Photograph by Andrea Mohin/The New York Times |
"The Red Shoes" at City Center
"The Red Shoes" finally steamed into the City Center after exhausting itself everywhere else first. Until last night, it had been decades since I'd seen a life - sized steam train on stage but even when it eviscerated the star before our very eyes there wasn't much of a reaction, beyond admiration of the vivid choreography and the technical perfection of the production. It replicated the film in everything but emotion, or even dramatic tension, which were largely absent. Still, it must be difficult to get everything right, especially when the original film is something people commonly have dreams about, like having tea with the Queen. At interval at the GIF booth, it was fun to watch the fairly plump audience members arranging themselves in third position for the souvenir photo. Everyone's a ballerina at the ballet.
Read Brian Seibert's review in The New York Times