Tap dancing is more than just a dance form for some. It can be a way to connect to the inner self or a means to let go.

This idea translates itself in “Stepping Out,” Syracuse University’s Department of Drama’s second production of the fall season. The show, which runs through Nov. 23, opened to a sold-out audience Saturday night at the Syracuse Stage/SU Drama Complex. The play is a rendition of the original play by British playwright Richard Harris.

“Stepping Out” brings together an eclectic cast of characters who meet in a church hall-converted-taproom to learn how to tap dance. During the course of the play, the motley bunch of eight women and one man realize they are not particularly fond of the dance form they are learning, but nonetheless are enticed by the weekly tapping lessons. Running away from their families and the world, the dancers attempted to tap away their woes.

The tapping on the floor was accompanied with their witty responses to the instructor, Mavis, played by Madie Polyak. As Mavis tried to motivate the group to use their feet more efficiently, they came up with excuses and took it all with light humor.

Sylvia, played by Jesse Roth, is a married, gum-chewing woman who is unhappy in her marriage and came up with foot puns in response to Mavis’s inspirational words. She said she has the steps in her “head but can’t seem to work it with the feet.”

“I just can’t seem to use what foot comes to hand,” Sylvia said.

Another character, Vera, played by Natalie Paige Goldberg, is a diligent upper class woman who carried a trash bin around the hall to make sure the studio was clean. On one occasion, she refused to join a group of girls after the class because they were sweaty.

“It may be February outside, but it’s August under your armpits,” Vera said.

Geoffrey, played by Tim Simon, is the lone macho-figure in the play. He usually tried to keep out of other people’s business and had very little stake when the women talk to each other.

The play progressed as the women discovered new friendships in the taproom. They showed a variety of emotions to each other — they judged, they pried, they were condescending and they were caring. But the plot changed when Mavis declared that they would have to prepare a tap number for a “save the children” charity event.

As the characters practiced and perfected the¬ir balance and learned to coordinate their steps, they grew closer and opened up the misery of their lives to one another. Eventually, they began to take the classes seriously and the clashes between them also began to erupt more frequently. In the process, the unique bond they formed over time helped them put the act together.

“It was hard to connect to the characters at first, it was towards the end I began to get their contentious aspect,” said Emma Voigt, who works at the Slutzker Center for International Services. “The characters could have been more etched out.”

The group’s journey in learning tap culminated in an orchestrated dance number at the end where the entire cast lit up the stage with flashing black-sequined coats and red hats.

Audience members reacted well to the jokes, but laughed sporadically throughout the night.

“It was fun and exciting,” said Pat Hottenstein, a retired nurse. “It was very professional, and the costumes were amazing.”

Published on November 17, 2014 at 12:01 am

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