Little Dancer

Marie, Dancing Still

by Lynn Ahrens & Stephen Flaherty

Kennedy Center, Washington D.C./ 5th Avenue Theater, Seattle

Directed & Choreographed by Susan Stroman

Costumes by William Ivey Long, lighting by Ken Billington, projections by Ben Pearcy

2014/2019

Degas' Studio, 1917 (Kennedy Center, 2014)

Rebecca Luker, Janet Dickinson & Company.

Backstage (Kennedy Center, 2014)

Tiler Peck, Sean Martin Hingston & Company.

Ballet Studio (Kennedy Center, 2014)

Joeseph J. Simeone, Michele Ragusa, Michael McCormick, Wendi Bergamini, James A. Pierce III, Juliet Doherty, Lyrica Woodruff, Polly Baird, Jolina Javier & Nina Goldman.

Antoinette's Boudoir (Kennedy Center, 2014)

Jenny Powers & Tiler Peck

Le Rat Mort (Kennedy Center, 2014)

Jenny Powers, Tiler Peck & Company.

Monmartre (Kennedy Center, 2014)

Tiler Peck & Karen Ziemba.

Ballet Studio (Kennedy Center, 2014)

Rebecca Luker, Juliet Doherty & Company.

Ballet Studio (Kennedy Center, 2014)

Company

Degas' Studio (Kennedy Center, 2014)

Boyd Gaines, Tiler Peck & Rebecca Luker

La Foyer de la Danse (Kennedy Center, 2014)

John Riddle, Katelyn Prominski, Tiler Peck, Kyle Harris & Company.

Sixth Impressionist Exposition (Kennedy Center, 2014)

Boyd Gaines & Company.

Marie's Ballet (Kennedy Center, 2014)

John Riddle, Joseph J. Simeone, James A. Price III & Tiler Peck.

Marie's Ballet (Kennedy Center, 2014)

Sean Martin Hingston & Tiler Peck.

Degas' Studio 1917 (Kennedy Center, 2014)

Janet Dickinson & Rebecca Luker.

National Gallery of Art (Kennedy Center, 2014)

Boyd Gaines & Tiler Peck.

Backstage (5th Avenue Theater, 2019)

Tiler Peck, Christopher Gurr, Lyrica Woodruff and company

Ballet Studio (5th Avenue Theater, 2019)

Christopher Gurr, Tiler Peck, Kyle Harris, and company.

Backstage (5th Avenue Theater, 2019)

Jolina Javier, Caitlin Abraham , Terrence Mann, Polly Baird, and company.

Laundry (5th Avenue Theater, 2019)

Karen Ziemba and company.

Degas' Studio 1917 (5th Avenue Theater, 2019)

Dee Hoty and Louise Pitre.

National Gallery of Art (5th Avenue Theater, 2019)

Terrence Mann, Tiler Peck, and company.

La Foyer de las Danse (5th Avenue Theater, 2019)

Tiler Peck, Justin Genna, Tyler Hardwick, Richard Gatta, Jim Borstelmann , and company.

La Foyer de las Danse (5th Avenue Theater, 2019)

Lyrica Woodruff, Jolina Javier, Tiler Peck, and Polly Baird.

Degas' Studio (5th Avenue Theater, 2019)

Dee Hoty, and Terrence Mann.

Ballet Studio (5th Avenue Theater, 2019)

Kyle Harris , Polly Baird, Jasmine Ward, Lyrica Woodruff, Tiler Peck, Jolina Javier, Caitlin Abraham, and Christopher Gurr.

Washington Post article about the set: http://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/theater_dance/for-little-dancer-set-designer-beowulf-boritt-windows-into-the-soul/2014/11/25/793aaa30-74da-11e4-8893-97bf0c02cc5f_story.html


Kennedy Center video about the set design.


"The show is visually stunning. Beowulf Boritt’s colorful set is dominated by giant canvases festooned with bold brushstrokes evoking Degas’ brand of impressionism. The canvases are frequently in motion to keep pace with the fast-changing segues between scenes and numbers that pepper this fast-moving production." ~Paul Harris, Variety

"The handsome set design, by Beowulf Boritt, employs projections, by Benjamin Pearcy, of some of the artist’s signature works." ~Charles Isherwood, New York Times

"Smart, eye-catching design. The towering, rotating panels of Boritt’s set resemble artists’ stretched canvases, on which projection designer Benjamin Pearcy splashes a changing pattern of vibrant, colliding colors, enhanced by Ken Billington’s lighting. (This is, after all, the age of impressionism.)" ~Peter Marks, Washington Post

"Stroman and her team of designers deliver production values that are worthy of the Broadway stage, but do not rely on dazzling spectacle to make an impression. Whether it's Beowulf Boritt's art-inspired scenic design, William Ivey Long's colorful and detailed costumes, Ken Billington's mood-enhancing lighting design, or Benjamin Pearcy's unique projection design, all serve to remind us that the musical is essentially about art. The beautiful design work proves memorable on a standalone basis, but also the way that it complements the telling of the story rather than overshadows it." ~Jennifer Perry, Broadway World

"And the musical is indeed a spectacle. The flurry of dancing and singing all unfolds seamlessly across Beowulf Boritt’s masterpiece of an impressionist-inspired stage ... The set captures the essence of impressionism in form (minimalist brushstrokes, to the point that the “canvas” shows through around the edges) and function, as walls glide about the stage and props rise through the floor; a new scene with a completely different mood, space, and feel can appear seconds after the previous scene has closed. This fluid setup allows for Stroman to achieve a few cunningly impressive magic tricks. Characters often seem to blink in and out of existence, vanishing in an instant into a crowd of extras or appearing from behind a sliding wall. And most scenes are staged so quickly, via the actors carrying their props on stage with them, that a new scene will often materialize before the applause has died down for the preceding segment." ~Riley Croghan, DCist

"Special kudos to Beowulf Boritt, scenic designer, and William Ivey Long, costume designer, for creating an impressionistic and visually stunning world of nineteenth century Paris with all its vivid colors and flounces." ~Susan Dormandy Eisenberg, Huffington Post

"Helping Stroman bring the scenes to life is a creative team representing the best of Broadway, old and new... Beowulf Boritt, a much younger designer, created the sets, which recreate scenes from Degas’ iconic paintings, and Stephen Flaherty, composer of Ragtime and many more, has underscored nearly the entire production with bright and varied orchestral colors that match his colleague’s vibrant sets." ~Rebecca J. Ritzel, Washington City Paper

"Beowulf Boritt’s grand, art-inspired sets." ~Doug Rule, Metro Weekly

"The production looks gorgeous. With set design by Beowulf Boritt who won the Tony Award last year with his design for Act One at Lincoln Center, costumes by William Ivey Long, and light by Ken Billington. The idea is that we are seeing ever shifting views of Degas’ paintings saturated with color, from his numerous studies of dancers to his Absinthe Drinker in a Café. These all lead up to the revealing of the “Little Dancer,” which inspires gasps and applause from the audience." ~Anthony Chase, Artvoice

"Mobile and dazzling sets of Beowulf Boritt." ~Gary Tischler, The Georgetowner