Shows

CHICAGO TAP THEATRE PRESENTS: THE HOURGLASS AND THE POISONED PEN
A SUPERHERO TAP DANCE OPERA

JUNE 27-29, JULY 5, 6, 11-13 and 18-20
AT THE ATHENAEUM THEATRE STUDIO 3 (2936 N. SOUTHPORT)

CHICAGO- Chicago Tap Theatre makes history again when it presents the nation’s first superhero tap dance opera sequel this June and July at the Athenaeum Theatre Studio 3. Co-created by comic book artist Andrew Pepoy (inker of Batman, X-Men, and The Simpsons, among others) and CTT Artistic Director Mark Yonally, The Hourglass and the Poisoned Pen follows The Hourglass, a superheroine endowed with powers she is struggling to understand as she battles the forces of evil embodied by the Poisoned Pen and other nefarious characters. Not just a strict sequel, this production also encapsulates last year’s The Hourglass in the Stop-Time Chronicles so that no one will be missing any important plot developments.

James Devine, who is certified as the fastest tap dancer in the world by the Guinness Book of World Records with a speed of 38 taps per second, stars in Tapeire, a show that is "part documentary, part history lesson, part tap dancing extraordinaire, and all lots of fun," according to this article in the The Epoch Times. Though the show is mostly in the "style of Irish Line Dancing," they do "let loose" and even use hip-hop and funk music. Here is their tour schedule.

Whether you like the concept or not, Mike Schulster and Joel Hanna's new show. Revolution, is making waves. The show is a fusion of rock and roll music with tap and "loose" choreography. "People say, 'You're trying to change tap dance,' and I disagree," Schulster says in this New York Post article. "The old-time guys danced to the music that was popular then, and it's the same thing now. Revolution doesn't mean rebellion, it means using all of it. In this show we nod to Fred Astaire, we do a little sand dance." The show is at the Joyce Theatre in Manhattan through October 7th.

Tap pro Acia Gray has received an NEA grant to take her tap company on tour. The show will be called Souls Of Our Feet II and will feature reconstructed works by Arthur Duncan, Jeni LeGon, Harold Cromer, Brenda Bufalino, and others. Check out the video sample below. Click the Read more link to see the tour schedule.

Maurice Hines, older brother of Gregory, has "dusted off" his tap shoes and will star in the 25th anniversary production of Sheldon Epps' "Blues In The Night," according to this article. The show reunites Hines with singer Freda Payne and features songs by Duke Ellington, Johnny Mercer, and others. The show runs August 15th through September 30th at San Francisco's Post Street Theatre.

Savion catches one critic's eye at his four-day Live For London show where he taps for 45 minutes straight and "still has enough breath to sing a number," according to this review.

Chicago Tap Theatre presents The Hourglass in the Stop-Time Chronicles, the nation’s first superhero tap opera this July at the Athenaeum Theatre Studio. Co-created by comic book artist Andrew Pepoy (inker of Batman, X-Men and The Simpsons, among others) and CTT Artistic Director Mark Yonally, The Hourglass in the Stop-Time Chronicles follows The Hourglass, a superheroine endowed with powers she is still struggling to understand, as she battles the forces of evil embodied by Killjoy, Dance Macabre and the ominous Conductor.

Tap pro Ayodele Casel is performing a new work called Paddywak: A Tap Dance Concerto. Written by Rob Kapilow, it's a Concerto for kids.
"What Kapilow did was take Casel's experience teaching children how to tap dance as well as recordings of tap dancing by Casel and wrote a 16-minute concerto,"
according to this article in the Vancouver Sun.