PATRICIA WILCOX: CHOREOGRAPHER EXTRAORDINAIRE

The award winning choreographer Patricia Wilcox has designed dance routines for shows from “Beautiful" to “Bye Bye Birdie,” “Mamma Mia" to “Motown the Musical,” “Seussical” to "The Secret Garden,” not to mention dances for ice skaters and cruise ship entertainers. She considers her entry into the world of dance “late” since it wasn’t until she was in college that it started, as she was working on her masters. As a child she was bedridden for a year with rheumatic fever and the seeds of her career may have been planted when, recovered, she spent her Monday nights taking jazz, ballet and tap classes as therapy. It has been a long time since her first show “Blues in the Night.” There she started with the director’s staging for this new work, and began by examining the story, choreographing it without a mirror, taking the arc of the story and fitting in the dance steps last of all. Frequently her initial vision changes as she needs to stay open to possibilities and see how the show feels, plus making adjustments for the dancers. Her ultimate question is “What do I want to achieve with the story?” That requires focus, a concentration on the musicality of the story and the movement. Right now, Patricia Wilcox is concentrating her attention on Goodspeed Musicals 60th Anniversary production of “Gypsy A Musical Fable” playing in East Haddam from April 28 to June 18. With book by Arthur Laurents, music by Jule Styne and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, it is the story of a true stage parent, Momma Rose, whose ambitions for her daughters drive her to great lengths and difficult decisions. Patricia says the cast is wonderful and the show is in “great shape” as they get ready for the tech rehearsal this week. For Patricia, this is her first time creating the choreography for “Gypsy.” “I love the show and I have a terrific relationship with the brilliant director Jenn Thompson. We’ve done seven or eight shows together over the years and this is our third at Goodspeed including “The Music Man” and “Bye Bye Birdie.” We work well together and move forward, sharing the show’s vision. I have not seen “Gypsy” in the last fifteen years but it is one of the best musicals ever written, the lyrics, the music, ALL.” She loves working in the 1920’s, being able to explore Vaudeville and burlesque in the various numbers. For tickets, call the box office at 860-873-8668 or go online to goodspeed.org. Performances are Wednesday and Thursday at 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m., Friday at 8 p.m., Saturday at 3 p.m. and 8 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. Patricia is reluctant to name a favorite show, as if it is like picking a favorite child. But her two sons and their relationship with good storytelling and reading helped her decision to do the choreography for a new project “Diary of a Wimpy Kid” that premiered in Minneapolis recently, that she also worked on with Jenn Thompson. The youthful exuberance of the children, their desire to do the right thing, their willingness to do the work over and over for twenty-five times and their resilience made the experience so special. When she is choreographing, her emotions run the gamut from the thrill of getting the job, an OMG feeling, the ability to immerse herself in the work, to find nuggets of the piece and connect them in a whole new way. It’s easy to see why she is happiest when creating her choreography. A favorite experience of Patricia Wilcox is a memory when she was a member of the audience seeing a show. After Act 1 the gentleman sitting next to her tapped her on the arm and asked her “Was it beautiful?” She explained that it was and then realized he was blind. After the second act she stayed and told him the whole story, a perfect shared experience so he could “see” the show through her eyes. No wonder she visualizes her choreography so perfectly.