Dan's Papers - June 22, 2007 - New Hampton Theatre Group Does "Joe Sent Me"

The Hamptons witnessed the beginnings of a remarkable theatre group late last week. From Friday to Tuesday, the members of this theatre troupe sang and danced their hearts out to sold out audiences at the Nova Center on Millstone Road in Bridgehampton, and in the process created the founding money for what the hope will be the Jacobson Center for the Performing Arts.

And the crowd loved it.

Indeed, it was hard to believe how one man, a Broadway Musical choreographer moved to the Hamptons named Eric Jacobson, could move this group of students, all his students, to such an extent. But there it was.

The show they created for these five performances was an hour and a half long, two acts, and called "Joe Sent Me." The students had made costumes for themselves, decorated the main hall and set the scene for the recreation of a 1920s speakeasy, with a small stage where the show went on, a balcony that overlooked the stage where more of the show went on, and a main audience area that consisted of about twenty speakeasy tables lit by candlelight at which the audience sat. There was no sign outside. There were little white arrows leading up Millstone Road that read, "Joe Sent Me" to get you there. And they collected a "cover" at the door, as in, here are your tickets, find yourself a seat.

Then the lights went dim. The live band struck up a song, and the madam of the place, Lola, waltzed out to introduce herself, rather vulgarly, to this audience that was there -- ostensibly -- for fun, drink, song, romance, dance and to see some of the local citizenry rise to the occasion. Lola, the madam, sang the song "When You're Good to Mama (Mama's Good to You)" while dancing original choreography and then introduced her "girls," who came strutting out one at a time to pout, pose, dance and wiggle their hips. And the show began. There wasn't one person in that audience, as the various songs banged out at top speed and the girls danced and sang, who didn't think they were indeed in a 1920 speakeasy, so transporting was this performance.

At this point, I think something needs to be said about how all this came about.

Eric Jacobson, a Broadway show choreographer in the Bob Fosse tradition, came to town, put ads in the papers, and got students from age 11 to 60 to come to his makeshift studio from time to time and do what they believed would be dance routine workouts and lessons.

Little did they know what they were getting into. These women (and men) were teachers, lawyers, Southampton hospital nurses, high school students and whatever else you might imagine. They came, and instead of singing and dancing, they were transformed.

"Pick a name," Eric told the girls. "Pick a showgirl name. Then that's you. Every time you come here, you are that person."

And so, this motley crew of locals was transformed into KitKat, Suzette, Masie, Charlie, Chloe Diamond, Nichelle, Dixi Causby, Sophie, Roxy Heart, Lola, and on and on. If you were Dixi and you came in and everyone, led by Eric, was doing a routine from "A Chorus Line" and you joined up, they would say, "Hello, Dixi."

From time to time, the students said no, I can't kick that high, or I can't leap that far or spin that quickly and he'd say, "forget who you were before you came here. Suzette, you can do this."

And, amazingly, they WOULD.

To get an idea of the routines that Eric Jacobson put them through, imagine "The Charleston" played by the band as fast as it is possible to play it, and then imagine ten dancers, attractive young showgirls, costumed in spangles right out of The Rockettes, smiling at the audience and heading off in precision kicks, throws, bends and leaps that make you shout for joy simply at the remarkable accomplishment of it. So that was "Joe Sent Me."

At the end, as at the end of every rehearsal session or dance session or whatever you want to call it, these dancers, housewives, college boys, teenagers and so forth had bonded. And they found themselves -- this would be late last year -- discussing how they could share this experience with friends and neighbors by allowing them into the studio with Eric Jacobson and the remarkable coaching he could provide. Those that joined up experienced exercise, balance, precision dancing, music and, well, it has led to this -- a five-day series of performances of "Joe Sent Me," consisting of two acts and a dozen or more routines at this speakeasy -- and maybe the founding of a new theatre dance troupe led by this remarkable man.

What they need is a sugar daddy. Just ask Lexi, or Hazel, or Trixie, or Suzette.