Midday theater critic J. Wynn Rousuck joins Tom for another of her weekly reviews of Baltimore's regional stage. Today, she tells us about the Baltimore premiere of Clare Barron's celebrated play, Dance Nation, in a new production at Fells Point Corner Theatre.
Set "somewhere in America," Dance Nation follows an army of pre-teen competitive dancers as they plot their triumph: if their new routine is good enough, they’ll claw their way to the top at the Nationals in Tampa Bay, Florida. In this explosive play about ambition, growing up, and finding our souls in the heat of it all, more is at stake than a first-place trophy. As the competition heats up, literal fangs come out, and the blood, sweat, and tears get very real in a drama about friendship, rivalry, and girls becoming women.
In recognizing Dance Nation as a Finalist for the 2019 Pulitzer Prize in Drama, the Pulitzer Committee lauded Barron's work as "a refreshingly unorthodox play that conveys the joy and abandon of dancing, while addressing the changes to body and mind of its preteen characters as they peer over the precipice toward adulthood."
Genevieve de Mahy, the former Artistic Director of Single Carrot Theatre, directs the play's nine-member cast.
Dance Nation continues at Fells Point Corner Theatre through Sunday, March 8. For ishowties and ticket nformation, click here.
