The Tap Dance Kid (1983) now strutting fitfully at Ensemble Theatre, has a basic problem at its core in that the title character is not the main focus of the story.
What derails Tap Dance is that every character is dysfunctional, which pushes Willi (Zemira Williams) to buck and wing in the back row. We can’t see her there. Except for a fantasy sequence where her old pro granddad (Alde Lewis, Jr., smooth as silk) materializes as a suave Bill “Bojangles” Robinson, she becomes chopped liver in her own story.
Her older sister Emma (Merritt Madison, clear of voice), who desperately wants to be lawyer like her dad (gruff Alex Kennedy), doesn’t feel valued or appreciated; Uncle Dipsey (a sprightly Hindolo Bongay), a struggling choreographer, is disparaged by his brother-in-law for dancing his life away instead of doing something useful.
Mom (lovely April Wheat) suffers under Dad’s control and sings plaintively of a divorce; and dancer Carol, Dipsey’s new love interest (powerhouse Aisha Ussery), ponders the future in “I Could Get Used to Him.” All these characters get in the story’s way with their constant unhappiness and anthems, but isn’t Willi the main player? With so many subplots, where did she go?
It doesn’t help that Williams is miscast in the role. Possessing sparkle, a genuine willingness to entertain and a talent for tapping, her acting and singing are, unfortunately, a disappointment. I wish her nothing but the best in future acting endeavors and look forward to seeing her in something else some day soon.
Williams is not helped by the plot-by-numbers of playwright Charles Blackwell, whose clunky adaptation of the more dire novel by Louise Fitzhugh is filled with the easy platitudes and conventions of every young-star-wanna-be drama, be it Esther Blodgett in A Star is Born, Daniel La Russo in The Karate Kid, or “Baby” in Dirty Dancing. The problems are always the same: dad’s ferocious opposition, an older mentor leading you on, sibling rivalry perhaps, mom’s silent acquiescence to her husband’s dictates, you know them all, you’ve seen them for decades in movies or on stage.
A musical that depends on old-timey tap routines should be chock-a-block with set pieces that recall the great numbers of the past: Fred and Ginger, Eleanor Powell, Ann Miller, The Nicholas Brothers, Busby Berkeley, but this production is anemic. Monica Josette’s dances are under served with a small ensemble, and however good they hoof, the exuberance is dampened. This show needs lots of dancers, tapping away in unison, showing off, “tapping their behinds off” as Jerry Herman writes in Mack and Mabel. Except for ghostly Lewis, who dances with the aplomb of his ethereal presence (and stops the show), Josette’s tap numbers aren’t very difficult or exciting.
And why does the 11 o’clock number go to Dad? Yes, Kennedy sings this fraught soliloquy powerfully as he prowls through the audience, but this isn’t his show; this shouldn’t be his song. The pride of place should be Willi’s. Another weird decision by the authors (forgettable music by Henry Krieger, whose previous Dreamgirls was a hit on Broadway, and pedestrian lyrics by Robert Lorick) that takes the musical to another plane entirely. Maybe this show should have been about William? He seems much more interesting a character because of his deep inner anger about his daughter going into show business. “We didn’t get off the plantation until we stopped dancing and started doing.”
At the end, Willi decides not to perform in Dipsey’s out-of-town tryout. What!? She’s been waiting all her young life to get a break. And now she doesn’t want it? What a downer, even though the family bonds in the finale, “Class Act.” Willi’s grand dreams are deferred. Tap, tap, tap those troubles away.
The Tap Dance Kid continues through July 27 at 7:30 p.m. Thursdays through Saturdays; 2 p.m. Saturdays; and 3 p.m. Sundays at Ensemble Theatre, 3535 Main. For more information, call 713-520-0055 or visit ensemblehouston.com. $40-$65.
This article appears in Jan 1 – Dec 31, 2025.
