The Times They Are-A-Changin’

You had to be a little bit delirious to fall in love with the cranky, grating voice of Robert Zimmerman, aka Bob Dylan. To those who feel that way, Twyler Tharp’s THE TIMES THEY ARE A-CHANGIN’ is sheer delirium. I’m one of those.

Unlike MOVIN’ OUT, Tharp’s Broadway hit based on the songs of Billy Joel, no attempt whatsoever is made in TIMES CHANGIN’ to imitate Dylan’s voice or his characteristic delivery. What Tharp and her troop of dancers capture instead is the soul of the artist, most certainly his dark side. “There ain’t no use in turning on your light, babe/I’m on the dark side of the road.” 

The story, loosely wrapped around Dylan’s repertoire is about a circus troupe, their tyrannical huckster, Ahrab, his rebellious son Coyote, and their mutual love interest for a young woman named Cleo. They all come to life in Dylan’s song about the circus - “Desolation Row”. As portrayed, the scene begins with a story ballet in which Cleo as Cinderella sweeps the stage, while a trembling clown reveals fear, hitting himself repeatedly in the face. Meanwhile, a big muscular contortionist in a stripped 1930’s bathing suit performs some awesome moves.

So much is happening here and all at once, but the effect is an intense fusion of imagery leading to a mingling of the senses, that’s known as synesthesia. Another remarkable instance is the song “Hey, Mr. Tambourine Man”. We feel like we see Dylan’s music while Coyote sings it perched above on a crescent moon. Here the frightened clown, performed so magnetically by Charlie Neshyba-Hodges moves beyond the “jingle jangle world” of Ahrab’s circus.  Whether dancing on his hands with his legs aloft, skipping hop scotch style across the stage or soaring with his arms wide open, the dancer’s momentum arrives from some inner/outer source far greater than the mere extension of his limbs. Like Fosse’s “Bojangles”, Tharp’s “Tambourine Man” is elegiac, a choreographic statement that stands on its own yet gives credence to the tale as the dancer delivers himself beyond Ahrab’s despotic influence.

Of course, there are the singers of TIMES CHANGIN’, too. Most notably Michael Arden as Coyote who proves the intemporal nature of Dylan’s music as he veers far from the folk singer’s delivery and rhythms. Thom Sesma’s Ahrab is a commendable evocation of evil while Lisa Brescia’s Cleo represents youthful beauty even though she isn’t the most dynamic singer.

It’s Twyla Tharp, though, who surpasses mere predictability, creating a dance style that expresses human emotion and delights us with playful props --- large balls and ropes, whips and toy guitars. But even more impressive is the way in which she weaves diverse theatrical elements into a fascinating sensory experience. Santo Loquasto’s junk heap set and costumes that run the gamut from medieval to contemporary and Donald Holder’s painfully dark lighting. It all brings us closer to the spirit smoldering within these clowns.

That’s This Week on Broadway. I’m Isa Goldberg.