Review: Prison Dancer entertaining, thoughtful – and, yes, uplifting
An entertaining, thoughtful, and yes, uplifting show with a few grim reminders that social media videos might not always tell the whole trut
- Director Nina Lee Aquino
- Co-Creator Romeo Candido and Carmen De Jesus
In 2007, a video of 1,500 inmates in a Philippines prison dancing to Michael Jackson’s Thriller was posted to YouTube and quickly became one of the first viral videos. The “Dancing Inmates of Cebu” are the inspiration behind an ambitious new musical by Filipino-Canadian creators Romeo Candido and Carmen De Jesus.
Over the past several years, Romeo and Carmen have painted a fictional portrait of the people behind this phenomenon through Prison Dancer, an award-winning transmedia project that includes an interactive web series, a performative cinematic experience, and a cast recording. They are now revisiting Prison Dancer, a musical that will expand this storytelling with an even deeper exploration of these complex characters and their experiences.
Company
The Citadel Theatre is one of the largest not-for profit theatres in North America, drawing patrons from a large geographic region that includes the greater Edmonton area as well as central and northern Alberta. In addition to presenting a full season of professional theatre, Citadel Theatre runs several training programs (including one of the most comprehensive programs for creative development in professional theatre), hosts three resident theatre companies, develops new work, and provides rental spaces for numerous arts organizations and community groups.
Creative team
- Director Nina Lee Aquino
- Assistant director Gina Puntil
- Co-Creator Romeo Candido and Carmen De Jesus
- Dramaturgy Rick Boynton
- Music Director Kierscey Rand
- Choreographer Julio Fuentes
- Associate Choreographer Keiran Bohay
- Assistant Choreographer Josh Capulong
- Costume Designer Joyce Padua
- Set & Props Designer Joanna Yu
- Sound Designer Owen Hutchinson
- Lightning Designer Michelle Ramsay
- Apprentice Lightning Designer Za Hughes
- Fight Director Morgan Yamada
- Dialect Coach Grace Alarcon-Isla
- Stage Manager Michelle Chan
- Assistant Stage Manager Steven Sobolewski
- Apprentice Stage Manager Krystal Johnson
National Creation Fund investment
The National Creation Fund’s investment of $135,000 provided the additional time required to develop a large-scale musical, including workshops to revisit the original music and text, and the integration of designers and design concepts earlier in the development process. It also allowed the creators to more fully develop the work as both a stage production and a digital piece.
Credits
Developed with support from the National Arts Centre’s National Creation Fund.
Performance dates
Past performances
| Presented by The Citadel Theatre | May 11 - May 28, 2023 | Shoctor Theatre (Edmonton) |
| Presented by NAC English Theatre | Nov 24 - Dec 2, 2023 | Babs Asper Theatre (Ottawa) |
