Mountain Theatre Company opens its 88th season with Dancin’ in the Street, a jukebox celebration that is less a conventional musical than a full-hearted neighborhood happening.
In my review of MTC’s Jersey Boys, I remarked that the pitch-perfect vocals and irresistible beats had the audience dancing in the aisles (sure, that’s a reviewer’s laziest line, but it was true!).
This fizzy pop confection goes one better – the audience was dancing on stage with the swaying abandon of the Soul Train Gang on that legendary 70s-80s television staple.
With a book by MTC Artistic Director Scott Daniel and Katie Berger Wood and music arrangements by Casey Robert Reed, the show gathers Motown, soul, folk, disco, and pop favorites into a story of love, doubt, second chances, and community.
Director Daniel and choreographer Erin Leigh Knowles keep the evening moving with warmth and ease, turning the Highlands Performing Arts Center Mainstage into a summer block party where the audience feels like part of the street.
At the center of the festivities, Jahmad K. Juluke brings charm and generosity to Billy, the optimistic host who holds the block together. His best moments come opposite Amber Arevalo’s Rosie, especially in “Disco Inferno,” “How Deep Is Your Love,” and “Last Dance,” where the two find both sparkle and tenderness.
Arevalo gives Rosie a vivid mix of control, fear, and fire; by the finale, her leadership feels earned, not merely energetic.
Leiah Lewis is a powerhouse as Brenda, grounding the show with emotional force. “Somebody Else’s Guy” lets her reveal Brenda’s suspicion and hurt, while “I Love the Nightlife” gives her the chance to dazzle. Her later “Bridge Over Troubled Water” is one of the evening’s most affecting turns, and “Never Knew Love Like This Before” brings welcome release.
Trevor DeVon Neal’s Eddie answers her with a quieter but equally persuasive performance. In “Get Ready,” “Boogie Nights,” and especially “Love Ballad,” Neal shows Eddie as a man whose devotion is steady, private, and deeply felt.
Robert Tait gives Jack an appealing sincerity, a man who sings what he cannot quite say. His pairing with Maggie Musco’s Stevie is among the production’s strongest threads. Their “Sound of Silence” and “Fantasy” capture hesitation and longing, while “Dance with Me” brings the relationship into brighter motion. Musco is excellent at suggesting the intelligence beneath Stevie’s reserve, and her solo “Both Sides of Now” stands out for its thoughtful restraint. “Take Me Home” lets her open up further without losing the character’s self-possession.
That invitation becomes literal at intermission, when the audience is welcomed onto the stage for refreshments and dancing – a pop-up disco that transforms the break into part of the performance. It’s a smart, generous touch, and it captures what Mountain Theatre Company does best here: remove the distance between performers and patrons without making the evening feel forced.
Dancin’ in the Street earns its praise not by reinventing the jukebox musical, but by embracing the form’s pleasures with sincerity, polish, and a strong sense of place. It’s bright, communal, and vocally generous, with each performer finding a moment to shine. By the time the cast launches into the final rhythms, the show has become exactly what it promises: a street party, a love letter, and a reminder that sometimes the best theater makes you want to get up and dance.
Dancin’ in the Street will be staged at Highlands Performing Arts Center through July 12. Tickets are available at mountaintheatre.com. Wear your dancing shoes (platform heels, platform boots, and platform sandals) and come ready to party. It’s a happening, baby!
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