In a clever send-up of vintage comic-book-hero mythology, Tristan Bruns’ “The Adventures of Tapman,” puts the super hero’s super-human power in his feet and largely lives up to the promise. The modest, one-hour tale unfolds with Bruns at the center in muscle-rippling shirt and a sparkling super-hero belt buckle to match his on-stage charisma, narrating his own story in spoken word and song. Bruns’ rich baritone is the real deal, although he is, lamentably, the only character who sings in the show. It would have been delightful to hear more of his singing, and one could even imagine what expansion of the concept into a tap musical would open up for this young company. (Just a thought.)
Bruns is joined by a cast of two other principals--femme fatale Jessica Williams as Tapman’s nemesis, The MADD Tapper, and the spunky Kate O’Hanlon as The Modern Marvel, his main squeeze. The MADD Rhythms Jr. Squad makes up a chorus of back-up lackeys for evil. The MADD Rhythms moniker (Making a Difference through Dance) references Bril Barrett’s parent company, from which Tapman and company all hail.
The visual aid of projections helps set the stage with comic book reality, but it’s when the movement truly conveys the deliberate, genre-specific clichés of comic books that “Tapman,” and the audience, have the most fun.
“Tapman” is at its best when the dancing is central to the storytelling, which is the case for at least two thirds of the production. Short, snappy comic book dialogue, when integrated into the movement, is a welcome component to a dance form that is typically non-verbal. This was clear and entertaining in THE FINAL BATTLE duel between Tapman and The MADD Tapper, where dialogue and movement flowed together in a tap dance fight to the finish, complete with comic book style gestures and tap dance licks.
Storytelling bogs down, however, in longer spoken sequences without movement. This is especially the case in the “Super Hero Dating Game” scene, where Modern Marvel suffers through her day job as moderator of a TV show. The three sub-super contestants are all unseen, represented in voice-over only. This segment, a bit clunky, misses a comedic opportunity to use movement to show rather than tell. It needs more stage action and a good script doctor to build momentum and accomplish its plot purpose of setting up Tapman as THE ONE.
The character of Modern Marvel, supposedly a modern dancer who knows nothing of tap, gives us a few balletic grand jetés and pirouettes to demonstrate her technical prowess and dance “otherness,” but we never see evidence of her modern dance persona--think Jules Feiffer’s cartoon character, “The Dancer.” Modern Marvel’s transition to tapping and true love under Tapman’s tutelage in “Night and Day” lacks dramatic authenticity, which, even, or perhaps especially, in a parody, must be grounded in truth. The ensuing duet devolves into ho-hum when it should be on fire.
On the other hand, Tapman is grounded in truth throughout. True, storytelling comes to a halt to allow Bruns to demonstrate his show-stopping tapping chops in two knock-out tap solos--The Sacred Sand Dance, ostensibly Tapman’s test to win access to the kidnapped Modern Marvel, and the “Battle Without Honor or Humility.” But we forgive the production that digression just because he’s so darn good! And it IS a tap show. But how much would it take to push the movement an increment closer to motivated dramatic action that moves the plot forward as well as providing a showcase for the protagonist’s dance artistry?
All of which brings me to the point that “The Adventures of Tapman,” while an entertaining and fun hour with lots to recommend it, is not yet fully realized either as a tap show or theater. At present it straddles the line between wanting to tell a story and dancing, and doesn’t quite accomplish the necessary fusion of forms or full development of choreographic and theatrical components. It has all the ingredients for something more, not the least of which is its Artistic Director, Bruns, a true triple threat and a composer to boot. As Tapman, Bruns taps his way into your heart with his all-American good looks, boy next door innocence, and tapping virtuosity. Let’s hope that this young entrepreneur sets his sights high. Keep watching!
--Lynn Colburn Shapiro