More Flirtation for New ‘Riverdance’ Crew

Call it the blond-on-blond “Riverdance,” a new touring edition of the 1995 Irish extravaganza that opened a three-week run at the Shubert Theatre on Tuesday. There’s only one redhead among the 49 dancers but golden locks galore--starting with leads Michael Patrick Gallagher of Galway and Tara Barry of Cork.

Gallagher exudes no great charisma or authority but, begorrah, what flying feet! His most impressive moments come in “Trading Taps,” the challenge-dance sequence opposite mocking, high-energy American-style tappers Aaron Tolson, Ronald “Cadet” Bastine and Rogelio Douglas. Here he’s loose, playful and still unbelievably fast and intricate.

A stronger stage personality than her diffident partner, Barry also commands admirable velocity and precision. But she’s also flirtatious to a fault, and as for the floating lyricism of the role, well, she’ll think about that tomorrow.

Barry presides over the newest piece of choreography on view: “Ri Ra” (it reportedly means “rumpus”), credited to Carol Leavy. Ending with a nifty flying wheel, it effectively draws to a close all the playoffs between national idioms in Act 2 by bringing back a Russian folkloric sextet for lively interplay with six Riverdancers plus a women’s corps.

Like Barry, flamenco specialist Maria Jimenez Luis fails to establish any emotional rapport with Gallagher, but she seems to enjoy the utterly inappropriate music for her solos--and it helps.

“Riverdance” has played three previous Southland engagements and connoisseurs will notice new costumes and a new placement of the band (upstage, behind the stairs). But it’s still the same grandiose blarney delivered with the same thunderous amplification.

*

“Riverdance,” Shubert Theatre, 2020 Avenue of the Stars, Century City. Ends Feb. 4. Tuesdays-Fridays, 8 p.m. Saturdays, 2 and 8 p.m. Sundays, 2 and 7:30 p.m. $40 to $70. (800) 447-7400.