The third go-`round of “Forever Tango” opened at Broadway’s Walter Kerr Theater on Sunday, July 14. How did the critics react to the Luis Bravo dance show that’s been touring and re-visiting to Broadway since 1994?

Noting that the show runs more than two hours, the Hollywood Reporter’s David Rooney adds, “creator-director Luis Bravo’s worldwide hit addresses the fatigue issue by steadily cranking up the degree of difficulty in the routines as the marathon progresses.” He says “Dancing with the Stars” lead dancers Karina Smirnoff and Maksim Chmerkovskiy are “tall, sinuous and sexy, delivering polished showmanship with effortless charisma.” He concludes the very positive review by praising the musicians: “The lineup of mostly old geezers – which also includes five string players, a keyboardist and pianist – hints at enduring musical and cultural traditions that run deep in the blood.”
https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/review/forever-tango-theater-review-585219

Newsday chief critic Linda Winer says about the tango form, “It's amazing how much variety -- and how much heat -- can come from a man and a woman who hardly look at one another and when they do, they scowl.” In her rave review, she says the show “combines the feeling of a very grown-up nightclub with seriously thrilling displays of a dignified and steamy art form.”
https://www.newsday.com/entertainment/theater/forever-tango-review-steamy-storytelling-1.5687831

Theatermania’s David Gordon raved, too. “`Forever Tango’ is one of those rare revues with nary a dull moment,” he kvells. “…gorgeous people telling sexy stories through the sensual language of their bodies. It doesn't get steamier than that.”
https://www.theatermania.com/new-york-city-theater/reviews/07-2013/forever-tango_65551.html

For a dissenting voice, there’s Elysa Gardner in USA Today. She was left cold by Smirnoff and Chmerkovskiy, accusing them of playing more to the audience than to each other. “There’s certainly no shortage of eye candy here,” she admits in her **1/2 star review, and she liked several of the other dancers, but the show’s “cheesy packaging” kept her from being a fan.
https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/theater/2013/07/14/forever-tango-broadway-review/2511649/

The New York Times sent dance critic Alastair Macauley to the show (rather than their theater critics), and he was even less impressed than Gardner: “`Forever Tango’ – though some of its dancing happens, incidentally, to be good — prefers the clichéd view that tango is grimly smoldering, driven by remorseless destiny and joylessly erotic.” He ends the review saying, “This is a foolish production. Belittling its own music, it turns tango into a mere formula, an excuse. Its real heart is in surface displays of costume, makeup, coiffure and sexuality as melodrama. Only the musicians look sincere.” Ouch.

Having seen the previous two Broadway “Forever Tangos,” this author admits his heart lies most with the first paragraph of Matt Windman’s ** AM New York review: “Maybe it’s called `Forever Tango’ because, unless you don’t mind watching tango routine after tango routine after tango routine for two-plus hours without any kind of narrative, it seems to last forever.”
https://www.amny.com/urbanite-1.812039/theater-review-forever-tango-2-stars-1.5688500

- by David Lefkowitz

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