By Kevin Jacobson
kevin@newsroom.byu.edu
Two years ago, Erica Glenn began writing 'Dancing Shoes,' a musical adaptation of the classic story by Noel Streatfeild. Amazingly, Glenn was only 12 years old at the time.
Last weekend, the now 14-years-old's play found the stage at Villa Playhouse in Springville.
'Dancing Shoes' tells the story of two orphaned sisters Rachel (Erica Glenn) and Hillary Mullins (Cathy Miner) as they go to live with their Aunt Cora Wintle (Maria Jones).
Wintle owns a dance studio in England, where she oversees the instruction of nearly a dozen girls in various forms of dance. Her spoiled daughter Dulcie (Jessica Woahn) is the star pupil in the dance school and always gets her way.
When Rachel and Hillary arrive, Dulcie feels threatened by Hillary's excellent dancing ability and Rachel's superior intellect. However, Dulcie's conniving acts and family status allow her to receive special status in the school.
Dulcie's haughtiness earns her the contempt of her fellow classmates, who make fun of her behind her back.
The story reaches a climax when Dulcie auditions for a role in a Shakespeare production that will also be made into a movie, but can not compete with Rachel's intense love for Shakespeare.
As the name would imply, 'Dancing Shoes' is a musical featuring a great deal of dancing. The choreography is in fact the strongest point of this production. Almost every musical number incorporates an accompanying dance routine.
However, the songs lack orchestration and a broad range of creativity, which rob impact from the dancing. Fortunately, both Glenn and Woahn give solid vocal performances, which alleviate some of the monotony of the musical numbers.
The story line is simple and easy to follow, but it ends with a fairytale resolution that is inconsistent with the realism found in the rest of the story. All relationship problems are rectified in the final five minutes of the play.
However, Glenn as a writer and an actress pulls off a sound show, and shows much potential as a amateur playwright and performer.