Contact (musical)

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Contact: The Musical is a musical "dance play" (some deemed it a ballet) that was developed by Susan Stroman and John Weidman, with its "book" by Weidman and both choreography and direction by Stroman. It was first presented at the Mitzi E. Newhouse Theatre in September of 1999 (after 1999 workshop productions of parts of the show), then moved to the Vivian Beaumont Theatre (both are part of Lincoln Center), a Broadway house, on March 30, 2000 and played for 1,010 performances.

The piece was received with much critical acclaim and won the 2000 Tony Award for Best Musical (among others - see below). However, it caused much controversy in the American theater world about what constitutes a musical, as instead of original music, it uses pre-recorded music and songs, the actors do not sing, and there is minimal dialogue. As a result of the controversy, a new category was created for the Tony Awards: Best Special Theatrical Event.

The original cast album was released on March 6, 2001. The idea of a cast album for a show with no original score was in itself controversial. PBS included the show's final performance in its program "Live From Lincoln Center" on September 1, 2002. The show went on to tour nationally.

1 Structure, music and story
2 Awards
3 Original cast
4 Musical numbers
5 See Also
6 References
7 External Links

[edit] Structure, music and story

Contact is made up of three separate dance pieces, each set to pre-recorded music from the likes of Tchaikovsky, Stephane Grappelli, the Squirrel Nut Zippers, Royal Crown Revue, and The Beach Boys:

Part One - "Swinging"

Part One, set in the 18th century french forest clearing, can be described as a Contact improvisation on Fragonard's The Swing, a print of which is displayed on an easel when the audience arrives. Sex and concealed identity are involved in this piece of amoral intrigue - a servant and his master each seeks the young lady's affection. Much of the action takes place on a moving swing.

Part Two - Did You Move?

Part Two, set in 1950s New York, takes place in an Italian restaurant, focusing on the empty marriage of a small-time gangster and his wife. The wife has extensive dance sequences as she fantasizes about escaping her verbally abusive spouse, set to recorded orchestral music of Tchaikovsky and Grieg.

Part Three - "Contact"

Part Three, a contemporary piece, explores the emptiness of the career-driven lives of Manhattan apartment dwellers and prevents them from making contact with others.[1]. It helped to create a surge of interest in acrobatic and rock and roll swing dancing.

In each story, the central character expresses a longing to make a romantic connection.[2]

[edit] Awards

In addition to winning Best Musical and Best Choreography, Contact's leading actors, Karen Ziemba (in Part Two) and Boyd Gaines (in Part Three), won Tonys for Best Featured Actress and Best Featured Actor in a Musical, respectively. The show also won Drama Desk Awards for Outstanding New Musical, Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical, Outstanding Choreography and Outstanding Lighting Design.

Deborah Yates, who originated the spectacular dance role of Girl in a Yellow Dress (Part Three), was nominated that year in the same category as Karen Ziemba, but for her role in The Wild Party.