What: Stepping Out
Where: Langham Court Theatre
When: To Jan. 30
Rating: three (out of five)
There’s a famous quote that goes something like this: “Dying is easy — comedy is hard.” Tap dancing is also hard, which is one reason to admire the Langham Court Theatre ensemble who jointly star in Stepping Out.
Stepping Out is a 1984 play by Richard Harris, best known for his success as a British television writer. It’s about a gaggle of ordinary Brits who meet weekly at a London church hall for a tap-dancing class. Most of the performers in Langham Court’s show are non-dancers who’ve reportedly been taking tap lessons since June. This sort of diligence is both rare and commendable.
Friday’s performance of Stepping Out revealed a so-so script delivered by a cast of varying abilities. That said, there are bright spots. At its best, the production offers a genial party atmosphere enlivened by enjoyable tapping, a few good lines and a smattering of laughs.
Dance-wise, this production features two ringers. The role of Mavis, a tap teacher with a worthless boyfriend, is played by Ursula Szkolak. A principal dancer with Canadian Pacific Ballet, the tall and graceful Szkolak not only knows how to dance, she's a rather good actor too — capturing Mavis’s combination of good-hearted optimism and occasional desperation.
Ringer No. 2 is Christie Norman-Taal, who teaches ballet in real life. Ironically she portrays the character of Dorothy as the worst hoofer of the bunch, only to perform with miraculous competence in the closing number. Harris, by the way, caps his (rather too long) play in arbitrary fashion with two dances, as though he wasn’t quite sure how to end the thing.
Audiences love feel-good song-and-dance shows; Stepping Out has already sold out its run. Directed and choreographed by Heather-Elayne Day (with help from dance captain Sylvie Hosie), the show mixes comedy and drama in sitcom style. Each member of the amateur dance club has a back story; we’re offered hints of ordinary lives lived in quiet desperation. There are intimations of domestic abuse, sexual wrong-doing and betrayal (one woman believes another dancer has ratted out her husband who’s on the dole while working on the side). Because there’s so many characters, nothing’s fully plumbed.
Some personalities are big and brash, such as bawdy Sylvia (Suzanne Bell) and good-time gal Maxine (Elizabeth Brimacombe). There’s also annoying Vera (Kristin Pickup), wallflower Andy (Keeley Teuber), token ethnic Rose (Jennifer Almeida), tepid insurance salesman Geoffrey (Michael Romano), nice-gal Lynne (Stephanie Geehan) and Mrs. Fraser (Valerie Turner), a querulous pianist who enjoys a covert tipple.
It’s a difficult play to do well. Dancing aside (and the Langham gang does dish out credible tapping) there’s no conventional plot line to grip hold of. Instead, glimpses of lives are offered in fleeting exchanges. Creating three-dimensional characters from such thin gruel is challenging. So is providing clarity of intention — sometimes it was difficult to understand the bickerings bubbling up between the dancers.
Despite flaws, Stepping Out manages to provide the kind of fun community theatre is perhaps best equipped to offer. The camaraderie among the cast is tangible. Once senses they’re having a good time — particularly during the dance sequences, performed with earnest enjoyment. And this transmits to us, the audience.