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Hot Feet
by
William Stevenson
 With the ashes of the just-extinguished Ring of Fire still smoldering, Broadway now has yet another new jukebox musical: Hot Feet, a dance-driven show that sets The Red Shoes to Earth, Wind & Fire songs. The idea of fashioning a musical from the '70s R&B; group's hits isn't a bad one, and director-choreographer Maurice Hines' ensemble dance numbers often match the energy of Maurice White's songs. The trouble comes when the cast stops strutting and starts speaking.
Conceived by Earth Wind & Fire founder Hines and featuring a book by Heru Ptah (who famously sold thousands of copies of his novel A Hip Hop Story on subways), Hot Feet doesn't borrow only from The Red Shoes (both the Hans Christian Andersen story and the Michael Powell film). Ptah also throws in characters from Faust and Showgirls. The result is a hackneyed, utterly predictable story that drags down the show.
The hard-working ensemble of Hot Feet
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The tale's heroine is Kalimba (Vivian Nixon, daughter of dancer-choreographer Debbie Allen), who dreams of joining the dance company headed by Victor Serpentine (Keith David). Against the wishes of her mother (Ann Duquesnay), Kalimba wins a spot in the troupe. Kali also strikes up a romance with choreographer Anthony (Michael Balderrama), and her dancing is so impressive that she soon upstages Naomi (Wynonna Smith), a sassy but almost over-the-hill diva. Victor asks Kali to perform what he considers his masterpiece, "Hot Feet," and gives her a special pair of glittery red shoes for the premiere. The shoes are courtesy of Louie (Allen Hidalgo), who pretends to be Victor's assistant but is actually a modern-day Mephistopheles to whom Victor has sold his soul.
If Louie provides the Faustian element, the rivalry between Kali and Naomi dredges up memories of the campy movie Showgirls. The two even compete in a dance-off in "Mighty Mighty." It isn't much of a contest, however, since Kali is younger and infinitely more limber than Naomi. Their catfighting is meant to provide comic relief, but most of the jokes are toothless.
The dramatic scenes with Kali, her mom and Victor don't have much spark either. The main problem is that almost all the dialogue sounds rehashed; we've heard it all before in other, better plays and movies. (Showgirls may not be a good movie, but at least it's funny.) "I made my choices," mom says. "Then let me make mine," Kali replies. Once she's become-surprise, surprise-an overnight success, Kali says, "This is all happening so fast. I can't believe it."
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The musical includes six new songs by White, and they are nearly as uninspired as the dialogue. One is "Kali," a melodramatic ballad that calls for yelling and other histrionics by Duquesnay. As Louie, Hildalgo gets two new tunes (including the title number), neither of which is memorable.
On the plus side, Hot Feet boasts about two-dozen vintage Earth, Wind & Fire songs by White, and many are infectious R&B; hits that lend themselves to spirited choreography. Among the best are "September," "Boogie Wonderland," Thinking of You," "Serpentine Fire" and "Getaway." Hines, who starred in Eubie! and choreographed and directed Uptown…It's Hot!, gives his energetic dancers a workout in the upbeat group numbers. His choreography isn't as distinctive as Twyla Tharp's in Movin' Out, but it suits the music and has the cast constantly on the move.
Ann Duquesnay & Vivian Nixon
in Hot Feet
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The extended "Hot Feet" ballet features some of the most frenzied, hyperkinetic dancing. The leggy Nixon, whose wide smile resembles her mother's, is at her best during the demanding multi-song medley. Unfortunately, the other dancers' futuristically hellish costumes (designed by Paul Tazewell) are so odd and ugly that they prove distracting. Louie's outfits are the most hideous of all; in the second act he looks like a gay pimp. Then again, wouldn't a gay pimp have better taste?
Also distracting is the fact that the trio doing most of the singing (Brent Carter, Keith Anthony Fluitt and Theresa Thomason) is offstage. At times I found myself looking around to see where the disembodied voices were coming from. Among the leads, Broadway vets Duquesnay and David are the only ones who do much singing. Nixon joins in on Duquesnay's overlong "In the Stone," and the duet shows that her singing isn't on a par with her dancing.
Given the clunky dialogue, David's acting is pretty convincing and his voice remains strong. As for Duquesnay, a Tony winner for Bring in 'da Noise, Bring in 'da Funk, she does some serious scenery chewing and sings up a storm-more loudly than prettily. In "Kali," which we have to endure twice in the second act, she wails again and again "Why?" The same goes for this ill-conceived musical. Why did Hines & Co. decide to wedge The Red Shoes onto Earth, Wind & Fire songs? Why couldn't they have instead staged a 90-minute pure-dance show set to the group's up-tempo hits? That would have made for a shorter, more enjoyable evening. As is, whenever the dancing stops, Hot Feet is leaden.
Hot Feet
Conceived by Maurice Hines
Book by Heru Ptah
Music & Lyrics by Maurice White
Directed & Choreographed by Maurice Hines
Hilton Theatre
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4/30/2006 5:40:00 PM
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