PNB takes on Tony Bennett - with glorious results
Dance review
Jessica Lang's "ZigZag," a 2021 work making its Pacific Northwest Ballet debut in the current "All Lang" repertory, is one of those dances that bursts off the stage directly into your heart. Set to 11 recordings by the late Tony Bennett, whose elegant, burnished-around-the-edges voice means home to so many of us, it's an irresistible exploration of emotion, translated into the language of song and dance. Before the curtain rises, we hear Bennett's wistful rendition of the Irving Berlin ballad "When I Lost You," and it's clear that we're in the hands of a gentle ghost, a presence filling McCaw Hall with affectionate nostalgia; the singer is gone, but the song - and the voice, and the mood - lives on.
And oh, what a mood. Fourteen dancers - six in leading roles, eight in an ever-shifting, dazzlingly energetic backup ensemble - clearly had a ball with Lang's jazzy choreography, filled with unexpected playfulness (have we ever seen a fish flop on PNB's stage before?) and buoyant lightness. Angelica Generosa and Christopher D'Ariano brought abundantly goofy charm to "It's De-Lovely," a duet sang by Bennett and Lady Gaga - and just try not to grin as you see Generosa slide into a split just as Gaga's voice slid into a note. Dylan Wald's clean, airy technique matched perfectly with Bennett's I Left My Heart in San Francisco. Two couples - Wald with soon-to-be-retiring principal Elizabeth Murphy, Noah Martzall with Sarah-Gabrielle Ryan - came together for a sweetly melancholy "Smile," matching the silkiness of Bennett's vocal. And the ensemble shone in "It Don't Mean a Thing (If It Ain't Got That Swing)," with the dancers seemingly transformed into jazz musicians trading riffs. "Let the music never end," crooned Bennett in the final song; surely all of us in the audience agreed.
Lang has been PNB's resident choreographer since the 2024-25 season, and "All Lang" brought an opportunity to appreciate her versatility, with two additional works seen in previous PNB seasons. "Her Door to the Sky," set to Benjamin Britten and lit with what seemed to be warm sunshine, was a lyrical showcase for Murphy, whose impossibly high arabesque and delicate stillness will be greatly missed.
The haunting "Ghost Variations," a favorite of mine since its first appearance in PNB's COVID-era digital season, literally dances with shadows, accompanied by onstage pianist Christina Siemens playing the work of Robert and Clara Schumann. Lucien Postlewaite - another principal on the brink of retirement - reminded us of his uncanny lightness, of how his every movement seems to never stop growing. And Wald and Elle Macy made quiet poetry of the dance's final, moving pas de deux, seeming to disappear into each other's bodies at the end as she collapses onto his back. It's a quiet work that has the quality of a dream - the sort from which you hope you don't wake up.
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This story was originally published June 1, 2026 at 4:53 PM.