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Article: 'Grand Hotel': Full of Life, But the Ballroom's Closed
- Article from:
- The Washington Post
- Article date:
- August 29, 2001
- Author:
CopyrightThis material is published under license from the Washington Post. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Washington Post. (Hide copyright information)
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Signature Theatre's "Grand Hotel" is a gorgeous production with a
gaping hole in it. The musical is well sung, energetically acted and
cleverly designed. But with a peculiarity that recalls "Bye Bye
Birdie" at the Olney Theatre Center earlier this year, it pretty much
declines to dance.
This is odd because "Grand Hotel" has been referred to as a
"theatrical ballet." Tommy Tune, who directed the show on Broadway in
1989, won a Tony Award for his choreography. That production was a
constant swirl of dance propelled by a dusky ballroom score (the
songs are by Robert Wright and George Forrest, with additional
material by Maury Yeston). The mood and movement were hypnotic, even
poetic. Did the ...