Review by Helen Shaw
Choreographer Austin McCormick and his Company XIV have a specific shtick: They create luxe, cirque-flavored events that take the burlesque experience—a series of episodic teases or acts—and extend it into a full evening’s entertainment. The flaw in this formula is that drawing out burlesque tends to weaken its appeal. This year’s dance-drama, Cinderella, has a super cast, full of charismatic performers and extraordinary dancers. But the show’s two lengthy intermissions (and two bars) suggest we’re meant to spend most of our time buying signature Company XIV cocktails, perhaps to let alcohol numb us to the repetitiveness of what we’re seeing.
Cinderella follows the outline of the fairy tale you know. Cinderella (Allison Ullrich) gets stomped on by a wicked Stepmother (the hyperextending “stripteuse” Lilin Lace) until the girl lands a godmother, sparkly shoes and a Prince (the liquid-limbed Nolan McKew). Since this is a McCormick show, those familiar characters wear pasties and thongs, and Zane Philstrom’s “ballgowns” reveal more than they hide. The baroque-and-roll design is often impressive—there’s a lot of fog, chandeliers and glittery corsets—and the show has moments of real beauty, such as Ullrich’s ravishing pole-dance. But too much relies on a small vocabulary of movement: Again and again we see the lazy drag of a hand across the breastbone, a body roll, aggressive sashaying. It’s a surprisingly unsensual show; everyone’s so naked for so long, we grow as desensitized as we would backstage at the ballet. Without naughtiness, the magic goes away. Cinderella turns into a pumpkin after an hour, yet the ball goes on and on.
Théàtre XIV (Off Broadway). Choreographed by Austin McCormick. With ensemble cast. Running time: 2hrs 20mins. Two intermissions.
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