SITE GUIDE
SEARCH
REVIEWS
REVIEW ARCHIVES
ADVERTISING AT CURTAINUP
FEATURES
NEWS
Etcetera and
Short Term Listings
LISTINGS
Broadway
Off-Broadway
NYC Restaurants
BOOKS and CDs
OTHER PLACES
Berkshires
London
California
New Jersey
Philadelphia
Elsewhere
QUOTES
TKTS
PLAYWRIGHTS' ALBUMS
LETTERS TO EDITOR
FILM
LINKS
MISCELLANEOUS
Free Updates
Masthead
A CurtainUp Review
Break Out
Some of the Break Out cast members
|
The story is thin but intriguing: a sacred text drops into a prison yard, and its mysterious presence inspires the inmates to plot their escape and enjoy freedom. Per the title, the inmates succeed in breaking out, the SWAT guard immediately pursues, and the escapees have a tough time keeping one step ahead of the law.
This is a family-friendly show. The cops-and-robbers motif is neatly infused into an overall atmosphere of good humor and playfulness. Leaping head-high into the air or whirling in dervish fashion, the troupe.s dance moves defy gravity. It's no accident that some of Korea's leading B-Boys are in the 10-member cast.
The opening scene hasthe guard leading the inmates in a dull physical fitness routine. After a couple of minutes of repetitive jumping jacks and muscle stretches, the prisoners start clowning around and mocking the guard with counter-moves and high-jinks, turning the session into a farce. Very little happens in the way of story-line, but the mad-cap scene serves as a template for the evening, and gives us a taste of the over-the-top physical comedy in the entire production.
Dancing is at the core of this show, and the troupe has a very varied palette. What we see is sharply-etched and meticulously executed dance routines, including hip hop, gymnastics, yoga, slapstick comedy and martial arts. Not The principal dancers are the prisoners, namely Gray (Dae-Hyeok Lim), Lump (Won-Jun-Song), Dandy (Jong-Wook Jeong), Tricky (Chul-Hee Han), Joker (Yong-Nam Song), and Gundog (Jae-Hong Park). Their riotous dancing and comic grimaces are not only hilarious, but downright signs of vitality.
The prisoners escape scene is worthy of Houdini himself. The big break out is staged much like a dark game of hide-and-go-seek, with the Swat shining spotlights over the entire stage and through the audience in hopes of discovering the inmates. All is very artfully communicated—-the getup of the prisoners and SWAT guard (costumes by Hee-Ju Kim), the suitably grim-looking set (by Tae-Young Kim), the noir lighting (by Yun-Young Koo) and the sequence of top-notch dance routines. The total effect is kaleidoscopic and high-energy.
By far the funniest scene is a hilarious puppet pantomine, in which the entire troupe resembles the town fathers of Munchkinland. In this ingenious episode the performers stand behind a dark screen with their faces placed above tiny puppet bodies, and proceed to mime the prison break through a miniature tunnel, complete with sharp turns and precipitous drops. It's melodrama in the good old-fashioned sense, with the good guys vs. the bad guys, and the suspense drawn in broad dramatic strokes.
There's a bit of romance mixed into the choreographic brew. The cast has 3 young women, generically named Beauty 1 (Ji-Hee Jang), Beauty 2 (Jin-Hee Kim), and Beauty 3 (Yoon-Hui Choi), who boldly join in several scenes with the male dancers. What starts out as a kind of comic "war of the sexes" slowly evolves into a flirtatious game. These women are virtuoso dancers, like their male counterparts.
The female performers have triple duty in this production, alternately portraying vamps, nurses and nuns. While their romancing and nursing routines are quite compelling, they are most winning when they assume the religious habit of nuns and encounter the desperate inmates in church. this sacred setting has very funny scenario that transforms the altar communion bread into a source of temptation for the famished inmates and fasting nuns. True, slapstick and significance seldom get mentioned in the same breath. But in this church scene, the ridiculous and sublime get poured into the same chalice.
Director Jun-Beom has taken many choreographic risks but he seems to have a commanding sense of what works in a dance event, and consequently, keeps the 10-person cast on a sure-footed track. Whether the posse is break-dancing on stage, or zig-zagging through the orchestra in a cop-and-robbers scene, the production jells and feels dangerously right. Break Out is ultimately an explosive affirmation of freedom and life. It may be heresy to say so, but this almost non-verbal dance event is better than a lot of the other shows in town.
|
Break Out Composed by Sang-Ku Kang and Uk-Hyun Lee Directed by Jun-Beom Juen Cast: Dae-Hyeok Lim (Grey), Won-Jun Song (Lump), Dandy (Jong-Wook Jeong), Tricky (Chul-Hee Han), Joker (Yong-Nam Song), Gundog (Jae-Hong Park), Seong-Jun Park (SWAT), Ji-Hee Jang, (Beauty 1), Jin-Hee Kim (Beauty 2), Yoon-Hui Choi (Beauty 3). Sets: Tae-Young Kim Costumes: Hee-Ju Kim Sound: Yo-Chan Kim Lighting: Yun-Young Koo Choreographer: SevenSense Creative Team Running time: 75 minutes with no intermission. Union Square Theatre 100 East 17th Street. Telephone # 212/307-4100 . From 9/18/08; opening 9/23/08; closing 10/12/08 Tuesday through Thursday @ 8pm, Friday @ 7pm & 10pm, Saturday @ 3pm & 8pm. Reviewed by Deirdre Donovan based on September 19th press performance |
|
REVIEW FEEDBACK Highlight one of the responses below and click "copy" or"CTRL+C"
Paste the highlighted text into the subject line (CTRL+ V): Feel free to add detailed comments in the body of the email. |
South Pacific
In the Heights
Playbill 2007-08 Yearbook
Leonard Maltin's 2008 Movie Guide
