Opera Review: EURYDICE (LA Opera)
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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.

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Splendid leads make Maltz’s ‘Chicago’ unmissable
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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.

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Maltz Delivers A Fresh Riff On All That Jazz In ‘Chicago’
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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.

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Signature Theatre’s “A Chorus Line” is a singular sensation
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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.

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‘A Chorus Line’ is back, and you’ll enjoy the new spring in its step.
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‘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.

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New Jersey Theater Review: Judy Garland Bio ‘Chasing Rainbows’
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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.

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The Music Man
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The Music Man

and the entire company shines in Denis Jones’s wittily elaborate dance sequences, especially Hill’s slyly seductive “Marian the Librarian.”

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TOOTSIE: A MAN PLAYING A MAN PLAYING A WOMAN PLAYING A
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TOOTSIE: A MAN PLAYING A MAN PLAYING A WOMAN PLAYING A

… while Denis Jones (Honeymoon in Vegas) provides the sterling choreography. A dance combination from the show-within-the-show’s director/choreographer—“bounce bounce bounce bounce, Fosse arm, Fosse arm” etc.—is so outlandishly successful that they manically repeat it several times. Word to the wise: don’t rush out early in the curtain call.

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CALL ME MADAM: POLITICAL SATIRE 70 YEARS LATER, WITHOUT ETHEL MERMAN
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CALL ME MADAM: POLITICAL SATIRE 70 YEARS LATER, WITHOUT ETHEL MERMAN

But it’s the ministrations of choreographer Jones (of Holiday Inn and Honeymoon in Vegas) that most delight the crowd. Let us add that two hapless Local 802 members are pulled from their saxophones and forced downstage in Tyrolean hats to play ocarinas, and I can’t imagine that the lowly mouth organ has ever received such repeated roars from the house on every blessed note.

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'Holiday Inn' at the Marriott: A year of holidays all lead up to that Irving Berlin song 'White Christmas'
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'Holiday Inn' at the Marriott: A year of holidays all lead up to that Irving Berlin song 'White Christmas'

Director/choreographer Denis Jones re-creates his original Broadway staging for Marriott’s in-the-round configuration with brio and wit. In particular, “Shaking the Blues Away,” in which all manner of holiday paraphernalia gets put to creative choreographic use (including strands of Christmas lights used as jump ropes) is exhilarating.

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THEATRE REVIEWS: Holiday Inn
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THEATRE REVIEWS: Holiday Inn

Directed and superbly choreographed by Denis James, this show is filled with great music: “Blue Skies”, “Heat Wave”, , “Marching Along With Time”, “Let’s Take An Old Fashioned Walk”, “Cheek To Cheek”, and of course “White Christmas”. This is just a sampling of the powerful score. There is a number in the second act, “Let’s Say It With Firecrackers”/ Song of Freedom” that will knock your sox off! It is a show-stopper .

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