"I wish that were the focus of the story — or that there were a focus at all. If the musical numbers are sometimes hard to grasp visually, the staging of the book scenes is too often undifferentiated. And at least on opening night, after just 11 days of rehearsal, the technical elements were not yet cohering. For a show about the excitement of dance, the pace is strangely languid."
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"Truth be told, Wednesday’s opening night performance felt especially rough and under-rehearsed, even for Encores!, where shows always receive a very limited amount of rehearsal time. The entire production has an aggressively downbeat tone. Dialogue scenes drag on. And in spite of the pleasure of having a large orchestra playing the score, the vocal quality and sound design are very uneven. This may be due to the challenges of restarting the Encores! series, of having a new artistic director and a director making his Encores! debut, and of presenting a show that incorporates both elaborate, showstopping dance sequences (which could have taken up a considerable amount of rehearsal time) and emotionally-charged scenes and songs, including a nervous breakdown 11-o-clock number for William (which earned Henry a well-deserved standing ovation)."
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"Kenny Leon's direction especially shines in the nonmusical scenes; it's breathtaking how much familial intimacy he is able to engender even amid the large dimensions of the New York City Center stage. But he by no means stints on Broadway dazzle. Jared Grimes's choreography astonishes in the "Fabulous Feet" and "Dipsey's Vaudeville" ensemble numbers, especially with the actors clothed in Dede Ayite's eye-popping costumes. Derek McLane's fairly minimal set design — with one cloudy backdrop during home scenes looking more like something left over from a biblical spectacle — feels undernourished by comparison. But then, these Encores! productions have always been high-end concert performances first and foremost, so this is less of a liability in this context than it might otherwise be."
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"As expected, things, as well directed by Kenny Leon, work out eventually but not aided by too much of the Krieger-Lorick score, under the supervision of guest conductor Joseph Joubert and a 25-strong orchestra, Though Shahadi Wright Joseph, as Emma, brings passion to her songs, too many of them seem not only extraneous but mediocre and hardly distinguished by the other singers. Somehow, the songwriting team seems to hit a stride only when it’s tap dancing they’re promoting."
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"That said, Joseph’s performance is just about the highlight of the show. Next to the dancing of Bello and Jackson, and that spectacular ensemble, and those wonderful numbers (beginning with “Fabulous Feet”) from choreographer Grimes. So while The Tap Dance Kid is not a Broadway classic nor an Encores! classic, the entertainment value at City Center this weekend is mighty high."
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"The Tap Dance Kid—book by Charles Blackwell, based on the novel Nobody’s Family Is Going to Change by Louise Fitzhugh—is a simple domestic tale now reset in the 1950’s, gussied up with the brilliant tap choreography of Jared Grimes and the keen, vivifying direction of Kenny Leon. But, even under Leon’s artful hand and Grimes’ beautifully performed numbers, Tap Dance Kid remains a defiantly unimaginative story."
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"Yes, the plot is predictable, and the score by Henry Kreiger (very much in the style of his megahit Dreamgirls) and Robert Lorick is primarily pleasant but forgettable. Still, the dance numbers are often intricate and breathtaking, from “Fabulous Feet,” which is a tour-de-force showcase for the multi-talented Jackson, to the ensemble-driven “Dipsey’s Vaudeville” and “Dance If It Makes You Happy.”"
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"The consistently excellent ensemble is amazing. They anchor the show, executing Jared Grimes’ creative, dynamic choreography with infectious joy. From port de bras to pullbacks, they can do it all. Grimes has made the insightful choice of gathering a chorus of individuals, even when they dance as one. The music is a little dated, and the lyrics sometimes a bit on the nose. Not every song can be a power ballad with a key change. A bit of levity is needed, especially given the somewhat heavy-handed book."
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