[ REVIEW ]
‘Swing!’ is a bouncing
escape from dreary
news
Short, fast-paced and totally unencumbered by any semblance of character development or plot, Diamond Head Theatre's "Swing!" is indeed "the thing" for anyone seeking temporary escape from news of politics-as-usual, sewage spills in paradise and war casualty reports. And why not? The songs and dances comprising this colorful hit parade date from the Great Depression of the 1930s and America's subsequent star-spangled involvement in an earlier crusade to make the world safe from dictators and racism.
Put simply, "Swing!" swings!
"Swing!": Presented by Diamond Head Theatre at 520 Makapuu Ave. Shows run 8 p.m. Thursdays to Saturdays and 4 p.m. Sundays through April 18. Tickets are $12 to $42, with discounts for students, active-duty military and age 62 and older. Call 733-0274.
Director-choreographer Adealani Malia has assembled the most uniformly impressive dance troupe seen here in years in a community theater show. Not only are the dancers a tight and well-synchronized unit, but the star dancers who step forward in several numbers make challenging routines look effortless.
The men are uniformly trim and muscular. Most of the women combine the lean athletic look of showgirls with the dance skills of acrobats.
Elizabeth Ananij Harrison needed wires to "fly," or swing back and forth, when she starred in DHT's recent "Peter Pan" production, but soars seemingly unhindered by gravity while dancing with Arthur Johansen in "Swing!" Harrison is one of the most statuesque women in the show, but Johansen lifts, twirls and spins her effortlessly in a series of dazzling sequences.
Harrison is equally impressive in the poignant interpretation of "Blues in the Night" that is one of the two highlight numbers in Act 2. Harrison captures the wrenching emotion of the lyrics and makes male dancer John Tolentino the guy to hate when "the man" returns from catting around just long enough to get her hopes up before taking off again. Hate the cad, love Tolentino's performance.
"Blues" is also one of several showcase numbers for vocalist Katie Leiva, who surpasses her work in Manoa Valley Theatre's 2002 restaging of "Song of Singapore" and DHT's production of "Chicago" later that year. Leiva's first big number, "Bounce Me Brother (With a Solid Four)," establishes her as a force to be reckoned with, and "I'll Be Seeing You" reinforces that impression when she steps forward during a World War II/USO segment. "Blues" proves she's got it all as an old-time torch singer.
Leiva also distinguishes herself in two comic numbers with John Bryan. In "Bli-Blip," a couple communicates largely by scat-singing nonsense syllables -- and yes, Leiva does that well, too. Doing "All of Me" as a joke trivializes the emotion of the lyrics but serves to set up "I Won't Dance" as a comic dance number.
DHT veteran Charles Degala is well cast as the show's leading man. Degala establishes himself as a classic romantic lead with his first song, "It Don't Mean a Thing (If It Ain't Got That Swing)," and dominates the show thereafter. He steps forward on acoustic bass as dancer Arlette St. Romain's partner in "Harlem Nocturne" and meshes nicely with Bryna O'Neill on "Two and Four"/"Hit Me With a Hot Note and Watch Me Bounce."
O'Neill charms the audience with her comic skills playing a hopelessly rhythm-challenged woman who finds the beat with the help of an older man. She returns later to deliver a nuanced rendition of "Skylark" and distinguishes herself in Act 2 with "Cry Me a River." Trombonist Steven Carruthers is perfect with his instrumental "voicing" of the responses of a man trying to beg his way back into her good graces.
Carruthers is one of the seven musicians working with band leader/musical director Alethea Train on the bandstand that dominates the stage.
Four other dancers also stand out: Ashley Allen Tsuji displays his skills as a physical comedian opposite Morgen Chang in "Dancers in Love," and Tony Anacan and Michelle Leng capture the poignant theme of "I'll Be Seeing You" during the USO segment.
The biggest surprise is the presentation of "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy" as a song-and-dance number by three guys in contemporary suits rather than in the familiar arrangement introduced by the Andrews Sisters in the 1940s. The Andrews' version -- as covered by Bette Midler in 1973 -- swings vocally and instrumentally. The male song-and-dance version in DHT's "Swing!" does not.
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