- Performances: 1,010
- Open / Close: March 30, 2000 / September 1, 2002
- Theater: Vivian Beaumont
- Box Office: $60.2M ($86.6M in 2020 dollars)
- Tony Awards: 4, including Best Musical, Best Choreography (duh) and Karen Ziemba winning for Best Featured Actress, beating out her costar Deborah Yates.
Podcast
Join me in this exploration of the history and ramifications of this fascinating one-off production with Julinda Lewis, Ed.D,, who has forgotten more about dance than most people will ever know. We discuss how dancers deal with pre-recorded music, how gestures can mean different things in different countries and many other fun tangents.
It may be hard to remember now, but the end of the 20th century was a weird time for the American musical. The Disney megaproduction of “The Lion King” was settling in for its monumental run and other high-profile stage adaptations like “Footloose” and “Aida” were taking off, with few new original works in development. As posited in the World of Theatre compendium of the time, “the golden age of musicals seemed very far away indeed.” However, with the turn of the century, “…a surge of creativity…turned the conversation about musicals in provocative new directions.”
One vibrant result of this surge was “Contact,” director / choreographer Susan Stroman’s leap into prominence in the theatrical world. Flouting traditional categorizations, the self-identified “dance play” utilized pre-recorded music as the engine behind three distinct dance interludes. Lacking any singing and nearly devoid of dialogue, the charming, challenging and invigorating explosion of movement seemed to befuddle the American Theatre Wing. “Contact” won 4 Tony Awards in the musical category, prompting protests from Broadway’s musician union, the resignation of key leaders, and ultimately leading to the creation of a new award for Best Special Theatrical Event.
- Fun Fact: While “Contact” is the 117th longest running production on Broadway, it is the #1 longest running production ever on the Lincoln Center’s Vivian Beaumont stage. The revival of “South Pacific” would log 996 performances there starting in 2008.
Not quite as commented on at the time was the new and unprecedented prominence of women-led development teams on Broadway. Stroman joined Julie Taymore (“The Lion King”) among visionary female creatives that also included Irene Mecchi (co-author of the book for “The Lion King”) and Linda Wolverton (co-author on “Aida” and “Beauty and the Beast”).
Critics loved “Contact,” the New York Times gushed that it achieved “what few musicals do these days: a sense of euphoric connection between the audience and what is happening on the stage.” Dance magazine hopefully suggested that the show might “elevate dance’s role a notch in theatrical visibility.” It became clear that the show could easily transcend cultural barriers with productions ultimately developed in Hungary, Poland, China and South Korea.
- Fun Fact #2: Several of the international companies of “Contact” were directed and choreographed by original cast member, Tome’ Cousin. Cousin was specifically selected by Stroman to develop the first ever regional production of “Contact” at Virginia Stage Company in Norfolk.
While the whole show was filmed for PBS’s “Live at Lincoln Center,” the entirety of that performance is not currently available to stream anywhere. I couldn’t find anything but small snatches of the first part, called “Swinging,” where the action centers around a prominent onstage swing and the sexual dynamics between a woman and two suitors. However, a version of the whole second part, called “Did You Move?” can be seen below.
The scene in the 3rd part featuring the song “Irresistible” by Robert Palmer is the most iconic. The driving beat, a smoky entrance by the Girl in a Yellow Dress, several comedic asides, and gymnastic dance moves prove the perfect showcase for everything that was entrancing about the show. The rest of this part included equally fun songs, “Put a Lid On It” by Squirrel Nut Zippers being one of my favorites.
- Fun Fact #3: Tony Award-nominee Deborah Yates dated Michael Bolton during the run of “Contact.” Her last professional credit was the movie “Deception” in 2008 and she has since dropped out of sight.
Despite the hopeful comments in Dance magazine, “Contact” didn’t quite revolutionize the theater world. Productions like “Stomp” existed before it and, even though there was another prominent dance-centric, dialogue-free show that opened during the 1999-2000 season (“Swing!”), there’s never been anything else quite like “Contact” since (feel free to dispute me — I’d love to know more!) I’d love it if a Stroman-level auteur developed a similarly exceptional dance sensation in the future. I never saw it live but, based on the reviews and the clips, I’d say it was an electrifying experience. Still, the use of borrowed music knocks it back a peg in my consideration.
- Final Grade: A-.