The Broadway Palm Dinner Theatre located at 5247 East Brown Rd. in Mesa, presents Swing through November 17

By Barbara Jo Acosta | Sedona Verde Valley Times

Mesa, AZ - To kick off its seventh year, the Broadway Palm Dinner Theatre located at 5247 East Brown Rd. in Mesa, presents Swing.

It's a Broadway-caliber, non-stop song and dance revue with more than 30 enthralling performances. Move over Dancing With the Stars!

A beautifully revamped contemporary lobby and larger, noticeably more comfortable chairs, complete the seven years of success celebration.

The opening number, “It Don’t Mean a Thing (If It Aint Got That Swing)” was outstanding and performed beautifully by “Singer” Dante Murray, accompanied by The “Swingers.”

Not lacking in credits, most however, will remember Mr. Murray in his unforgettable, complete with perfect baritone voice, performance as “the Genie” in Aladdin. Mr. Murray thanks his parents who were and continue to be a huge influence and inspiration. He loves his role in Swing.

In addition, the great choreography immediately brought you back to the jumping and jiving days of the Big Band Era.

A standing ovation to Kenny Shepard and Carol Worcel but also to the Swingers who executed flawless and seemingly endless jazz splits, jumps, flips, death-spirals and difficult lifts.

Just when you thought the cast would faint from exhaustion, their energy levels increased along with the exuberance of the numbers, right to the finale. Yet, we never saw the cast have more fun, which was confirmed at the post show interview.

As always, it was outstanding musical direction by JR Alexander and exhibition of extraordinary talent of percussionist David Jolley. I was a tad disappointed that there was no dance number to “Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy” but it gave “The Stingers” an opportunity to show off their talents. It was a welcome change to see the band on stage and interactive in the scenes, jamming along with the other cast members.

One of my personal favorites was “Harlem Nocturne,” performed by BP veteran and another favorite performer, Lauran Stanis and Bassist Jeff Moran; lots of sexiness without the raunchiness. Instead, elegance and flair graced the stage. Ms. Stanis’ jazz number sent chills down my spine. Pure class act!

“Cry Me a River,” by Singer Autumn Grayce Johnson and Trombone Player Seth Gory was another mesmerizing number.

Lighting Designer Russell Thompson’s special challenge was to create different looks utilizing colors with such props as fiber optic illuminator’s, as seen in the “curtain of stars.” He did admit though that lighting up the pretty dancers in their great costumes makes the job fun.

Costumes by John P. White are also worth a shout out. There were lots of quick changes in this play. Great job!

Hope you are back from vacation Dirk. You were sorely missed…bartender’s with great personalities are a must!

Congratulations and many thanks to Will and Andrea Prather. May we all benefit from many more years of continued success.

Swing can be seen at BP through November 17. Show times vary. Free Swing lessons from the Cast after select Saturday evening performances.

Call the box office at (480) 325-6700, email tickets@broadwaypalmwest.com or visit the website at broadwaypalmwest.com.