Debbie Allen: Freeze Frame -
Brisbane Festival -
Playhouse, September 19 -
The Debbie Allen-conceived, choreographed and directed musical Freeze Frame premiered at the Brisbane Festival after a barrage of glowing advance publicity. Unfortunately it didn’t quite live up to expectations.
In a musical format and described as having “a dance-driven narrative”, Freeze Frame explores the toughest neighbourhoods of Los Angeles through a series of vignettes, each telling a different character’s story.
This is very much a family affair with Allen’s son, Norman Nixon Jnr (aka Thump), composing much of the music and her daughter, Vivian Nixon (an Alvin Ailey graduate) starring as Eartha. Most of the cast were from the Los Angeles-based Debbie Allen Dance Academy.
The work begins and ends with the sound of gunshot, neatly encapsulating the culture that underpins much of America’s underclass, but the narrative, woven by spoken monologue, song and dance that joins these two points, is under-developed. The different characters are neither dramatically linked, nor any of their stories developed further to any satisfying conclusion.
At nearly 90 minutes without an interval, the work is too long and meandering – two or three numbers could be easily removed. On opening night, problems with the sound levels and lighting cues couldn’t have helped the cast’s confidence, some of whom seemed unsure of their positions on stage.
There are however, some entertaining moments, especially the gospel number “Jesus is on the Line”, which, while not developing the narrative at all, is very powerful. The youngest cast members generally outshone their older counterparts, particularly Alijah Kai (Kayla), Alaman Diadhiou (Ali) and Ryan Phuong (DA Ni) in a delightful number composed by Allen and Wally Minko, “Don’t Say No”.
However, it is the choreography that disappoints most; a mixture of styles from lyrical to tap, it is neither innovative nor particularly challenging. The hip-hop funk fusion of street dance is where the work really comes together, showing what might be achieved for the rest of the work with revision.
- Denise Richardson