Theatre Review - Showstoppers

by Jennifer Lam

I had heard that the play Showstoppers presented by the Ole Miss Theatre consisted of segments from several Broadway shows. Little did I expect the play to be so action-packed with a whopping twenty segments of combinations of dance and song. I was amazed that even though the set was kept to a bare minimal with no props, the show was still thoroughly entertaining. The choreography was impeccable and the costume designs were fabulous.

This year's show was the 27^th anniversary of Showstoppers. Since its founding in 1981, Showstoppers has become the traditional anticipated season closer. It success is supported by the large audience it receives annually.

Originally, Showstoppers was meant to be a showcase for the dance classes that the Department of Theatre Arts had just begun offering at that time. It somehow evolved into an extravaganza of entertainment expressed through both movement and vocals.

Showstoppers had something that appealed to everyone. With its creative dances and dazzling singing, it left the audience never bored and always in awe of what to expect next. The fast paced transitions between numbers allowed the audience’s attention to never waver.

The opening segment “Comedy Tonight” laid out exactly what happened that night, a comedy. Not only was there humor, but romance, wit, and excitement were also incorporated. No emotions were left unsatisfied. The show kept in mind its audience age range. “America” by West Side Story depicted the struggles of young Puerto Rican teenagers struggling to fit in in America. “Telephone Hour” by Bye Bye Birdie displayed sociable teens relentlessly chatting on the phone about high school events such as prom. “Along Came Bially” by The Producers was a hilarious segment about elderly ladies not getting enough sex. Showstoppers also included religion in the mix. The segment “The Wedding Dance” by Fiddler on the Roof was a Jewish wedding where at the time it unheard of for a woman to dance with a man. When the Jewish girl disobeys her mother to dance with a boy, the audience feels a sense of defiance. Judging by the audiences reactions and facial expressions, the most unexpected and strangest number they did was “The Frogs” by Susan Stroman. The actors dressed up in frog suits and moved to an almost ominous soundtrack. Leaving the theater, I felt like I had attended twenty different shows and paid for only one.

Showstoppers did a brilliant job of incorporating the works of Jerome Robbins, Bob Fosse, Gower Champion, Michael Bennet, Michael Kidd, and Tommy Tune, and adding their own twist to each. Like watching a trailer for a movie, after watching these entertaining segments I wanted to see more. Perhaps I will have the joy of viewing the entire Broadway shows thanks to the inspiration of Showstoppers.