Rob Myers

If your favorite musical ever had a favorite musical it would always inarguably be WEST SIDE STORY! With the book written by Arthur Laurents, original music by Leonard Bernstein, lyrics by the masterful Stephen Sondheim, and the entire original production directed and choreographed by the incomparable Jerome Robbins, I don't even have to tell you how meteoric and magical this musical was and still is.

Try if you might to sit still and not tap your feet or snap your fingers during any musical set in the 1920's. The comedy is slapstick and somewhat cheeky at times. The music is simple, and yet it moves the story along just right. The characters are flighty and aloof, yet you root for them as they lure you into their realm of existence. The Empress Theatre's "Thoroughly Modern Millie" fits that bill to a tee!

This past weekend, I had the opportunity to witness Men In Motion at the Beam Theatre here in Atlanta, and I was marveled at the display of young men (and not so young) pouring their hearts and spirits onto the stage, further affirming that the joys of creative movement are for everybody.

In a word - an Ailey experience is nothing shy of transformational. If ever given the opportunity to take in an Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater performance, a few things are definitely bound to happen. You will be forever changed. Your views and ideologies will be questioned. Your biases and prejudices will be challenged and you will most definitely leave the theatre wanting to experience it again and again and again.