Riverdance Takes its Last Turn on the Floor Fox Theatre

by Solange Deschatres

Since 1995 Riverdance brought the art of traditional Irish dance to world-renowned fame, gracing stages all over the globe the impeccably choreographed, traditionally stiff bodied, rapid footwork movement that has delighted and amazed a wide berth of audiences. Now, the era of Riverdance is coming to a close as the company makes its final tour through the US.

Clearly, from the looks of the final showing at the fabulous Fox Theatre here in St. Louis, it is the right time for the era to sing its swan song.

The theme for the show seems a bit muddled and inconsistent, beginning with earthy, elemental songs and dances in Act 1 and suddenly switching to immigration to America by Act 2. This divisiveness in theme makes the entire production seem disjointed, especially when similar elements return periodically throughout the show with no explanation.

Midway through Act 1, it is evident that Riverdance is trying to salvage its former luster. Both acts seem to throw in any ingredient just to spice things up, from bringing in the Moscow Folk Ballet, to American tap artists, to a lithely coiling flamenco artist, Rocio Montoya. Yes, flamenco, which does actually mix surprisingly well with the Irish hard shoe dancing.

The dances themselves continue to delight, however. Marvelous feats of lightening-fast footwork never get old. Tapping battles to see who has a faster staccato on the floor are invigorating to witness.

The two American tap performers, Kelly Isaac and Karen Callaway Williams give the Irish superstars a run for their insoles as they trade taps in a dynamite fashion. Isaac polishes off the act with some surprising acrobatics.

The spotlight remains on the two principle Irish dancers, Padraic Moyles and Alana Mallon, much of the time. Moyles bursts out on stage with shiny shirts and pants and slicked black hair, hopping and jumping to the elated cheers and claps from the audience like an Irish John Travolta. The petit Mallon skims the floor like a dainty woodland fairy, her tiny limbs flickering nimbly to propel her from one flashy number to the next. Mallon’s costumes are eye popping, with sparkles and vivid splashes of color. However, one green number tempted the “wardrobe malfunction” zone by being dangerously low on the bustline as she leapt around opening night.

The amazing precision, creativity and athleticism of the dancers continues to be Riverdance’s claim to fame. Also, fiddler Pat Mangan, piper Matt Bashford, percussionist Mark Alfred and saxophonist Daniel Dorrance deserve a nod for their lively medleys. In spite of the amazing talent of these musicians, however, the vocal score for the program falls flat like an unperfected soufflé. The ingredients are right: talented performers, deft musicians, but much of the vocals seem like an overly-processed version of Irish song, like a plastic, bad pop copy of someone else’s idea of tradition.

Michael Samuels, the primary soloist, sings “Heal Their Hearts,” an annoying, over-the-top “Old Man River” type medley that goes on and on (and on), and returns for a reprise at the end of the show. The song is just out of reach of Samuels’ range, which makes the length of it that much more painful.

It’s time to take the river back home now. It’s been fun and we’ve all enjoyed the ride. However, much like a great night of dancing, all good things must come to an end.