BY AYAN CHATTERJEE

In print | February 3, 2005

“We’re going to take it to Broadway,” Joe Raciti ’05 boasted of his latest project. He and his director, Ethan Ucker ’07, have very high hopes for their musical, “Dance Dangerously.” Indeed, this student written theatrical production has generated considerable buzz in the college community.

What began as a few songs composed for piano during the fall semester grew slowly into a full-fledged musical comedy. Raciti has always had a passion for songwriting, but had never embarked on a project of this magnitude. When he told Ucker last year that if he wrote a musical he would like Ucker to direct it, the two of them took it somewhat lightly. But Raciti began writing the script in the fall of 2004, completed most of “Dance Dangerously” over winter break, and came back to Swat with something to show for his work.

Raciti first contacted Drama Board around late October, and in January he and Ucker formally proposed the project. Drama Board gladly offered assistance in getting the show performed. For those of you not familiar with the Drama Board sanctioning process, the board requires a director to submit a formal proposal for funding, which is contingent upon holding open auditions. On Jan. 28, Raciti and his team began auditions, with callbacks taking place last Sunday.

“Dance Dangerously” focuses on a love triangle that consists of the gifted dancer Bella; her womanizing boyfriend, Billy; and the sweet, quirky boy-next-door, George. The story is set in motion when Bella’s dancing rival and friend, Jen, wanting to distract Bella from her work, bets a thousand dollars for Billy to propose marriage to Bella. Narrating the tale are two witty, British-accented puppets. Raciti explained that inspiration for this idea came from The Muppets. The music Raciti composed for the show is not in typical Broadway show-tune style, but incorporates elements of rock, pop, jazz and blues. The musical’s title comes from the fact that Bella’s dancing is technically brilliant but lacks that extra bit of panache, that element of ‘danger’ that would make it divine.

Directing a musical poses a creative challenge for Ucker, who directed Samuel Beckett’s “Footfalls” in last year’s Night of Scenes. “There’s all these components that have to come together besides the acting, like the orchestra or the choreography … directing a musical means creating synergy between all these things,” he said.

The creative team has taken on the task with considerable gusto, with great ideas for the aesthetic elements of the show. With a certain self-consciousness regarding the familiarity and predictability of the plot, “Dance Dangerously” will have a color scheme of black, white and grey (hence the flyers presenting the show as “a musical in black and white”). The sets, lighting, costumes and even makeup will be in black and white. In contrast, certain characters and scenes will take place in vivid color, reflecting the quirky personalities and unexpected events that cross the stage. In addition, Raciti hopes to make this a more interactive production than most musicals. Some of the action will take place in the aisles of the theater, surrounding and pulling in the audience; orchestra members will be seated on stage and interact with the cast; and Raciti hopes to use a thrust stage rather than the traditional proscenium.

All this is, of course, rather tentative — the script needs finishing touches and the score has yet to be finalized. Raciti seems to be aware of the risk he is taking with his play. “If [‘Dance Dangerously’] doesn’t work out, I’m going to be rock star,” he quipped. Regardless, “Dance Dangerously” promises to be an engaging and entertaining work. The play will be performed the weekend of March 24, in the Pearson-Hall Theatre of the Lang Performing Arts Center.

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