Half Time is a new musical based on the 2008 documentary Gotta Dance about the debut of the New Jersey Nets basketball team’s first ever senior hip-hop dance squad. Twelve women and one man were followed from the audition period to the performance. This stage adaptation does not frolic in the fountain of youth but instead wallows in a pool of formulaic musical comedy blandness with largely unmemorable songs. There are, however, quite a few high points to discuss.
Georgia Engel is a five time Emmy nominee for The Mary Tyler Moore Show and Everybody Loves Raymond. Over the past decade I have seen her repeatedly excel on stage in plays such as Will Eno’s Middletown and Annie Baker’s John. As Mrs. Tottendale in The Drowsy Chaperone, she was a superlative ditzy clown.
Ms. Engel plays Dorothy, a ditzy kindergarten teacher who has developed a passion for hip hop, having confiscated music from her inattentive students. As her alter ego Dottie, she becomes the reluctant team leader, mic dropping and all. Her performance is fresh, funny and probably more poignant due to the fact that she walks with a cane and looks like a hip replacement is weeks away. At the curtain call, she oddly had the second to last bow before Donna McKechnie. While her Tony Award winning turn as Cassie in A Chorus Line was (perhaps over) referenced, the part was less significant than Ms. Engel’s and truly one-dimensional either as written or as acted, or both.
Andre De Shields originated the role of The Wiz in 1975. Here he delivers everything from his trademark big personality to smooth, emotionally fine singing and dancing in the show’s best number, The Prince of Swing. Mr. De Shields and Ms. Engel nicely underplayed their scenes together so their relationship growth was organic.
Haven Burton portrayed the coach who needs to get this motley crew ready for the big time. Her voice is big and beautiful, clearly demonstrating why she has previously been an understudy for Sutton Foster. Ms. Burton’s performance was so relaxed and seemingly effortless that she held the whole show together. As Camilla, the sex-crazed caricature Latina, Nancy Ticotin nonetheless killed with her big salsa dance number making it impossible to believe she was and is a senior.
Rapping seniors based on a true story is a fun idea for an updated take on the old-fashioned “let’s put on a show” backstage story. Revelling in these performers getting a chance to steal the spotlight late in their careers adds a nostalgic bonus. Half Time maybe gets halfway there. Directed by Jerry Mitchell, this show had Broadway aspirations. How to get all the way there? Cut the mediocre songs and spend more time developing characters with dimensions.