Disco Dynamite on Stage

Among Disco Inferno’s spectacular antics are moments that are almost philosophical.  Midway through, Greg Southey playing 'Terry' – the show’s closest thing to an MC – reminds the audience of what’s important:  “You can’t dance if your legs are broken.”  Indeed, Disco Inferno is a wise show as well as fun.

Lead character 'Jack' dreams of fame and success and after another night ruing his lack thereof, meets the strange and mysterious 'Lady Marmalade'.  She offers him everything he’s dreamed of for the small price of his soul.  Can’t you tell this is going to work out well?  To be sure, the story sticks pretty much to the bell-curve narrative as you’d expect a soul-selling story to do, but it’s how they get there that counts – and these guys do it very well.

The show is stacked with great performers giving great performances, whether it’s Marque Duckmanton Bowie-ing it up as 'Jack'; Phil Anstis as Jack’s rival, 'Heathcliffe' (clad in leather pants so shiny you’d think they’d been designed by NASA); Georgia Bergerson playing 'Jane' with oodles of power packed in her svelte frame; or Grant Miller as 'Tom', Jack’s best friend and conscience – not to mention mega poindexter.

Not that Disco Inferno is without risk.  Fantastic dancers on high narrow heals made Phillippe Petit (star of "Man on Wire") look clumsy, while the ‘Hot Stuff’ number by Mac Bringas as 'Marmalade' and her devilish chorus threatened to burn through the stage and take everyone with them.

It’s a long show, but the slow-pace spots are few and far between.  The story moved along nicely with only the occasional line lost to a too-rapid delivery.

The performance is like a lesson in Gestalt theory; the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.

As good as a solo performance was, as soon as the ensemble joined in – or even just one other, such as with ‘Enough is Enough’ – it made it that much better.

As someone for whom musicals sit near the bottom of preferred theatrical genres, I’d describe the show in one word:  Dynamite!