“SUPERSTITION” IS NOTHING BUT GOOD LUCK

Gather your four leaf clovers, horse shoes, rabbit’s feet and lucky pennies, all the traditional charms you’ll need to arm yourself with before you venture to West Hartford’s Playhouse on Park for their current fortuitous offering “Superstition” until Sunday, April 10.  Choreographer and co-artistic director Darlene Zoller is clearly not a subscriber to the anxiety-laden triskaidekaphobia, a fear of all things 13.  When she realized that this year would be the 13th season of her stop/time dance theater, she immediately started working on creating “Superstition.”  In defiance of everything associated with black magic, like midnight colored cats, broken mirrors, walking under ladders and knocking on wood, Zoller has crafted an evening of dance, with her toe-tapping group stop/time dance theater that embraces whistling in the theater, opening an umbrella indoors and throwing salt over your shoulder for good luck.

With style and imagination, Zoller has conjured up an homage to the mysterious black magic arts that intrigue and perplex.  Numbers like “Knock on Wood,” “Witchcraft,” “Devil May Care" and “Old Devil Moon” are matched with “Black Cat,” “I Put a Spell on You,” “Good Luck Charm” and “How Lucky Can You Get?”  With a sensual and seductive sizzle “Witchy Woman” bewitches while a covey of razzle dazzle fringed ladies reminiscent of the Roaring Twenties rock in “Livin’ La Vida Loca.”  

The smooth stepping company consists of Meredith Atkinson and Rick Fountain who both sing and dance, singers Becky La Bombard, Victoria Mooney and Jacob Silver, dancers Jennifer Bunger, Lisa Caffyn, Lynsey Chartier, Beckie Correale, Amelia Flater, Laurie Misenti, Sheri Righi and Alicia Voukides, with guest dancers Erica Misenti and Spencer Pond.  A great combo of Sean Pallatroni, David Uhl, Nick Cutroneo, Andrew Studenski and Michael Blancaflor play back up with jazzy rhythms.

Forget old wives tales about getting up on the wrong side of the bed or whistling in the theater being bad luck, for “Superstition” is super packed, high energy, happy wattage from beginning to end…and you won’t want it to end!

For tickets ($22.50-$35.00), call Playhouse on Park, 244 Park Road, West Hartford at 860-523-5900, ext 10 or online at www.playhouseonpark.org.  Performance are Friday at 8 p.m., Saturday at 8 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m.  Next up the Playhouse will present the intense Pulitzer Prize-winning drama "Wit”by Margaret Edson from Wednesday, April 20 to Sunday, May 8.

Forget all the curses you have heard about Friday the 13th being drenched in bad auras.  “Superstition” will clearly dance and sing away all theories of ill fortune and guarantee pots of gold and rainbows.