Editor’s Pick: ‘Dance Nation’ at Olney Theatre
Clare Barron's 'Dance Nation,' a "raucous pageant of ambition and ferocity," is off to the races at Olney Theatre.
The show’s official premise reads, “Somewhere in America, an army of pre-teen competitive dancers plots to take over the world. And if their new routine is good enough, they’ll claw their way to the top at the Boogie Down Grand Prix in Tampa Bay.”
And with that, Clare Barron’s Dance Nation, billed as a “raucous pageant of ambition and ferocity,” is off to the races, stepping out well beyond the predictable and expected in terms of the topics and themes covered, even the actors cast for the roles.
The competitive tween dance team at the show’s heart is portrayed by actors of all ages, though all are adults in the new production at Olney Theatre. It adds a reflective and knowing veneer to the production, as the adults-as-tweens discuss and debate topics ranging from masturbation to life ambition, natural beauty to unexpected talent, cut-throat competition to sisterly bonding and solidarity.
In selecting the play as a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 2019, jurors praised it as “a refreshingly unorthodox play that conveys the joy and abandon of dancing while addressing the changes to body and mind of its preteen characters as they peer over the precipice toward adulthood.”
The first show in Olney’s 84th season, Dance Nation features a diverse ensemble of actors, including Olney veterans Brigid Cleary, MaryBeth Wise, Megan Graves, and Michael Wood, plus Olney debuts by Yesenia Igelsias, Jasmine Joy, Shubhangi Kuchibhotla, and Ashley D. Nguyen. Louis E. Davis plays the team’s only male dancer, Luke.
Jenna Place, a nationally ranked alpine skier in her college days, directs the production, which features choreography by Nikki Mirza.
Running through Oct. 30 at the Mulitz-Gudelsky Theatre Lab, 2001 Olney-Sandy Spring Road, in Olney, Md.
Tickets are $49 to $79. Visit www.olneytheatre.org or call 301-924-3400.
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