Review: Guys and Dolls: Frank Loesser’s Musical Fable Is No Gamble
“Everything, from Paul Tate dePoo III’s spot-on scenic and projection design—think artful re-creations of the era’s Times Square advertisements for Mr. Peanut, Canadian Club, and TWA—to Denis Jones’ impressively acrobatic choreography (particularly the loose-limbed salsa stylings in “Havana”), is light and bright and bursting with joy.”
- Melissa Rose Bernardo, New York Stage Review
Review: ‘Guys and Dolls’ at Kennedy Center is everything a musical should be
“Choreographer Denis Jones has put together some truly stunning dance sequences for the production’s large and talented ensemble. “The Crapshooters Dance,” the most intricately choreographed number in the show, was such a showstopper that it threatened to overshadow “Luck Be a Lady,” one of the show’s most well-known songs, which has the misfortune to come in the wake of the outsized dance number.”
- Nicole Hertvik, DC Theater Arts
Review: Bet on this ‘Guys and Dolls,’ ladies and gents. It’s aces.
“Choreographer Denis Jones infuses the dance sequences with pizzazz, whether via the exhilarating gymnastics for “Luck Be a Lady” or the tangy paso dobles of the nightclub scene in Havana, to which Sky has whisked an increasingly tipsy Sarah away.”
- Peter Marks, The Washinton Post
Review: Heartwarming ‘Dolly’ says ‘hi’
“…“Hello, Dolly!,” the 1964 Jerry Herman and Michael Stewart musical based on Thornton Wilder’s “The Matchmaker,” is a human story. That, along with some exceptionally witty and nuanced choreography from Jones, is the strength of this production, a much simpler affair than the epic recent Broadway revival starring Bette Midler that had more scenery than Dolly has business cards. Kettenring, a generous performer, does not approach the role as just desserts for a diva of the musical stage, which is how the part often is seen, but imagines a character whose sociability clearly is something of a cover for a widow’s loneliness.”
- Chris Jones, Chicago Tribune
Review: It Takes a Woman
“Chicagoland has a wonderful, carefree musical comedy that’s practically perfect in every way. Audiences coming to the theatre may be laden with problems and and predicaments. But in this show they can find a tuneful respite to their troubles. It’s a musical comedy that’s guaranteed to bring a smile to every theatergoer’s face, while setting their feet a-tapping. Denis Jones’ opulent, production overflows with talent, humor, color, spectacle and a leading lady who was born to play Dolly, Jerry Herman’s happiest musical.”
- Karen Topham, Chicago On Stage
Review: It takes a woman—Heidi Kettenring—to make Marriott’s “Dolly” shine
“Jones’ direction and choreography is nothing short of vibrant. He is able to bring out the fun in even the poorest-drawn characters […] Jones, who shows himself as adept at quieter choreography as he is in the chaotically joyful “Waiters’ Gallop” and the beautiful “Dancing,” treats us to an Act Two-opening “Elegance” that is both wistful and charming, as well as to the brilliant and subtle movement of “I Put My Hand In” and the emotional power of “Before the Parade Passes By” (which takes advantage of Kettenring’s passionate performance).
- Karen Topham, Chicago On Stage
Review: At Met premiere, ‘Eurydice’ offers a beguiling visit to the underworld
“Perhaps most impressive about Tuesday’s premiere was how the balance of woe and wit extended into nearly every aspect of the production. Choreographer Denis Jones was as skilled at lending elegance to the skulking denizens of the underworld as with fashioning a wedding party dance that would kill on TikTok.”
- Michael Andor Brodeur, The Wasington Post
Review: The Muny’s Rip-Roaring Production of ‘Chicago’ Gives ‘Em the Old Razzle Dazzle
“Jones has directed some of the best Muny productions in recent years, including a triumphant version of 42nd Street in 2016. He’s at his feverish best with this version of Chicago, both in his wide-open but disciplined direction of The Muny’s ensemble cast, and with his exuberant and dizzying choreography on numbers such as “Tap Dance,” “Cell Block Tango” and “We Both Reached for the Gun.”
- Mark Bretz, Ladue News
Review: “Chicago” at The Muny
“Denis Jones’ direction and choreography have admirable clarity, vitality, and glamour. The great number, “Razzle Dazzle,” lives up to its name in this memorable staging.”
- Gerry Kowarsky, HEC Media
Review: Please, Sir, We Want Some More: Maltz Jupiter’s Magical Oliver!
“The Maltz has spared little reviving this 1960 edition of Dickens’ 1838 novel: 18 laudable Equity actors, 14 children surprisingly melded into a whole, an unassailably capable director-choreographer and musical director, at least 10 hard-working crew members and kid wranglers, a superb 12-piece orchestra producing a glorious score from their marrow, scores of costumes from filthy rags to middle-class garb, a kaleidoscope of mood-setting lighting for a dozen locations, and redolent settings of grime and wealth backed up by digital backdrops.”
- Bill Hirschman, Florida Theater On Stage
Review: Muny closes season with a razzle-dazzle trip to 'Chicago'
If you’ve seen the 2002 film adaptation starring Renée Zellweger, Catherine Zeta-Jones and Richard Gere, you might assume you’ve experienced “Chicago.” But as good as that film is, it doesn’t come close to equaling the theatrical excellence on display live at the Muny.”
- Calvin Wilson, St. Louis Post-Dispatch
Review: In ‘Rothschild & Sons,’ Getting Even by Getting Rich
You cannot fault the York Theater Company’s rich new production of “Rothschild & Sons”
Opera Review: EURYDICE (LA Opera)
Choreographer Denis Jones’s big dance number of the opera isn’t a solemn ballet, but a “Thriller”-like dance at Eurydice’s wedding party — and all the foreshadowing that implies. It is not enough to hold her interest, and the introverted Eurydice retreats away — but no one’s gonna save her from the beast about to strike.
BWW Review: EURYDICE at Dorothy Chandler Pavilion
while wedding guests danced Denis Jones's amusing choreography at the nuptials.
Splendid leads make Maltz’s ‘Chicago’ unmissable
"Somewhere deep inside the Cook County Jail, circa 1920s, lies the intersection of blind justice and show biz. It is a cynical spot to be sure, but also extremely entertaining, thanks to composer John Kander and lyricist Fred Ebb, director-choreographer Denis Jones and a skilled Maltz Jupiter Theatre company of performers and designers.
Maltz Delivers A Fresh Riff On All That Jazz In ‘Chicago’
From the opening notes of the wailing trumpet in the overture, from the first actors in theatrically heightened period costumes wandering on, from the first song, director/choreographer Denis Jones and his troupe let you know that this is not a replica of any Chicago you may have seen. And as good as earlier versions are, that is a welcome note for many who have seen this show a couple of times too many.
Signature Theatre’s “A Chorus Line” is a singular sensation
In the theater world, a performer who is a true triple threat – one with the ability to perform at the highest levels as an actor, singer, and dancer all at the same time – is rare. Luckily, Signature Theatre’s Associate Artistic Director Matthew Gardiner (Signature’s Passion and Billy Elliot) and Tony Award-nominated Choreographer Denis Jones (Broadway’s Tootsie, Signature’s Crazy for You) managed to find an entire stage full of these unicorns, gifting the audience with an intimate production of the iconic musical that will leave you feeling as if each of the characters is a personal friend who you desperately want to get the job.
‘A Chorus Line’ is back, and you’ll enjoy the new spring in its step.
Jones’s ministrations give a new vigor to “I Can Do That,” the athletic song for ball-of-fire Mike (Trevor Michael Schmidt) and a balletic flow to “The Music and the Mirror,” the big solo accorded Cassie (Emily Tyra), the humbled, sidelined star trying to earn her way back into the business. And the sprawling centerpiece coming-of-age song, “Hello Twelve, Hello Thirteen, Hello Love,” reveals anew in gawky gestures and herky-jerky shuffles the endless awkwardness of adolescence.
New Jersey Theater Review: Judy Garland Bio ‘Chasing Rainbows’
Credit director/choreographer Denis Jones (“Holiday Inn,” “Tootsie”) for a genuinely gleeful tap number that embraces the boldest aspects of MGM’s magic, again without imitation. The tap theatrics continue with the dance a capella of “Got a Pair of New Shoes” with the band dropping out, leaving the ensemble to dance, unencumbered and unaccompanied. Snazzy stuff, that.
‘Chasing Rainbows’ brings golden-age Hollywood magic to the stage
… and direction and choreography by Denis Jones that conjures the bustling energy and high spirits of golden-age Hollywood musicals, “Chasing Rainbows” won me over. I highly recommend it.