If you’re a fan of “Dancing with the Stars” or “So You Think You Can Dance,” the current offering at the Broadway Playhouse is for you. “Savor After Hours” is a slick, sexy show with a cast of professional dancers including Val Chmerkovskiy, Maks Chmerkovskiy, Jenna Johnson-Chmerkovskiy, Daniella Karagach, Pasha Pashkov and Artem Chigvintsev. There’s more style than substance to this production, but it’s an impressive display of athleticism and artistry with crowd-pleasing energy.
“Savor” is produced by MagicSpace Entertainment and Mark Swanhart, who is also the creator, director and writer. Swanhart’s dance career began in Chicago, where he trained at the Ruth Page Center for the Arts and performed with the James Kelly Choreography Project, Deeply Rooted Dance Chicago, River North Dance Company and Hubbard Street Dance. Since then, his career has spanned film, TV and live events, including choreographing for Celine Dion and Cirque du Soleil.
The stage of the Broadway Playhouse transforms into a cabaret club for “Savor,” with a set by Shaun Motley featuring red velvet upholstery, faux granite walls and onstage seating for a handful of audience members. Daniela Gschwendtner’s costume designs add glitter and glamour, favoring red, black and gold as the dominant colors.
At the top of the show, an emcee named Somley (Allie Meixner) introduces the overarching idea that performances are like good wine, to be savored to the last sip. In a sultry voice, she advises viewers that what they’re about to see might make them laugh, cry — or even get turned on.
So begins a 75-minute series of dance numbers, choreographed by KC Monnie and all tied more or less to the theme of wine. The opener, the Dean Martin classic “Sway,” sets the tone with three couples performing the fast-paced choreography you’d see at a ballroom dance competition, with a hint of a lap dance at the end. Next up is a sequence inspired by white wine, including a flirtatious all-women number and the sparkling husband-wife duo of Val Chmerkovskiy and Jenna Johnson-Chmerkovskiy, both longtime cast members of “Dancing with the Stars.”
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A red wine-themed sequence taps into the darker side of romance, with a bad-boy figure appearing in a black trench coat to the angsty rhythms of “Red Right Hand” by Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, best known as the theme song of “Peaky Blinders.” Jealousy comes into play as rivals duke it out in “Roxanne” by The Police. In one of the most memorably choreographed pieces, two lovers play each other like a fiddle to Aerosmith’s “Dream On,” dancing with a violin bow bandied between them.
Overall, the show would benefit from stronger storytelling and more variety in pacing. The one slow number, a cover of Jim Croce’s “Time in a Bottle,” depicts a man drinking alone and remembering his lost love, who then appears to dance with him in a gorgeous, elegiac duet. A few more moments like this would create a well-rounded experience without bringing down the momentum too much.
There’s certainly no lack of energy in “Savor.” At one point, three women dancers wander the theater as inebriated members of a bachelorette party, eventually finding an audience member to crown the “bride to be.” On opening night, 66-year-old Marcie was the lucky pick. After the bridesmaids escorted her onstage, they left her alone to be treated to a surprise Magic Mike-style performance. She gamely went along with the fun, swiveling her hips to the music, and the audience was chanting her name by the time she rejoined her son in their seats. A similar number in reverse is “Big Spender,” where an older man sits center stage for a dance by several wine-chugging women, who stick him with their massive bill at the end.
Louis Armstrong’s version of “La Vie en Rose” and Frank Sinatra’s “One More for the Road” close the show with the mid-century vibe that opened it. “Whatever you have left in your glass, I hope you savor it,” says Somley.
Although the script is a bit cheesy and the narrative arc rather shallow, “Savor” features plenty of visually dazzling moments set to a toe-tapping playlist. All in all, an entertaining way to spend an evening — with or without a glass of wine in hand.
Emily McClanathan is a freelance critic.
Review: “Savor After Hours” (2.5 stars)
When: Through Aug. 18
Where: Broadway Playhouse at Water Tower Place, 175 E. Chestnut St.
Running time: 1 hour, 15 minutes
Tickets: $50-$114 at www.broadwayinchicago.com