Memo From the RTC: Celebrate 20 Years of Rockaway Theatre Company at Rockaway Café

Published Nov. 3, 2017 at www.rockawave.com

Memo From the RTC: Celebrate 20 Years of Rockaway Theatre Company at Rockaway Café

By Norm Scott

On Sunday I was at rehearsal for the Rockaway Theatre Company’s upcoming extravaganza from noon to four to practice the staging for each of the almost 20 songs and dances and when I left they were just getting started on the vocals for another couple of hours. And that came after special rehearsals for some of us on Saturday from 3:30- 6PM.

Oy! Ya think this ain’t work for even lowly people like me who will be on stage for a very short time? And I don’t sing. Or act. Or dance – well, they have me trying to do some steps while attempting to hide behind others. So come watch me trying to find someone I can duck behind.

Luckily for those of you who come to see the show, I’m on and off pretty quickly so your eyes can feast on the breathtaking dancing and the scrumptious pack of dancers whose gorgeous moves on stage match their physical beauty. I don’t mind looking at beautiful women standing still but when the stage is flooded with so many moving in synchronized perfection, my eyes can’t decide where to look first. (It seems there are way more female top level dancers than males though RTC has a few). The answer is to see the show multiple times and choose a different dancer to watch  each time.

I’ve never seen better dancing on our stage. It is not always easy to find top-level trained dancers in community theater. After two decades, the RTC has been attracting people who could be on the professional level. Just this past Sunday I found out that one of our favorite actor/singer/dancers was this close to making a major  breakthrough on the professional level but life got in the way.  

No matter how great the dancers are, they are not doing free style and great choreographers are just as important. Next week we’ll list them all.

I haven’t even been to a rehearsal yet where I could hear the vocals so, though, I am sure they are spectacular since the RTC has always overflowed with singing talent. I won’t report on them until next week.

Performances are Nov. 3, 4, 10, 11, 16, 17, 18 at 8PM and Nov. 5, 12, 19 at 2 PM. Tickets are $20, $15 for seniors. Call RTC Hotline: 718-374-6400 or www.rockawaytheatrecompany.org.

Warning: There is a scary time in the show where I join some people in the aisle and we sing along while at some point trying to get an audience member to dance with us.

If you see me near you, duck.

Norm is always ducking from the incoming at his other column, School Scope and at his blog at ednotesonline.com.