“Dancing With The Stars” switch to Broadway Playhouse’s spectacular “SAVOR After Hours”
![Savor-2024-01-lighter SAVOR After Hours](https://chicagoconcertreviews.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Savor-2024-01-lighter-620x264.jpg)
Take a little bit of wine, an emotional soundtrack of incredible songs, plus most importantly, a series of breathtaking dance routines, and it adds up to the brand new “SAVOR After Hours,” currently in residence at the Broadway Playhouse At Water Tower until Sunday, August 18.
Starring Val and Maks Chmerkovskiy, Jenna Johnson Chmerkovskiy, Daniella Karagach, Pasha Pashkov, and Artem Chigvintsev, who collectively carry seven “Dancing With The Stars” trophies between them, the variety show of sorts is both sexy and spectacular.
On opening night, Val, Jenna and Artem occupied the primary roles, bringing their expertise and star power to 75 briskly-moving minutes, alongside an energetic ensemble on a supper club-styled stage, featuring booths where a few lucky fans could sit, centered around vino-themed interludes and interactions.
For instance, white and red, as colors and flavors, had specific performances to shine, and considering the intimacy of the venue, gave theatergoers a chance to see the hard-earned sweat drip off the finely-chiseled dancers, who flawlessly replicated the mind-blowing moves of choreographer KC Monnie.
On that note, the mood soon shifted from the ballroom to the bedroom thanks to a boozy bachelorette party sequence where the ladies found a woman in the audience named Marcy, who was in her 60s and might get the award for being the best unplanned participant ever.
Not only did she perfectly play along to a tipsy the night on the town, but winked her way through Artem’s “Magic Mike”-inspired stripping segment and even poured spirits into his co-star’s mouth come a similarly wild yet cheeky “Chippen Val” scene.
They were all backed by re-recorded or original playbacks of such popular pieces as The Police’s “Roxanne,” Aerosmith’s “Dream On,” Jim Croce’s “Time In A Bottle,” Frank Sinatra’s “One For My Baby (And One For The Road)” and The Bee Gees’ “You Should Be Dancing,” each contributing to a variety of styles and speeds.
Beyond the spectacle for the physical senses, “SAVOR After Hours” has just as much heart, mainly the takeaway to cherish every moment, especially when it comes to family and friends, which by the end of the classy, adult-leaning evening that flew by without an intermission, was exactly how it felt to be connected to these thoroughly engaging entertainers.
“SAVOR After Hours” continues at the Broadway Playhouse At Water Tower through Sunday, August 18. For additional details, visit SAVORAfterHours.com and BroadwayInChicago.com.