As the lights rose, the familiar scene of a bustling New York subway slowly emerged upon the stage. A ‘Chatty Cathy’ filled the air with the latest gossip as a woman applied makeup to her face. The metro area continued to increase with people as the homeless man, the traveler, the pregnant woman and the drunkard all waited for the arrival of the next train. Then the magic began as the drunkard perked up with a tap dance in his feet by which the pregnant woman and “Chatty Cathy” followed suit. Finally, the train arrived and this is how we entered into ‘The Call Me Crazy Dancers’’ production of Daydreams.
The opening number laid the foundation for an imaginative and soulful exposé of the mind’s encounter with fear, faith, happiness… and of course day dreams. Diary excerpts connected each dance number to a common theme which stated that people must hold onto and continue to believe in dreams. The lighting design by Jonathan Alexander enhanced the atmosphere for dreaming to occur.
Around the eighth or ninth number, company member John Curtis greeted the audience and introduced ‘The Call Me Crazy Dancers’. This is the moment of transition into original music nostalgic of great jazz and rock sounds. While both the dancing and music were wonderful, I believe that the show would benefit from the continuation of the ‘Daydream Diary’ excerpts in the second half for purposes of continuity. The premise of the journal was intriguing and could solidly connect the dance and music for an inspiring piece.
Daydreams offers a blend of dance, theatre, song and imagination that advocates for dreams to become a reality and encourages us all to let faith override fear.
The ‘Call Me Crazy Dancers’ include Laura Boyer, Amy Smith, Taylor Kim, Michelle Conroy, Julie DeGregorio, Carissa McCool, Brittany Sweatman, Ray Cook, Brittany Dunn, Jenelle Myrkalo, Amina Ugdah, John Curtis, Melissa Ikeda and Gina Rollar.
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For more information about the show and to purchase tickets, go to our Fringe Preview.
