Andy Blankenbuehler Is Making His First Ballet!
So book your tickets to Tulsa already, people!
Yesterday, Tulsa World reported that Hamilton, Bandstand, and CATS revival choreographer Andy Blankenbuehler will make his ballet-choreography debut with Tulsa Ballet’s final production of the 2018-2019 season.
Blankenbuehler’s as-yet-untitled piece will be performed May 9–12, 2019 at the Lorton Performance Center as part of The Signature Series, which puts the spotlight on dancemakers whose works for ballet AND the Great White Way are equally stellar. Who are those other dancemakers, and which works has artistic director Marcello Angelini chosen to spotlight? Oh, you know, just Jerome Robbins (the jaunty, hilarious Fancy Free, later expanded into the musical On The Town) and George Balanchine (the jazzy, sassy Who Cares?). It’s casual.
This collaboration has apparently been long in the making: “A mutual friend introduced Andy to me back in 2014, and after some discussions, we reached the point where we were ready to sign a contract,” Angelini told Tulsa World. “Then I got a note from Andy, saying that he had been offered a Broadway gig that he couldn’t turn down, so I put this project on the shelf.” No bonus points for guessing what that irresistible Broadway gig was!
“When I reached out to Andy, he said he was still very interested in working with us because he was wanting to do something different,” Angelini also said to Tulsa World. “I’m really excited to see what he will come up with because he’s just a fountain of ideas.”
Coincidentally, Blankenbuehler’s new piece will premiere around the same time when the Hamilton tour is set to touch down in Tulsa. “What are the odds the gods would put us all in one spot,” amirite?
