(Gia Kourlas’s article appeared in The New York Times, 8/6; via Pam Green.)
“Who, me?”
Asking this seemingly innocent question was Misty Copeland, making her debut as Ivy Smith in the Broadway musical “On the Town” on Tuesday. Ivy had just been named Miss Turnstiles.
The crowd whooped and roared, though it was pretty clear that the enthusiasm had little to do with a pageant to choose the subway poster girl. This summer, Ms. Copeland became the first African-American female principal of American Ballet Theater. Her fame is remarkable. At the show’s conclusion on Tuesday night, photographers and camera operators rushed to the edge of the stage. During curtain calls, Robin Roberts, the television broadcaster, presented her with flowers. And Ms. Copeland was worthy of the scene: Her Ivy was terrific. She also may want to consider wearing the musical’s 1940s-style clothing in her everyday life. It’s her silhouette. Before John Rando’s production of “On the Town” closes at the Lyric Theater on Sept. 6, audiences will have been treated to two new interpretations of Ivy Smith, the seeming girl-next-door who really spends her nights as a cooch dancer in Coney Island. Previously, Georgina Pazcoguin, a soloist at New York City Ballet, took over the part, choreographed by Joshua Bergasse and originated by her fellow company member, the stellar Megan Fairchild, for a limited run.
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