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Synopsis
“Song & Dance” stands out as a captivating and unconventional musical, ingeniously divided into two distinct yet interconnected acts. The first act, “Song,” unfolds entirely through music, introducing us to Emma (portrayed by the phenomenal Bernadette Peters), a young, ambitious English woman who arrives in New York City with dreams of becoming a hat designer. Her initial awe and aspirations are palpable:
I can’t quite believe it, I’m actually here,
The one place on earth I want to be.
New York is just short of perfection, they say,
The one thing it lacks is me.
Emma’s journey of self-discovery and understanding of America is charted through her experiences with four distinct American men. In a humorous and insightful observation, she shares with her mother:
Mum, I don’t know how to say this.
But American men are different.
They seem at first quite normal,
But I really fear they’re not.
What’s truly remarkable about Act I is its narrative structure: Emma is the sole character visible on stage. The other men exist only through Bernadette Peters’ compelling performance, her ability to bring these unseen characters to life through song is a testament to her acting prowess. Among these men, Joe, a seemingly genuine young man from Nebraska, captures Emma’s heart:
I have never felt like this,
For once I’m lost for words –
Your smile has really thrown me.
However, Joe, new to the complexities of New York and hesitant about commitment, ends their relationship. Emma poignantly reflects on the turning point:
If I’m not mistaken, I knew when it came,
In fact I can name the very day:
When we started to plan, the future and all,
Joe started to pull away.
Act II, titled “Dance,” shifts focus to Joe (played by Christopher d’Amboise) and his life after Emma in New York. This act is a stark contrast to the first, abandoning songs and dialogue entirely. Instead, Joe’s emotional journey, his realization of what he lost with Emma, and his determination to win her back are expressed purely through dance. Supporting Joe are eight exceptional dancers, including Gregg Burge, enriching the narrative with their physical storytelling. Peter Martins’ choreography is pivotal, ensuring that the audience comprehends the emotional depth of Joe’s story as clearly as if words were spoken.
In essence, “Song & Dance” presents a quintessential urban narrative: the loss of innocence in a city like New York and the subsequent struggle to regain genuine human connection, authentic emotions, and self-awareness. Emma encapsulates this sentiment in a poignant reflection:
A love really hurt me, I hurt someone back,
My work’s had a great successful bow,
And that look of New York I wanted to have,
Oh, Emma, I have it now.
Take that look off your face.
The musical transcends a conventional plot, evolving into an emotional travelogue that resonates deeply with audiences. Despite the specific scenarios of an English girl in New York and a Nebraskan man, the themes are universal. As the creators observed, audience members from diverse backgrounds often exclaimed, “That’s my story up there!”
This recording of “Song & Dance” is comprehensive, featuring all the songs from the Broadway production, along with an additional song that delves deeper into Emma’s relationship with Paul, the fourth man in her life:
Nothing like you’ve ever known –
We can pour our hearts out in an afternoon, love,
What we have is wonderful.
Quick, it’s late; you have to go; I’ll see you soon, love.
A significant element of “Song & Dance” is its satirical exploration of American men through Emma’s fresh, outsider perspective. Her encounters reveal a “confusing and contradictory lot.” First, there’s Chuck, the charming but unreliable New York drummer:
Just what time of night do you call this?
Well, it’s three a.m., it’s my first night here, where the hell were you?
Let me finish, I said, let me finish.
Of course! That’s the answer! You’re a musician.
In her scene with Chuck, the “Song & Dance” theme is subtly introduced, foreshadowing Emma’s intolerance for dishonesty in relationships:
Please don’t start to make excuses,
You won’t use a second chance.
All this is is empty rubbish,
Spare me, please, the song and dance.
Next is Sheldon Bloom, a dynamic and glamorous film producer who whisks Emma away to Los Angeles:
Sheldon’s got a house in Bel-Air,
Well, it’s really a pink mansion;
It’s got electric gates and armed guards,
And he calls it “La Bohème.”
Sheldon views women as status symbols, and an English girlfriend is the ultimate accessory in LA:
English girls have got a head start, (Joan Collins? I ask you)
That’s why English girls keep milking the part.
Then comes Joe, who embodies the “Midwestern” archetype, seemingly open and optimistic:
Joe is what they call “Midwestern” (How to tell you what that means?).
He is open, optimistic
And makes everything seem easy.
And what he likes to wear
Are bright red cowboy boots and jeans.
Emma falls deeply for Joe, but senses an underlying uncertainty:
We could never keep things from one another.
We would be fools to let love
Slip away.
Everything’s so right, I’m scared that we might
Lose it one day.
When Joe starts to withdraw, Emma is heartbroken, and the “Song & Dance” theme reappears:
All the signs are showing up now:
Nervous laugh and furtive glance.
He has left but can’t admit it.
Now it starts, the song and –
Determined to avoid emotional dishonesty, Emma attempts to control the breakup:
Don’t write a letter when you want to leave,
Don’t call me at three a.m. from a friend’s apartment.
I’d like to choose
How I hear the news.
Take me to a park that’s covered with trees,
Tell me on a Sunday, please.
In the aftermath, Emma meets Paul, a different kind of man:
Paul is the kind of man you might say has it all,
Including a wife and four kids up in Westport.
But married or not, somehow his eyes kept wandering towards me.
Well, we’ll see.
Following her friend Vivian’s advice to be more cautious, Emma enters a “safe” relationship with Paul:
Westport execs – Golfing in your Izod V-necks.
Viv says you’re there like Kleenex,
To be used, love.
Desperate for sex,
Meeting all those obligations –
Families bring such deep frustrations.
Oh, my confused love!
Yes, I do have thoughts on curing your di-lemma.
When your family ties need loosening, here’s Emma.
I don’t have to love you, you see,
And there is one more thing that I get to be:
Not alone.
Emma channels her unresolved emotions for Joe into her time with Paul, who misinterprets her actions. When Paul leaves his family for her, Emma panics, confessing she doesn’t love him in “that way.” When Paul refuses to leave, the “Song & Dance” theme returns, this time with Emma performing the “song and dance”:
Listen, we both went into this with our eyes open.
I never lied to you, I never promised you more.
Paul departs, and Emma confronts the changes within herself:
I set out to use Paul,
And now look what I have done –
What kind of a person have I turned into?
In a powerful climax, facing her reflection, Emma resolves to reclaim her true self:
I’ll be Emma again!
If it means being hurt, I’ll be hurt,
But I’ll like myself then.
Every word that I’m saying will happen, wait and see.
If you think that it won’t,
You don’t know me!
You don’t know me!
And with this declaration of self-affirmation, the curtain falls.
Credits
Emma: Bernadette Peters
Joe: Christopher d’Amboise
The Women: Charlotte d’Amboise, Denise Faye, Cynthia Onrubia, Mary Ellen Stuart
The Men: Gregg Burge, Gen Horiuchi, Gregory Mitchell, Scott Wise
Man from the streets: Gregg Burge
Woman in gold: Mary Ellen Stuart
Her Escorts: Scott Wise, Gregory Mitchell
Woman in blue: Charlotte d’Amboise
Customer: Gen Horiuchi
Two Singles: Cynthia Onrubia, Denise Faye
Woman in grey flannel: Cynthia Onrubia
