Review: Stepping Out (Waikato Times) / Editorial

I shuffled into the back of the theatre about 20 minutes into the show after being told the wrong starting time. But it didn't ruin things at all because undoubtedly the last 20 minutes was the best.

It was then the show transformed from typical New Zealand play with one set to a musical.

The audience tapped their toes and clapped as the supposedly challenged dancers wowed us with two great dance routines.

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Review : Stepping Out (Express) / Editorial

Although I generally prefer my theatre to have a little more meat to its bones, sometimes it’s nice to watch a show purely for the value of entertainment. The Auckland Theatre’s Company latest creation, Stepping Out (written by Richard Harris and directed by Colin McColl) does just that. It entertains. And boy does it do it well.

Starring the likes of Suzanne Paul, Sandra Rasmussen, Michelle Leuthart (HOT!) & Hera Dunleavy (among others), Stepping Out is a play about a bunch of amateurs who gather weekly in a local community hall to learn the art of tap dance. Far from skilled, the ladies (and one very awkward sweatpants-wearing man) dance purely for fun of it, until they learn they have the opportunity of a lifetime – to perform live in front of thousands at ‘Christmas in the Park’. The show is hilarious, touching and incredibly camp. What’s not to love about that?

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IMPOSSIBLE TO LEAVE WITHOUT A SMILE (Theatreview) / Editorial

It’s hard to drag yourself out of a warm, cosy house on dreary Auckland nights, but well worth it if you’re off to see Richard Harris’s Stepping Out. Auckland Theatre Company’s production is tight, pacy and full of laughs; a real crowd pleaser. And opening night’s crowd was huge.

The show’s tale is of a class of 8 seemingly incompatible people who gather together for beginners’ tap dancing lessons under the patient guidance of Mavis (Sandra Rasmussen), and to the piano accompaniment of a somewhat temperamental Mrs Fraser (Penny Dodd).

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Stepping Out by Richard Harris (Radio New Zealand) / Editorial

Raewyn White shared about her night out at STEPPING OUT.

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Review: Stepping Out at SkyCity Theatre (NZ Herald) / Editorial

Auckland Theatre Company's winter extravaganza hits all the right notes with a feel-good comedy that taps into our secret longing for a taste of the applause and exaltation that is showered on over-night celebrities.

The story spins around a motley collection of tap-dance enthusiasts who seek out the haphazard companionship of community night classes as an antidote to the misery, boredom or isolation of their everyday lives.

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