The Tap Number

Today is National Tap Dance Day. And as luck would have it, today is the recital for the Adult Tap class I joined (with my sister) back in January. What are the odds? Seriously!

As we all know, I love Broadway. And more than anything, I love a show with a good tap number. Not every show has one ... but when it does, it's usually a showstopper. When I see cast members on stage in tap shoes and the beat of the score picks up, I know a good tap number is on its way, and I get itchy in excited anticipation! I can remember seeing Mary Poppins in 2009 at the New Amsterdam Theater with Luke and Piper who were 7 and 5 at the time. As the chimney sweeps started to appear from every corner of the set, I knew "Step in Time" was going to be epic. And it was! The actor who was known for making this must-see Broadway was Gavin Lee who played Bert. Lee was nominated for a Tony for his performance in this role. I am sure that The Tap Number contributed to the nomination! 

My sister Allison and I on the way to the recital

Backstage waiting for a very loud woman
to call our number to line up

Another memorable tap number was "I'm Not A Loser" from SpongeBob SquarePants: The Broadway Musical. It was absolutely fantastic! We saw this show (all 5 of us!) in the summer of 2018. This song is performed by the character Squidward along with about 12 back-up dancers dressed as sea anemones. (Squidward has four legs dancing around!) It's a long number, which made me happy because it just builds and builds. The actor who stole the show? Gavin Lee who played Squidward! He was nominated for a Tony for his performance in this role. Again! I am sure The Tap Number contributed to the nomination! 

My daughter Piper did my makeup
and brought me flowers! 

My daughters and I traveled to NYC on Mother's Day two weekends ago, and we saw The Great Gatsby with Jeremy Jordan and Eva Noblezada. It was excellent. The story (spoiler alert) is depressing, but we all knew that already. Despite the ending and the sad reminder of how incredibly chauvinistic our society was for way too long, Eva and Jeremy can sing, and the sets were so very creative and cool. The story is set in the Roaring 20s so the costume designers embraced the flapper era, and there were a lot of black and gold tailored time-period getups flashing around on stage ...especially during The Tap Number. Very tall and leggy dancers were just shuffling off to Buffalo in the most impressive of fashions. I was mesmerized! My girls know that this is my favorite part of any show, so as soon as you could hear a faint tap of a shoe, they both smiled at me in anticipation. I just love it! 

The Tap Number is my favorite because it is high energy, upbeat and usually off the hook. The dancers are all in synch doing complicated steps that just sound so cool thanks to the taps and the different rhythms the steps/taps create. It's usually an ensemble number with everyone working together to sell the sizzle. They usually look like they are having An. Absolute. Ball. It's just the best. I always sit in the audience with my own toes tapping, watching for the windmill arms and the fancy combinations. The costumes are usually sparkly or colorful or maybe classic tuxedo-like. It's Broadway (not off-Broadway or local dance school) so these tap dancers are like gooooood. It's A Chorus-Line-meets-42nd-Street Broadway at its best! 

So what's The Tap Number of my SDJ? What's the big number I am waiting for knowing that I will get chills just thinking about it? Not sure yet! Stay tuned ... the score will pick up just before it begins!