Cinderella (Company XIV) NYC Reviews and Tickets
Member Reviews (75)
See it if you enjoy clever dance performances with a burlesque overlay. The performers are multi-talented and enthusiastic.Their best show so far!
Don't see it if partial nudity and sexual innuendo upsets you. Also you need to leave a lot of time to get to their inconveniently located Brooklyn theater.
See it if Austin McCormick creates his tasteful adult ballet/burlesque fantasy with a pop/classical soundtrack. Stay seated for the break, it's fun.
Don't see it if Baroque takes on pop tunes like Sia and Lana Del Rey. Beware sketchy Brooklyn neighbourhood. Cast changes from years past affect '18 edition
Critic Reviews (13)
"Has a super cast, full of charismatic performers and extraordinary dancers. But the show’s two lengthy intermissions (and two bars) suggest we’re meant to spend most of our time buying signature Company XIV cocktails, perhaps to let alcohol numb us to the repetitiveness of what we’re seeing...The show has moments of real beauty...But too much relies on a small vocabulary of movement...It’s a surprisingly unsensual show...Without naughtiness, the magic goes away."
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"Company XIV is engaged in executing very well-constructed illusions, designed to take audiences into another world...''Cinderella' succeeds marvelously...Acrobatics, visually stunning tableaux, and a spectacular ensemble in this sexy, cheekily naughty adaptation...The ensemble performs McCormick's eye-popping choreography like revelers overcome by the unbridled energy in the room...The most unique, sophisticated, and riotously fun date-night show running in New York right now."
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"When they finally meet, the breathtaking pas de deux they perform on a lyra hoop is enhanced by the sumptuous vocals of a bluesy diva named Storm, who plays the Fairy Godmother with earthy sensuality...As always, the XIV ensemble is full of charismatic dancers who balance bawdiness and elegance in a variety of styles...Their charms are properly displayed with divine decadence by the company's long-time set and costume designer and the evocative lighting."
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"There are some amusing touches throughout, including the appearance of the stepsisters inside a giant skeletal pannier, a curtain half-raised to reveal the lower legs of those hoping to win the prince, a pole dance for Cinderella, and a fairly lively can-can. Overall, however, the atmosphere of calculated naughtiness becomes rather wearying, and the quality of the choreography isn't high enough to keep one engaged for the two-hour running time."
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"Scenes and character entrances are announced silently via chalkboard title cards, held saucily aloft by very sparkly, very scantily clad showgirls and showboys...The ensemble contributes lots of wit and intensity to the choreography, but it is the gymnastic moves by the leads that bring down the house."
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"This is a highly eroticized telling of Charles Perrault's baroque fairytale, but never one that sinks into smuttiness...The loose plot allows for multiple extended dance sequences, staged by McCormick with healthy doses of playfulness, allure and danger."
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"At close to two and a half hours, the show does sometimes drag. Two intermissions are unnecessary, and some of the dance numbers feel overly long. But the dancers are uniformly gorgeous and wonderfully accomplished, and the choreography is crisp and innovative. McCormick's vision is clear and cohesive throughout the whole show."
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"Company XIV’s 'Cinderella' is a gorgeous spectacle, a one-of-a-kind rendering of a beloved fairy tale, and just an all-around badass theatre experience. You won’t be able to resist the whole confetti and glitter-filled production."
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"'Cinderella' lacks a visceral throughline. Loose moments of improvised dialogue diminish the power of the choreography, and missed moments leave the audience entertained but not necessarily emotionally invested. Amid all of the flourishes, a number of deliberate respites might help the show resonate more deeply. That being said, 'Cinderella' is an explosion of talent. Forget triple-threats, the dozen performers that grace the stage have an unlimited arsenal to offer."
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"'Cinderella' ties its disparate elements together by means of a familiar children’s story, one to which everything adheres, albeit in unusual and unexpected ways. But essentially, the Company XIV style (and various cast members) remains the same; that artsy style...is getting to be a bit long in the tooth. At its present length, it runs out of surprises. This is 'Cinderella,' folks, not 'Hamlet!'"
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"Welcome to the den of debauchery where dancing, singing and raunchy never looked so good...Cabaret, ballet, opera, burlesque, vaudeville and circus acrobatics come to life in a spectacular way. This show like all the XIV’s Company’s work is scrumptious and Mccormick is the genius behind this glorious choreographed pleasure not to be missed."
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"It’s not the moments or even the dazzling individual numbers, it’s the whole picture that transports us into a magical world of tongue-in-cheek glitz and deeply felt emotion rolled together into a densely packed concoction of wonders. Amazing costumes and sets work foot-in-slipper with McCormick’s marvelously inventive, alternately boisterous and touching choreography to turn the show into a happening – and one that should not be missed."
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"Campiness flattens the narrative, denaturing both the darker elements of abuse and isolation as well as the lighter enchanting elements…When the surface story has been preserved but not its soul, the very reason why we go to the theatre is lost. Over two hours of exuberant spectacle is insufficient when the heart of this folktale is brittle as glass...In 'Cinderella' the sum of its parts did not add up to a rousing whole."
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