The Boy Who Danced On Air
The Boy Who Danced On Air
#1The Boy Who Danced On Air
Posted: 5/26/17 at 2:08pm
Has anyone seen this? I confess that Green's review conveys a high level of ick, but perhaps the show isn't as insensitive as he makes it sound.
And then, of course, I imagine there'll be a bit of cultural appropriation issue, with a pair of lily-white boys writing a middle-eastern/Southern Asian musical. (It's good for Rodgers & Hammerstein that they made The King & I when they did...)
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/25/theater/boy-who-danced-on-air-review.html?hpw&rref=theater&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&module=well-region®ion=bottom-well&WT.nav=bottom-well
#2The Boy Who Danced On Air
Posted: 5/26/17 at 2:45pm
I saw it this past week and thought it was ambitious but amateurish. The writing fails a lot, especially in the second act but some of the music and performances are lovely. Yes, I did have an issue with two non-Afghanis writing the show and writing about a sensitive subject matter in a culture they don't know about first-hand.
Overall, I can't really recommend it to anyone.
A little swash, a bit of buckle - you'll love it more than bread.
#3The Boy Who Danced On Air
Posted: 5/26/17 at 2:47pm
I haven't seen the show, but I've heard some music from it over the years. The score seems compelling from what I've heard, but the subject matter does put me off, at least to some degree.
For the record, neither Troy Iwata nor Nikhil Saboo are white.
"You travel alone because other people are only there to remind you how much that hook hurts that we all bit down on. Wait for that one day we can bite free and get back out there in space where we belong, sail back over water, over skies, into space, the hook finally out of our mouths and we wander back out there in space spawning to other planets never to return hurrah to earth and we'll look back and can't even see these lives here anymore. Only the taste of blood to remind us we ever existed. The earth is small. We're gone. We're dead. We're safe."
-John Guare, Landscape of the Body
#4The Boy Who Danced On Air
Posted: 5/26/17 at 2:48pm
AC126748 said: "I haven't seen the show, but I've heard some music from it over the years. The score seems compelling from what I've heard, but the subject matter does put me off, at least to some degree.
For the record, neither Troy Iwata nor Nikhil Saboo are white.
I think newintown was referring to the writers as being white.
A little swash, a bit of buckle - you'll love it more than bread.
#5The Boy Who Danced On Air
Posted: 5/26/17 at 2:50pm
Whoops. Reading comprehension fail on my part.
"You travel alone because other people are only there to remind you how much that hook hurts that we all bit down on. Wait for that one day we can bite free and get back out there in space where we belong, sail back over water, over skies, into space, the hook finally out of our mouths and we wander back out there in space spawning to other planets never to return hurrah to earth and we'll look back and can't even see these lives here anymore. Only the taste of blood to remind us we ever existed. The earth is small. We're gone. We're dead. We're safe."
-John Guare, Landscape of the Body
Theater3232
Featured Actor Joined: 10/16/10
#6The Boy Who Danced On Air
Posted: 5/26/17 at 2:51pm
Amateurish, one-dimensional characters, terrible acting, terrible singing. These "actors" may want to hone their skills at a local college before they go anywhere near a professional stage. Definitely avoid.
#7The Boy Who Danced On Air
Posted: 5/26/17 at 3:18pm
I plan to see this. A friend raved about it and it.
Just read a few other reviews that were very positive.
Just give the world Love.
#8The Boy Who Danced On Air
Posted: 5/26/17 at 4:00pm
This wasn't on my radar until last week. I'm sort of morbidly curious.
But, actually, reading complaints that the acting is amateurish does more to deter me than the subject matter.
CHURCH DOOR TOUCAN GAY MARKETING PUPPIES MUSICAL THEATER STAPLES PERIOD OIL BITCHY SNARK HOLES
#9The Boy Who Danced On Air
Posted: 5/26/17 at 4:10pm
I have my tickets already... cause I love gay musicals... but now I might be regretting it. Hope I like it more than the posters here.
VintageSnarker
Broadway Legend Joined: 1/30/15
#10The Boy Who Danced On Air
Posted: 5/26/17 at 5:13pm
I don't want to deal with the NYT paywall so I'll just post my own thoughts.
I didn't mind it. I've certainly seen worse things off-Broadway. It's a show that grows on you as you accept what it is and let go of what it's not.
The first song, establishing the general sense of the story, is not terrible. You feel like it might just be easing you in... and then you come to realize that most of the music is written in a contemporary musical theater style without much influence from the traditional music of that region. It's a little more Disney than Jason Robert Brown. The composition is not that complicated and it does do those big emotional swells and while not "catchy" like The View Upstairs, it's also not very abrasive. Throughout the piece, you hear little things that vaguely hint at traditional Middle Eastern music. I'm not sure if that was created with appropriate instruments or just tambourines and some manipulation of Western instruments. But it's barely anything. This is certainly no The Band's Visit or even The Prince of Egypt.
There are certainly songs I thought they could outright cut. I'm not going to grab my program but the first song Feda sings to introduce his character is horrible. It doesn't suit the actor's voice at all. It's just a bad song... coming off of Eurovision, it is still sounded worse than some of that Eurotrash pop. And the way he was directed to go through the audience was just embarrassing. But it got better. There were definitely some standout songs toward the end of Act 1 into Act 2. That actor got to show off singing and the actor playing Paiman really got some nice moments. If Aladdin is still running when he's old enough, I think he could be great.
I think people are being really hard on the performers. Again, I've seen worse. I think partly it was the material in the beginning. Feda and Paiman are written in such that their early interactions seem... off. I mean you can make excuses about their emotional development and all that given the situation but it comes across as an adult trying to write these punk kids. I think as it settles into a more romantic place, that improves a little and the performers find a way to bring more emotional truth. I did find it affecting. I don't know if they totally succeeded with Jahandar but they certainly were trying something. He was more than just a flat villain. I felt the same complications that were there in Kid Victory. I liked that they didn't just make him a tortured character suppressing his true sexual identity. But... things were complicated. Zemar was the struggle for me. It was like they took that Abis Mal character from the Aladdin sequel and tried to plug him in wherever necessary. He was comic relief. He was the sounding board. He was the big villain. His characterization seemed the weakest because he was there to be what the plot required.
I wouldn't go just for the dancing but it isn't terrible if you think of it in the context of the show. Like, these shouldn't be virtuosic dancers. The point isn't that they escape and go off to dance in professional companies because they're so good. I think it dancing and choreography do what they need to do to serve the story. And the actor playing Paiman had some nice lines.
I could write a whole essay on how they handled sexuality and abuse in this show. I think they left a lot open. I don't think I could say with confidence that any of the characters were outright gay or straight or something in between. There was just a fluidity in the way they were looking for love and connection where it could be found. I do think partly because of the clunky book towards the beginning, the Feda and Paiman relationship was underdeveloped. Well, let me put it this way. At first, I thought they were rushing the connection. And then it turned out that they gave it more time than I thought. But ultimately I think there was a better way to write that. As for the abuse, while at first, it feels like it's glossed over I think they ultimately get to a place that goes farther than Kid Victory and feels more truthful. Even though, maybe it's a little melodramatic. I do think having that character sacrifice himself at the end felt problematic. And I know it's about a show in a world of men but I would be remiss if I didn't point out that we never hear how the female characters are affected by all of this.
I don't know. Ultimately, I left feeling mostly positive in spite of all the flaws. And I cried. So... take all of that how you will.
#11The Boy Who Danced On Air
Posted: 5/30/17 at 6:12pm
What's the run time?
Updated On: 5/30/17 at 06:12 PM#12The Boy Who Danced On Air
Posted: 5/30/17 at 6:14pm
About 2:20.
A little swash, a bit of buckle - you'll love it more than bread.
sdrick
Understudy Joined: 10/4/05
#13The Boy Who Danced On Air
Posted: 5/30/17 at 9:47pm
I think the biggest "ick" factor is Green's review. I don't think much of him as a reviewer, but I'll leave that there so I don't get bounced off this site.
I see more off-Broadway than Broadway shows just for productions like this. This is a remarkable bit of storytelling. Ambitious and maybe a bit overwritten, but the "flaws" here can still be embraced and the work of this creative team can't be easily dismissed. It's not Broadway-slick, and political and religious hypocrisy aside, it is an exquisite evening of theatre. It is too bad there wasn't someone of Middle Eastern persuasion on the creative team so it could be seen as more racial sensitive, but it's a story that really needed to be told. I'd recommend it to anyone.
#14The Boy Who Danced On Air
Posted: 6/1/17 at 7:27pm
I went in expecting the worst... but actually I fell in love with this musical. Maybe my expectations were just low but I absolutely loved this. The complaints about the score not having enough Eastern influence are dumbfounded. They are all over the orchestrations. The style is contemporary musical theatre in a very similar vain to Pasek and Paul... which makes sense cause these composers are about the same age and working in the same genre. I don't think that the composers of contemporary musical theatre should have to completely invent a new genre because they decided to tell the story of an Afghani sex slave.
Also... I don't think that the composers should have avoided this topic just because they're white. Most of us would never have heard this story or found out about the horrific tradition of "Dancing Boys" had they not decided that it was a story that needed to be told. They probably should have gone out of their way to hire a middle eastern director to ensure the production and story were handled sensitively but that to me was their only misstep. I thought the story was great, the production was wonderful and the cast was superb.
The score was a real gem to me and very similar to that of Dog Fight and DEH. I hope they release a cast album.
The musical wasn't perfect, and parts of it were a bit too cheesy and borderline camp. Parts of the story were pretty sickening in their honesty about child sex abuse... but that is a story that needs to be told. I don't think this should be compared to THE ROOM UPSTAIRS at all. They were very different in style and this musical actually had a story with a beginning, middle, and end and characters who had wants and needs and both inner conflicts and external ones.
Great work here, I loved the show!
VintageSnarker
Broadway Legend Joined: 1/30/15
#15The Boy Who Danced On Air
Posted: 6/1/17 at 9:31pm
I'm glad you enjoyed it @MadonnaMusical. I stand by my assessment. I was actively trying to hear some regional influence in the music and while I agree it showed the most in the orchestrations, it was barely there. Comparing the music to Pasek and Paul is VERY generous. I only brought up The View Upstairs to say the songs in The Boy Who Danced On Air didn't have that same catchy pop sensibility though they were still pretty accessible.
I also think a documentary that aired on PBS likely reached more people than a short off-Broadway run in a small theater will (unless the show goes on to have a longer life).
#16The Boy Who Danced On Air
Posted: 6/2/17 at 7:50am
With shows like this, I'm always reminded of Nabokov's reticence to allow Lolita to be adapted for performance - "It is perfectly all right for me to imagine a twelve-year-old Lolita. She only existed in my head. But to make a real twelve-year-old girl play such a part would be sinful and immoral, and I will never consent to it.”
Perhaps in this sphere I'm over-sensitive, but there are some life events that I just find to be in bad taste when played out live for entertainment value, and pederasty is one of them. (Torture is another, which is why I'll be avoiding 1984.)
GreasedLightning
Broadway Legend Joined: 2/11/14
#17The Boy Who Danced On Air
Posted: 6/3/17 at 4:44pm
What is the content of this show? I can't find an age guidance or content report online. Some Show-Score reviews mention on-stage sex and/or violence and abuse.
VintageSnarker
Broadway Legend Joined: 1/30/15
#18The Boy Who Danced On Air
Posted: 6/3/17 at 7:28pm
GreasedLightning said: "What is the content of this show? I can't find an age guidance or content report online. Some Show-Score reviews mention on-stage sex and/or violence and abuse.
Why are you asking? That is, are you trying to cater to a certain age range or sensibility? I don't think there's anything on stage that's too graphic either in intimacy/sexual content or violence. You see more of the after effects of violence (someone coming back on stage with an injury) than the actual violence itself. I certainly don't think it's anything that would shock an experienced theatergoer. I can definitely understand how you would be uncomfortable if you just dislike the portrayal of that kind of abusive relationship onstage... the way other people are uncomfortable with the adultery in Waitress.
