Welcome to the Musicals Thread, the Avocado’s space for anything and everything related to musical theatre! Every month I’ll post a discussion prompt, but please feel free to comment on other topics, from new discoveries to old favorites. If you have ideas for future prompts or would like to write a feature for the thread, let me know!
We’ve been looking at dance in musical theatre as an expression of character, whether that of a community, a relationship, or – for today’s discussion prompt – a single…um, character. They say when you’re too emotional to talk, you sing, and when you’re too emotional to sing, you dance. With no one else to lead or follow, what sort of events push a given character past these limits? Are their resulting movements those of joy or mourning, harsh or gentle, complex or understated? Do they illustrate their established personality or mark a new development? What are your favorite types/examples of solo dance numbers?
In Chicago, tap dancing is used to represent clever, quick-thinking manipulation. Indeed, Amos tells Roxie he’s tired of her “fancy footwork” just before she sweet-talks him into hiring lawyer Billy Flynn to free her from the consequences of her crime. In the 2002 movie adaptation, the number goes to Billy as he makes just the right insinuations in court to win even further sympathy for Roxie and make the prosecutor look like the bad guy. Either way, the rapid rat-a-tat embodies the mile-a-minute minds at work to keep themselves a step or five ahead of the would-be forces of justice.