BROADWAY SNAP-SHOT
by Russell Bouthiller

Dateline: 4 November 2003

SIX DANCE LESSONS IN SIX WEEKS

A one-time Broadway hoofer and the widow of a Baptist minister become an unlikely pair of friends in Richard Alfieri's SIX DANCE LESSONS IN SIX WEEKS, now at Belasco Theatre. Starring "Star Wars" matinee idol Mark Hamill and Broadway veteran Polly Bergen, this light-weight comedy directed by Arthur Allan Seidelman offers froth and a bit of Foxtrot.

Retiree Lily Harrison (Bergen) lives the sunny Florida life in a plush high-rise with a view to the sea. To occupy some of her abundant time, she hires a dance instructor to teach her a few steps in the comfort of her living room. She ends up getting far more than she bargained for when Michael Minetti (Hamill) shows up. He's a former New York dancer with the mouth of a... well, a New Yorker.

Profanity proves too much for Lily's delicate ears. A woman who has spent her life in the role of the preacher's wife, she immediately takes umbrage with Minetti's foul mouth and threatens to have him fired. As she is phoning up his boss, he comes on with a sob story about an ailing wife and convinces Lily to give him another chance.

Each scene is named for the dance-of-the-week with a bonus lesson thrown in for good measure. During the Tango, we discover Minetti has no wife. In fact, he is single and gay, to boot. Moving on, we learn that Lily hasn't been exactly forthright about her mate either. She's been portraying her husband as alive when, in fact, he's been dead for many years. With a Vienesse Waltz and, then, a Cha-Cha, the story unfolds step by step.

Faster than you can say dip and twirl, Lily and Michael become improbable friends. From two such incongruous worlds, there is simply no end to the windows and doors each can throw open for the other. They grapple with such weighty topics as abortion, religious fundamentalism and AIDS. Each lesson comes with a spark of conflict, allowing the scene to end with Michael and Lily in a dancing embrace.

Mark Hamill wears the tights of this post-prime instructor and prances through his role with an abundance of energy. Looking lovely in Helen Butler's gowns, Polly Bergen brings to mind a certain group of ladies of a similar age who also live in Florida. Add to that Alfieri's scene structure and dialogue, Seidelman's direction, Roy Christopher's scenic designs and Tom Ruzika's lighting and it's no surprise it all reads like television. So, how can you not think that SIX DANCE LESSONS IN SIX WEEKS is actually a long lost episode of "The Golden Girls?"