Limelight · Musical theatre

Metro (1991)

Choreography by Janusz Józefowicz

Metro is a Polish-language rock/pop musical with music by Janusz Stokłosa and lyrics by Agata and Maryna Miklaszewska, conceived, choreographed and directed by Janusz Józefowicz. It premiered in Warsaw in January 1991 and became a career-launching vehicle for a generation of Polish performers before a brief, unsuccessful Broadway run in 1992.

What is danced

The article records Metro as a full sung-and-danced musical with a structured scene-and-number spine (an Overture, title number, ensemble numbers such as "Tower of Babel" and "Labels", and solo/duet numbers), and several numbers list separate credits for "singers" and "dancers" (e.g. "My Fairy Tale" credits singers Basia, Alicja, Denisa and dancers Iwona, Lidia, Violetta; "Windows" credits a dancer, Iwona, distinct from the singing lead Anka). This confirms that discrete choreographed ensemble passages exist within the show, staged separately from the vocal leads.

Beyond that structural evidence, the article gives no description of steps, holds, technique or vocabulary — no mention of jazz, ballet, tap, or any named idiom. It is therefore not possible from this source to say what the dancers actually did on stage, only that dance numbers were built into the show's musical-theatre format and that Józefowicz served as both choreographer and director throughout.

Context

Metro appeared in Poland in 1991, right at the start of the post-1989 transition, and its 1992 transfer to Broadway's Minskoff Theatre made it one of the very few Polish stage musicals to be produced commercially in New York. The show is chiefly remembered in dance/theatre history for the number of young performers who went on to prominent careers after passing through its original company, rather than for a documented choreographic innovation.

Staging history

The production opened at Warsaw's Dramatic Theatre on 31 January 1991, funded and initially produced by Wiktor Kubiak, and proved a major popular success. It transferred to Broadway's Minskoff Theatre on 16 April 1992 with lyrics translated by Mary Bracken Phillips and Józefowicz again directing and choreographing, but closed after only 13 performances and 24 previews following mixed reviews, though it received a Tony nomination for Best Original Score. In 1997 the show moved to Warsaw's Studio Buffo in a simplified arrangement, where it has been performed more than 2,100 times to an estimated two million viewers, and a 1998 Moscow production was also a success, with occasional stagings continuing in both Poland and Russia.

How to watch it

Watch for the split between sung leads and a separate credited dance ensemble within individual numbers, which points to production numbers built around ensemble choreography rather than dance carried by the principal singers. Because the Studio Buffo version runs in a "simplified arrangement" compared with the original and Broadway stagings, expect visible differences in scale and possibly in choreographic complexity between the 1991/1992 productions and the long-running Warsaw revival.

Structure

  1. Act I · Scene 1 · Overture
    The orchestra plays the overture in a theatre setting with Philip, Jan and the company.
  2. Act I · Scene 2 · Metro
    Jan and the company perform the title number set in a metro somewhere in Europe.
  3. Act I · Scene 3 · My Fairy Tale (Chcę być kopciuszkiem)
    At the theatre, singers Basia, Alicja and Denisa perform while dancers Iwona, Lidia and Violetta dance the number.
  4. Act I · Scene 5 · Windows (Szyba)
    Anka sings at the theatre while dancer Iwona performs the accompanying choreography.
  5. Act I · Scene 7 · That's Life / Bluezwis / Love Duet
    Audition results are revealed; several numbers follow including an ensemble number for Jan, Wojtek and the company and a duet between Anka and Jan.
  6. Act I · Scene 8 · Tower of Babel (Wieża Babel)
    A company ensemble number closes Act 1.
  7. Act II · Scene 1 · Labels (Hasła)
    An opening company ensemble number for Act 2.
  8. Act II · Scene 3 · Uciekali
    At an abandoned subway station, Jan and the company perform an ensemble number.
  9. Act II · Scene 5 · Waiting (Wszystko jedno czy słońce, czy deszcz)
    Edyta and Anka perform with a group of dancers in the metro.
  10. Act II · Scene 9 · Dreams Don't Die (Tylko w moich snach)
    Anka closes the show with a solo number in the metro.

Structure read from an encyclopaedia article, not from a libretto or score we hold. Confirm against a programme before treating the numbering as authoritative.

Questions

Did Metro really play on Broadway?
Yes. It opened at the Minskoff Theatre on 16 April 1992 with an English translation of the lyrics by Mary Bracken Phillips, but closed after only 13 performances and 24 previews due to unfavorable reviews, despite a Tony nomination for Best Original Score.
Is Metro still being performed?
According to the article, a simplified version has run continuously at Studio Buffo in Warsaw since 1997, passing 2,100 performances, and the show is also occasionally staged in Poland and Russia following a successful 1998 Moscow production.
What actually happens in the story?
A group of young people who live in subway tunnels fail a theatre audition, stage their own show in a metro station instead, gain unexpected success, and then face a choice between accepting a job offer from the theatre that rejected them or staying true to their independent dream.
Who choreographed Metro?
Janusz Józefowicz both directed and choreographed the production, in both its original 1991 Warsaw staging and the 1992 Broadway transfer.
This entry was written from “Metro (musical)” on English Wikipedia (revision 1357580458), used under CC BY-SA 4.0. The link points at the exact revision this text was written from, so it shows the words we actually used rather than whatever the article says today. Credits and premiere data come from Wikidata (CC0), cited per field.
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