Founded in 1976 and re-established in 2012 to preserve classic works of musical theater choreography, American Dance Machine for the 21st Century is presenting a limited Off-Broadway world-premiere engagement of Gotta Dance with The York Theatre, reconstructing and celebrating a selection of iconic works that have defined generations of the art. Conceived by Nikki Feirt Atkins and co-directed by Atkins and Randy Skinner, the spirited two-act production features a company of fourteen dancers, accompanied by a live seven-piece band, performing seventeen segments of favorites from fourteen legendary shows and the renowned choreographers who defined the genre.
The cast of triple-threats from Broadway and beyond – Jessica Lee Goldyn, Brandon Burks, Anthony Cannarella, Barton Cowperthwaite, Deanna Doyle, Paloma Garcia-Lee, Afra Hines, Jess LeProtto, Kendall Leshanti, Drew Minard, Georgina Pazcoguin, Samantha Siegel, Taylor Stanley, and Blake Zelesnikar – not only dances but also sings and re-enacts some scenes from an array of musicals spanning the years 1952 to 2015. Presented achronologically and performed on a mostly bare stage with a few minimal props (scenic coordination and props by Noah Glaister) to allow room for the active and expansive movement, each segment is identified on a full-scale upstage projection screen (projection design by Brian Staton), naming the show it’s from, the year it debuted, its creators, and interesting facts about the characters and the story it tells, then changing to backdrop images that indicate the locale in which it’s set.
Opening with LeProtto and the full company on stage for the lively 1935 song-and-dance number “Broadway Rhythm,” featured in the 1944 film of the same name and here arranged and choreographed by Skinner, the exuberant tone and theme of the show are established and the series of renowned hits from Broadway follows. The landmark musicals and choreographers represented are Singin’ in the Rain (1952, choreographed by Gene Kelly and Stanley Donen), Sweet Charity and Pippin (1966 and 1972 respectively, and both choreographed by Bob Fosse), West Side Story, Gypsy, and Jerome Robbins’ Broadway (of 1957, 1959, and 1989, all choreographed by Robbins), A Chorus Line (1975, choreographed by Michael Bennett and Bob Avian), Bubbling Brown Sugar (1976, with choreography by Billy Wilson), Irving Berlin’s White Christmas (2008, adapted for the stage from the 1954 film, and here choreographed by Skinner), Swing! (1999, with choreography by Lynne Taylor-Corbett), Smokey Joe’s Cafe (1995, choreographed by Joey McNeely, with additional choreography here by Skinner), An American in Paris (2015, choreography by Christopher Wheeldon), and the lesser-known Contact (2000, choreographed by Susan Stroman).
In addition to the well-curated variety of shows is the wide array of dance styles that characterizes them, including everything from the Lindy Hop, swing, tap, jazz, and ballet, to modern dance, the shimmy, and rocking-and-rolling. Among the highlights are “Cool” from West Side Story, with Minard and members of the company embodying the rival gangs of the Sharks and Jets, and enacting their rumble with abstract moves and sounds; the outstanding Burks and LeProtto energetically singing and tapping to “Moses Supposes” from Singin’ in the Rain; the balletic “Pas de Deux” from An American in Paris, beautifully danced by the lithe and graceful Pazcoguin and Cowperthwaite; and the dark “Manson Trio” from Pippin, displaying the spot-on precision of Stanley, Hines, and Pazcoguin as they deliver Fosse’s groundbreaking elements of angularity, isolation, hip rolls, and turned-in knees, employ his signature hats and canes, and leave us with the famous “Ta Da” moment at the end.
There were also a few missteps at the press preview I attended, with some shaky lifts in “Sing, Sing, Sing” from Swing!, performed by the company and led by Siegel and Cannarella, which will undoubtedly have improved by opening night. Each of the segments is enhanced by mood-setting and focused lighting (by Ken Billington), period- and character-defining costumes (by Marlene Hamm), and clear sound (by Peter Brucker).
The revue closes with two numbers from the consummate dancers’ musical A Chorus Line, staged by Donna McKechnie – the original Cassie on Broadway and on whom the lead character was based. “The Music and the Mirror” features Goldyn singing, dancing in front of three vertical floor mirrors, and discussing the reason for her audition and her passion for dance with a voiceover by Zelesnikar. It is followed by the full company’s performance of the blockbuster “One,” staged by Baayork Lee, with fully synchronized high kicks and top-hat tips, and all members of the cast sequentially taking their bows before an enthusiastic audience. It’s an exhilarating and apropos conclusion to the fast-paced historical journey through some of the greatest milestones of Broadway dance and the most influential choreographers from the mid-century into the new millennium. If you’re a fan of Broadway musicals, you gotta see Gotta Dance.
Running Time: Approximately one hour and 40 minutes, including an intermission.
Gotta Dance plays through Sunday, December 28, 2025, at The York Theatre, performing at the Theatre at St. Jean’s, 150 E 76th Street, NYC. For tickets (priced at $29-69, including fees), go online, or find discount tickets at TodayTix.
