You may be familiar with far more Burt Bacharach songs than you realize. 

That was certainly my experience watching The Mark Morris Dance Group’s pre-Valentine’s Day and retro- inspired music dedication to Burt Bacharach, The Look of Love.

Named after Burt Bacharach and Hal David’s Academy Award-nominated song for the 1967 James Bond film, Casino Royale originally sung by Dusty Springfield, Global Arts Live presented The Mark Morris Dance Group’s The Look of Love for a limited engagement from January 23 to 25 at the Emerson Cutler Majestic Theatre in Boston, Massachusetts.  Click here for more information, here for more on Global Arts Live and here for Mark Morris Dance Group’s next tour destination.

Burt Bacharach was an Oscar, Golden Globe, Grammy, and Emmy-winning composer and songwriter boasting an array of hits including songs from various movie soundtracks such as Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, Arthur, Alfie, Promises Promises,  My Best Friend’s Wedding, and interestingly enough, the strangely comical and catchy novelty tune to B horror flick, The Blob.

His songs are so memorable that they slip into contemporary culture in amazing ways as he continued releasing new songs into 2020.  Who could forget the iconic, comedic and uplifting moment in My Best Friend’s Wedding when Rupert Everett started crooning I Say a Little Prayer before the whole table started singing along or when Kristen Wiig awkwardly started singing That’s What Friends are For at her best friend’s engagement party in Bridesmaids?

Burt Bacharach passed away in February 2023 so it was more than fitting to perform this dedication at the almost two-year anniversary of his passing.  Kicking off with the Grammy award-winning and what Bacharach said was his favorite composition Alfie, The Mark Morris Dance Group embarks on a vivid journey in song and dance through an array of Bacharach’s popular hits.

Blaire Reinhard and Clinton Curtis create mellifluous harmony from the orchestra pit as dancers inhabit the stage for What the World Needs Now amid Nicole Pearce’s multicolored lighting which is at times luminous against Isaac Mizrahi’s multicolored assortment of flowing costumes  and other times, overwhelming which can be a suitable description of love itself, striking a barrage of color before coming into luminous focus.  The dancers are what coming into focus as brightly colored metal chairs and matching pillows complete this minimal set.

Bacharach has an array of peppy and sophisticated songs such as Do You Know the Way to San Jose, but Reinhard and Perry are at their best articulating heartache.  Reinhard has an amazing belt and throws herself into Don’t Make Me Over and delivers charged vocals for Walk on By as dancers stride in rows concluding on a poignant moment of a woman looking on in the distance.  Her expressive vocals for Are You There (With Another Girl) and Anyone Who Had a Heart in bold red lighting emphasize the pain of lost love, rejection and heartache while Curtis’s smooth vocals rise for The Look of Love in a dizzying display as dancers drift and sway in a green and purple backdrop punctuated by a tender embrace.

Ethan Iverson’s unique music arrangements deliver a fresh and exciting use of Bacharach’s work exemplified in the tapping and gradually athletic and urgent pace as light flashes overhead for  Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head. 

This performance boasts mini situational love scenes depicted in Mark Morris’s storytelling choreography which includes a lip syncing karaoke singer for Message to Michael and other times dancer spin, leaping and soar at times quite literally depicting the lyrics in spreading wings or miming making a call.

The foreboding, kooky and funky vibe for The Blob reveals shadows of dancers possessed by a catchy beat.  It is oddly comical in its red hued essence with the group in on the camp not to be taken too seriously.

The full company unites on a high note for I Say a Little Prayer with a joyful, fluttering, and sweet display amid a vibrant purple backdrop and a warm embrace much like the show began with a message of love, hope and support amid life’s suffering and struggles.

Though at times it can be visually overwhelming, The Mark Morris Dance Group provides an uplifting tribute to the genius that is Burt Bacharach and why his universal appeal and lasting impact will be celebrated for many generations to come. 

Global Arts Live presented The Mark Morris Dance Group’s The Look of Love for a limited engagement from January 23 to 25 at the Emerson Cutler Majestic Theatre in Boston, Massachusetts.  Click here for more information, here for more on Global Arts Live and here for Mark Morris Dance Group’s next tour destination.