''Never Gonna Dance'' is a

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

musical Musical is the adjective of music. Musical may also refer to: * Musical theatre, a performance art that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance * Musical film and television, a genre of film and television that incorporates into the narr ...

featuring the music of

Jerome Kern Jerome David Kern (January 27, 1885 – November 11, 1945) was an American composer of musical theatre and popular music. One of the most important American theatre composers of the early 20th century, he wrote more than 700 songs, used in over ...

. The musical was based on the 1936

Fred Astaire Fred Astaire (born Frederick Austerlitz; May 10, 1899 – June 22, 1987) was an American dancer, choreographer, actor, and singer. He is often called the greatest dancer in Hollywood film history. Astaire's career in stage, film, and tele ...

Ginger Rogers Ginger Rogers (born Virginia Katherine McMath; July 16, 1911 – April 25, 1995) was an American actress, dancer and singer during the Classical Hollywood cinema, Golden Age of Hollywood. She won an Academy Award for Best Actress for her starri ...

film ''

Swing Time In music, the term ''swing'' has two main uses. Colloquially, it is used to describe the propulsive quality or "feel" of a rhythm, especially when the music prompts a visceral response such as foot-tapping or head-nodding (see pulse). This sens ...

''. Lyricists include Oscar Hammerstein,

Ira Gershwin Ira Gershwin (born Israel Gershovitz; December 6, 1896 – August 17, 1983) was an American lyricist who collaborated with his younger brother, composer George Gershwin, to create some of the most memorable songs in the English language of the 2 ...

P. G. Wodehouse Sir Pelham Grenville Wodehouse, ( ; 15 October 188114 February 1975) was an English author and one of the most widely read humorists of the 20th century. His creations include the feather-brained Bertie Wooster and his sagacious valet, Jeeve ...

Bernard Dougall Bernard (''Bernhard'') is a French and West Germanic masculine given name. It is also a surname. The name is attested from at least the 9th century. West Germanic ''Bernhard'' is composed from the two elements ''bern'' "bear" and ''hard'' "brav ...

Johnny Mercer John Herndon Mercer (November 18, 1909 – June 25, 1976) was an American lyricist, songwriter, and singer, as well as a record label executive who co-founded Capitol Records with music industry businessmen Buddy DeSylva and Glenn E. Wallich ...

Jimmy McHugh James Francis McHugh (July 10, 1894 – May 23, 1969) was an American composer. One of the most prolific songwriters from the 1920s to the 1950s, he is credited with over 500 songs. His songs were recorded by many artists, including Chet Baker, J ...

Otto Harbach Otto Abels Harbach, born Otto Abels Hauerbach (August 18, 1873 – January 24, 1963) was an American lyricist and librettist of nearly 50 musical comedies and operettas. Harbach collaborated as lyricist or librettist with many of the leading Broa ...

, and

Dorothy Fields Dorothy Fields (July 15, 1904 – March 28, 1974) was an American librettist and lyricist. She wrote over 400 songs for Broadway musicals and films. Her best-known pieces include "The Way You Look Tonight" (1936), "A Fine Romance" (1936), "On th ...

. It opened on

in 2003.

Production

The musical opened on December 4, 2003 at the

Broadhurst Theatre The Broadhurst Theatre is a Broadway theatre, Broadway theater at 235 West 44th Street (Manhattan), 44th Street in the Theater District, Manhattan, Theater District of Midtown Manhattan in New York City. Opened in 1917, the theater was designed ...

and closed on February 15, 2004 after 84 performances and 44 previews. It was directed by

Michael Greif Michael Greif (born ca. 1959 in Brooklyn, New YorkWelsh, Anne Marie, "New York and family call Michael Greif home", ''The San Diego Union-Tribune'', October 10, 1999, p.E-1) is an American stage director. He has won three Obie Award, Obie Awards a ...

with choreography by

Jerry Mitchell Jerry Mitchell is an American theatre director and choreographer. Early life and education Born in Paw Paw, Michigan, Mitchell later moved to St. Louis where he pursued his acting, dancing and directing career in theatre. Although he did not g ...

, costumes by

William Ivey Long William Ivey Long (born August 30, 1947) is an American costume designer for stage and film. His most notable work includes the Broadway shows '' The Producers'', ''Hairspray'', ''Nine'', '' Crazy for You'', ''Grey Gardens'', ''Young Frankenstein' ...

, lighting by

Paul Gallo Paul Gallo (born February 24, 1953) is an American people, American theatrical lighting designer. In a career that spans over 4 decades, Gallo has designed over 52 Broadway theatre, Broadway productions, an achievement matched by only 8 other l ...

, and sets by Robin Wagner. The cast featured Noah Racey (Lucky), Nancy Lemenager (Penny),

Karen Ziemba Karen Ziemba (born November 12, 1957) is an American actress, singer and dancer, best known for her work in musical theatre. In 2000, she won the Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical for her performance in ''Contact (musical), Contact ...

(Mabel) and

Peter Gerety Peter Gerety (born May 17, 1940) is an American actor. He is best known as Judge Daniel Phelan in ''The Wire'' (2002–2008). Career Gerety is a veteran of stage, screen and television. In early 1992, he performed to critical acclaim on Broadway ...

(Alfred J. Morganthal).

Synopsis

John "Lucky" Garnett is a dancer in vaudeville. His fiancée's father does not think Lucky can make a living without dancing. Lucky is determined to prove that he can earn a living without dancing, and so goes to New York on a bet with his lucky quarter to make $25,000. There he meets and falls in love with Penny Carroll, a dance teacher. They enter a dance contest. Meanwhile, Penny's friend Mabel finds romance with a down-on-his-luck stockbroker, Alfred.

Songs

;Act I *"Dearly Beloved" (Lyrics By Johnny Mercer) — Lucky Garnett and His Charms *"Put Me to the Test" (Lyrics By Ira Gershwin) — Lucky Garnett *"

I Won't Dance "I Won't Dance" is a song with music by Jerome Kern that has become a jazz standard. The song has two different sets of lyrics: the first written by Oscar Hammerstein II and Otto Harbach in 1934, and second written by Dorothy Fields (though Jimmy ...

" (Lyrics By Oscar Hammerstein II, Jimmy McHugh, Otto Harbach and Dorothy Fields) — Lucky Garnett and The Company *"

Pick Yourself Up "Pick Yourself Up" is a popular song composed in 1936 by Jerome Kern, with lyrics by Dorothy Fields. It has a verse and chorus, as well as a third section, though the third section is often omitted in recordings. Like most popular songs of the ...

" — Penny Carroll and Lucky Garnett *"Pick Yourself Up" (Reprise) — Mabel Pritt and Alfred J. Morgenthal *"Who?" (Lyrics By Oscar Hammerstein II and Otto Harbach) — Ricardo Romero and the Rome-Tones *"

I'm Old Fashioned "I'm Old Fashioned" is a 1942 song composed by Jerome Kern, with lyrics written by Johnny Mercer. It was written for the film ''You Were Never Lovelier'' (1942), where it was introduced by Nan Wynn who dubbed for Rita Hayworth as part of a song ...

" (Lyrics By Johnny Mercer) — Penny Carroll *"She Didn't Say Yes, She Didn't Say No"(Lyrics By Otto Harbach) — Spud and Velma *"The Song Is You" (Lyrics By Oscar Hammerstein II) — Mabel Pritt, Alfred J. Morgenthal and Waitresses *"

The Way You Look Tonight "The Way You Look To-night" is a song from the film ''Swing Time'' that was performed by Fred Astaire and composed by Jerome Kern with lyrics written by Dorothy Fields. It won the Academy Award for Best Original Song in 1936. Fields remarked, " ...

" — Lucky Garnett and Penny Carroll ;Act II *"Waltz in Swing Time" — The Company *"Shimmy With Me" (Lyrics By P. G. Wodehouse) — Mabel Pritt and The Company *" A Fine Romance" — Penny Carroll, Lucky Garnett, Mabel Pritt and Alfred J. Morgenthal *"

I'll Be Hard to Handle "I'll Be Hard to Handle" is a 1932 song composed by Jerome Kern, with lyrics written by Bernard Dougall. It was written for the musical ''Roberta'', where it was introduced by Lyda Roberti. ''Roberta'' opened on Broadway in November 1933.

" (Lyrics By Bernard Dougall) — Spud and Velma *"I Got Love" — Mabel Pritt *"The Most Exciting Night" (Lyrics By Otto Harbach and Dorothy Fields) — Ricardo Romero and the Rome-Tones *"Remind Me" — Penny Carroll and Lucky Garnett *"Never Gonna Dance" — Lucky Garnett and Penny Carroll *"Dearly Beloved" / "I Won't Dance" (Reprise) — The Company

Response

Reviews were mixed. For example,

Ben Brantley Benjamin D. Brantley (born October 26, 1954) is an American theater critic, journalist, editor, publisher and writer. He served as the chief theater critic for ''The New York Times'' from 1996 to 2017, and as co-chief theater critic from 2017 to ...

in ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' deemed it a "pleasant" but "spiceless" production. A review by

Michael Feingold Michael E. Feingold (May 5, 1945 – November 21, 2022) was an American critic, translator, lyricist, playwright and dramaturg. He was the lead theater critic of ''The Village Voice'' from 1982 to 2013, for which he was twice named a Pulitzer Pri ...

in ''

The Village Voice ''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture paper, known for being the country's first alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf, Ed Fancher, John Wilcock, and Norman Mailer, the ''Voice'' began as a platform for the crea ...

'' was more positive, citing a convoluted plot and some miscast actors, but praising the musical numbers as "reassuringly good". John Kenrick reviewed the musical for ''Musicals101'', praising the choreography, costumes, lighting and scenic design: "Jerry Mitchell has turned out some effective dances, and the physical production boast period-perfect costumes by William Ivey Long, stunning lighting by Paul Gallo, and some striking New York sets by the great Robin Wagner." However, he noting miscasting, and "The second act spins out of control."Kenrick, John
"Review. ''Never Gonna Dance'' "
musicals101.com, accessed May 24, 2016

Awards and nominations

Original Broadway production

References

{{Reflist

External links

IBDB
2003 musicals Broadway musicals Musicals by Jerome Kern Musicals by Oscar Hammerstein II Musicals based on films