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'Swing' Has No Plot, Meaning Or Content, And That's Not A Problem

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‘Swing’ Has No Plot, Meaning Or Content, And That’s Not A Problem

By Julie Stern

BRIDGEPORT — “It don’t mean a thing if it ain’t got that swing” and happily Downtown Cabaret Theater has more than enough to make an eye popping, foot stomping, hand clapping evening’s entertainment in its production of Swing, the song and dance concert originally conceived by Paul Kelly currently in performance. Totally lacking in plot, meaning, or intellectual content of any kind, Swing is meant only to produce enjoyment at the frenetic sound and non-stop movement by a joyous company of twelve dancers, four singers, and eight bespectacled, Benny Goodman look-alike musicians in a retro-swing band.

From its roots in the Savoy Ballroom back in the golden days of the Harlem Renaissance, to the modern day dance competitions across the country, the show mixes old and new in a mixture of jive, hip hop, West Coast swing, country and western, Grand Ole Opry, disco, rock and roll, the Lindy Hop and the Jitterbug.

Thirty fast-paced scenes, enhanced by Hugh Hallinan’s  mood setting lighting and Gail Baldoni’s brilliant costumes, move back and forth through the decades. Most of the songs are familiar but they are presented in arrangements that are clever and original, often making use of the musicians and their instruments in unexpected ways. In particular, the performance of  “Cry Me A River” involved the most sexually provocative use of a trombone I’ve seen in a long time.

The first act ended with a six-part salute to the memory of World War II and the USO, beginning with “Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy” and featuring a powerfully moving rendition of “I’ll Be Seeing You.”

There were some terrific instrumental pieces including “Harlem Nocturne” featuring a bass solo, and a jazzed up version of “Caravan.” There was comedy too, in a clowning around performance of “All of Me/I Can’t Dance” and a straight version of “Blues in the Night.”

This company is brimful of talent and vitality, and the audience couldn’t help getting caught up in it. The lights of Broadway may have been temporarily shut down, and war may be just around the corner, but for a real good time right now, go and let Swing take your mind of reality for at least a little while.

(Performances continue weekends through May 18. Downtown Cabaret, at 263 Golden Hill Street, can be contacted for show details and reservations at 203-576-1636.)

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