‘Edward Scissorhands’ cuts up the stage

Last Saturday afternoon we saw the dance adaptation of Edward Scissorhands, directed and choreographed by Matthew Bourne, famous (at least to me) for his Swan Lake re-cast with male swans. It was fantastic and moving. The story lends itself well to this treatment. The dancing, the sets, and the music, which includes Danny Elfman’s original score, of course, all were perfect. And you know Thom and I love that 1950s suburbia aesthetic. We conceded that familiarity with Tim Burton’s original movie helped, as some of the finer plot points aren’t inferred easily from the dance, and it was interesting to see where changes were made.

This U.S. premiere tour of Edward Scissorhands is now running at the Orpheum Theatre in San Francisco, and will continue to other cities through next spring.

Aside: after the show we walked a few blocks up Market St. and checked out the new Westfield San Francisco shopping mall. It’s a neat building, incorporating the dome from the original Emporium store on that site, but the whole experience is somewhat overwhelming. So many stores!