Kansas University theater professor Marianne Kubik's academic research into a singular dance form could be dry as a bone, but instead has resulted in an entertaining, probing multimedia work called "The Waltz Project."
The work, which runs about two hours and 45 minutes, opened Friday night in KU's Crafton-Preyer Theatre to a much too small crowd. The piece is top-caliber and deserved more viewers.
"The Waltz Project" blends theater, music, dance, video, the spoken word and the written word seamlessly. The pace of the production is quick and energetic, and skilled lighting helps create the moods for its different narratives.
The cast is made up of some of KU's finest: Bree Bruns, Kelly Mengelkoch, Kirsten Paludan, Alison Preston, John Buxton, David Goodwin, Colum Morgan, Tom Picasso, John Staniunas and Kubik. Joining them is Shane Scheel, a former Lawrence resident who now works at the Fox Theatre in Hutchinson, where "The Waltz Project" premiered in March.
In the work, Kubik addresses issues relating to gender, relationships, religion, domestic violence and the role of women in our society � all in three-quarter time. Kubik's creative choreography gives a film noir murder, the stalking of deer-women and the suicide of a married woman's grace and beauty
The use of music by Seal, Tori Amos, Jars of Clay, Ben Folds Five, Sarah McLachlan and others, as well as an on-stage band, bridges the gap between the 19th-century European dance and contemporary America.
The costumes, from long, flowing ball gowns to the draping robes of the Virgin Mary, are stunning.
It is evident the amount of effort and dedication the cast and Kubik, who also directs, have put into this project to make it a success. Kubik hopes to begin touring the show soon. Let's hope the tour swings through Lawrence so we can see this show again.
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