the stage... In the case of Robert Cary and Robbie Roth's version of the Jennifer Beals hit, the story of Alex Owens, an 18-year-old welder by day and exotic dancer at Harry's Bar by night, gets lost in a tangle of subplots....the problem with the musical is that the core story of the film and its mood ~ dark, gritty, and steamy ~ are sacrificed on behalf of a juke box musical strung together by muscular dance numbers and popular songs. The parts ~ the subordinate story lines ~ ironically are greater than the whole. This is all the more evident in Arizona Broadway Theatre's current production of FLASHDANCE where the casting of key characters and overall direction is problematic...."  - Herbert Paine, Broadway World (click here to read the complete review)

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