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The world premiere stage adaptation of Black Swan, directed and choreographed by Tony Award winner Sonya Tayeh, has officially opened at American Repertory Theatre. Performances will continue through July 12. Read the reviews below!
BLACK SWAN features music, lyrics, and orchestrations by Obie Award winner Dave Malloy, a book by Guggenheim Fellow Jen Silverman, music supervision, music direction, and additional arrangements by Or Matias, and direction and choreography by Tony Award winner Sonya Tayeh.
The Black Swan cast includes Kyle Brown (Ajay/Ensemble), Jada Simone Clark (Lily), Karli Dinardo (Glory/Ensemble), Kate Jennings Grant (Barbara), Gabriel Hyman (Ensemble), Amber Iman (LeRoy), Charizma Lawrence (Ensemble), Adrian Lee (Ensemble), Caleb Marshall (Dylan/Ensemble), Melanie Moore (Nina), Ava Noble (Ensemble), Martell Ruffin (Ensemble), Ida Saki (Doppel), Anthony Santos (Ensemble), Thom Sesma (Jacques/Rothbart), Sarah Sigman (Morgan/Ensemble), Chelsea Thedinga (Ensemble), Tory Trowbridge (Beth), and Valeria Yamin (Ensemble). Alex Aquilino, Cameron Burke, Mia DeWeese, and Johanna Moise are swings. Mehry Eslaminia is an understudy.
R. Scott Reedy, BroadwayWorld: The scenography by AMP featuring Marissa Todd and illusion design by Chris Fisher and Skylar Fox blend arrestingly with Isabella Byrd’s lighting, Kai Harada’s sound, and Shiona Turini’s well-executed costumes. The all-encompassing result is a thrillingly immersive experience and a bravura “BLACK SWAN.”
Jacquinn Sinclair, WBUR: The multitalented ensemble dances and sings their way through the narrative’s twists and turns with muscular flair, particularly Jada Simone Clark as Lily. And the cast and creative team, including scenography by AMP featuring Marissa Todd, lighting designer Isabella Byrd, sound designer Kai Harada, all work together to immerse audiences into the rehearsal room, a fundraising gala and a dance club where the dancers get a chance to unwind.
Kevin T. Baldwin, Metrmag: Overall, this is not a musical that will have widespread appeal, simply for the fact of how the source material upon which it is based, “BLACK SWAN” will most likely have a very limited, specific target audience … However, beyond these, how this A.R.T. story is told is simply storytelling at its best thanks to the incomparable concentrated staging and riveting choreography by Tayeh and those ardent fans of the original movie might embrace the musical adaptation of “BLACK SWAN” with equal fervor.
Samantha Genzer, Boston.com: The cast is undeniably impressive, particularly in the case of Melanie Moore. Over the production’s two-hour runtime, Moore demonstrates remarkable control and stamina. While her vocals occasionally lean into a nasal quality, this choice appears to be a deliberate reflection of Nina’s fracturing mental state. Beyond her delivery of the script, Moore utilizes physical nuances and facial expressions to make the character’s psychological spiral chillingly authentic.
Don Aucoin, Boston Globe: The aesthetic of the stage adaptation, now premiering at the American Repertory Theater, is essentially Ken Russell-film-meets-MTV-music-video. (That’s not praise.) Director-choreographer Sonya Tayeh pulls out all the stops in a frenzied attempt to conceal the musical’s fundamental emptiness, relentlessly pummeling the audience with flashy effects, some of them admittedly impressive. But the most special effect onstage, by far, is Melanie Moore. You cannot ask more of a performer, in terms of both acting and dancing, than what Moore gives in her fearless, transfixing portrayal of Nina, a young ballerina who spirals into madness as she immerses herself in the lead role of “Swan.”
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