[NoHo Arts District, CA] – A NoHo Arts theatre review of Ruthie Danziger’s, My Great Turnaround; What God and Argentine Tango Taught Me About Life, directed by Jessica Lynn Johnson.
What I loved the most about this lovely, joyful show, other than the gorgeous and spectacular Argentinian Tango, was how Ruthie Danziger didn’t just reinvent herself, she rediscovered herself in the rubble of her life. When her husband leaves her, she is totally lost. However, instead of becoming stuck in the sadness of it all, she shook it off and fell in love with herself and the Tango!
Ruthie Danziger wrote this beautiful, thoughtful and very funny show as a means to find not only her voice but her dance. Once she dipped her gifted toes into the world of Argentinian Tango, she was hooked, and her full immersion inevitable!
We accompany Ruthie as she deftly navigates her new world and shares her highs and her lows, her accomplishments and her occasional failures as only a true artist can…with grace and candor and a seemingly unfailing optimism that is utterly beguiling. She remembers who she once was, as a child, as a student, as a daughter, friend, lover. So many things about ourselves are put away when we become someone else’s. Yet, with the role she once held now gone, she was free to be who she was always destined to be!
And then there are the dances… wow. Sexy, romantic, entrancing, and just so beautiful that it really is difficult to put into words. With her incredible partner, Argentine Tango Pro Daniel Ledesma, they manage somehow to change the very atmosphere of the theatre. We are transported by their performances. Subtle, transcendental and the perfect metaphor for a life once hidden and now reborn.
Ruthie Danziger’s My Great Turnaround; What God and Argentine Tango Taught Me About Life, is a magical and unforgettable show. A deep dive into a human soul and a breathtaking and exquisite celebration of the art of forgetting who we were told to be and becoming ourselves once again. I absolutely loved this gorgeous show! Bravo!!