'How to Dance in Ohio': Hope for autistic adults

‘HOW TO DANCE IN OHIO’: The cast. Photo: Curtis Brown.

HOW TO DANCE IN OHIO
Book & lyrics by Rebekah Greer Melocik
Music by Jacob Yandura
Directed by Sammi Cannold
Choreography by Mayte Natalio
Belasco Theatre
111 West 44th Street
(212-239-6200), howtodanceinohiomusical.com

By David NouNou

Like the musical Harmony which opened last month, this is yet another well-intentioned show. In this case it showcases seven autistic young adults, both men and women, navigating through their daily lives. Based on the HBO documentary of the same name, the musical adaptation of How to Dance in Ohio is not asking for pity or to feel sorry for these seven individuals but to give us an understanding and a perspective on how they deal with life on a daily basis.

Set at the Amigo Family Counseling, a real Columbus, Ohio mental-health center for autistic people, run by Dr. Emilio Amigo (Caesar Samayoa), whose courses are in life skills. They are social in nature (how to ask for something), emotional (how to deal with daily rejections) and physical (how to navigate). They are given exercises in dealing with issues and participation is voluntary. All of this is ultimately to prepare for the facility’s spring formal prom dance that will take place in 99 days.

It’s not just the pupils who have the struggles of daily routines; it is also the families of the children. The excitement of two mothers taking their daughters Caroline (Amelia Fei) and Jessica (Ashley Wool) to Macy’s to buy them a dress for the dance and feel the magic of that special night they felt when they were young. Or the widowed father wanting his shy daughter Marideth (Madison Kopec) to step away from her laptop and enter the real world and go to the dance. Also, the engineering genius, Drew (Liam Pearce) who wants to go to the prom but doesn’t know how to ask Marideth to go with him.

Another issue focuses on Dr. Amigo and his assistant, daughter Ashley (Cristina Sastra) who also has problems. After her leg injury, Ashley has lost her interest in dance and feels the need to stay at the center to help with these young adults to sort out their problems, but her father is insistent on her resuming her dance courses at Julliard. Further complications arise when a podcast is released praising Dr. Amigo and making it all about him and neglecting the pupils who made such progress to get this far, and in turn this alienates them from Dr. Amigo, and they refuse to go to the prom which derails all the progress they made.

Music by Jacob Yandura and lyrics by Rebekah Greer Melocik aren’t so much memorable as they are an introduction to the characters, songs like: “Today Is,” “Under Control,” “The How-To’s,” “Hello, How Are You?” These aren’t so much as songs that play in our heads but more like instructional guidelines for the characters and their daily routines.

The seven pupils are not performers, but they are autistic adults, who happen to be very talented and can sing beautifully. The pupils include Liam Pearce, Imani Russell, Amelia Fei, Ashley Wool, Madison Kopec, Conor Tague and Desmond Luis Edwards. They are an ensemble but they all have their moment to shine and show us what makes them so special. Caesar Samayoa, last seen in Come From Away, manages to balance the difficult role of teacher, father and friend expertly.

The quest for How to Dance in Ohio is to enlighten us, but it is done in the most obvious way with a lugubrious, repetitive book. Like the delightful 2018 musical The Prom, there is a prom to go to at the end. The Prom had a great set by Scott Pask and gave the illusion of a multitude of joys taking place; the set here by Robert Brill is threadbare and lacks any illusion of joy. The musical is also hindered by Sammi Cannold’s lackluster direction.

The true joy that is extracted in How to Dance in Ohio is seeing seven talented young adults giving it their all.

Edited by Scott Harrah
Published December 15, 2023
Reviewed at December 13, 2023 press performance.