It's almost showtime again at the Honky Tonk Bar and Fill and choreographer Allison Bibicoff is ready to turn her dancers loose for tonight's opening of Savin' Up For Saturday Night. She originally choreographed the musical for its run at Sacred Fools Theatre Company last fall and the new co-production with The Grove Theatre in Upland amps up the fun for a show that played to sold out audiences here in Los Angeles and was extended due to popular demand.
No stranger to the business, Bibicoff has produced and choreographed national touring productions like Buddy: The Buddy Holly Story through her Production Company, Allicat Produtions, LLC., and also directed and choreographed shows like Rogers and Hammerstein's Some Enchanted Evening for The Springer Opera House's touring branch, Springer Theatricals.
She was also assistant choreographer and an associate producer on the Broadway musical, Xanadu, which was nominated for four Tony Awards, including best new musical and best choreography. Earlier this week she took a break from her busy schedule to tell me all about the new production.
Savin' Up was incredibly successful in its initial run at Sacred Fools and now you're remounting a co-production with The Grove Theatre in Upland. Has it been easy to transfer the show from a 99-seat theatre to a 425-seat venue?
It's lovely to have a larger theatre! It makes some things so much easier, and yet it still creates new challenges. There's a quote by Rob Ashford about how, when you're faced with problems and forced to make changes, your end result is often better than had the problem never happened. I truly believe that.
What kind of changes have you made?
We have a bigger stage and it's also deeper. The band was originally placed up center but in this larger space they were too far back. I had the idea of putting a little stage in the center of the dance floor downstage so the lead singer can be closer to the audience, but now that means I'm back to a smaller stage, which also changes the choreography. There's one step I really love in the show called a 'floor sweep' that all of the couples do as the last number. On the smaller stage it meant I needed to take two couples out so no one hit their head on the platform.
Also, the scope of the show is a little bigger. We now have eight dedicated dancers - four partner dancers and four technical dancers. Brendan Hunt (Eldridge) and Courtney DeCosky (Patsy) are returning in the roles they originated and we have two new cast members. Wendi Hammock, who was featured in The Who's Tommy at the Chance Theater, is playing Lucinda, and Doug Gochman is our new Doc. Plus, our composer, Richard Levinson, will be joining the original band members as Roddy on piano.
How did you first become involved with Savin' Up?
I was googling around on the Internet, looking for shows that might be right for me and I stumbled on Savin' Up. It was a show that called for partner dancing, and that's my specialty. I found the director, Jeremy Aldridge, online on Facebook and I sent him a message saying, 'hey, you don't know me, but I'm a choreographer and I think I'd be perfect for your show. I do musical theater and I do partner dancing and I'd love to chat with you.' Now, a year later, he's a great friend.
Some people have categorized the show as a country musical. Would you say that's an accurate description?
I think of Savin' Up as a musical comedy, not a country musical. It's funny because I don't like country music at all, but I love this honky-tonk, dance hall musical. And we do all different styles of dance in the show, from west coast swing and east coast swing, to waltz and two-step. I really believe in the show and this time I'm also a producer, along with Brian Wallis, Richard Levinson and Jeremy Aldridge.
You first started out as a dancer. Was that always a dream of yours?
Isn't that what all little 4-year old Jewish girls do in Brooklyn? My sister was a klutz so she became a lawyer. My family moved to Florida when I was five, then to California when I was seven, so I grew up in Tarzana.
