Dancing Lessons

Florida Studio Theatre

Lead Actor (“Ever Montgomery”), 2014

Two lonely souls embark on a relationship filled with surprising discoveries. A young man seeks the instruction of a Broadway dancer, now sidelined with injuries. As their relationship unfolds, they’re caught off-guard by the unexpected revelations – both hilarious and heartwarming – that they make about each other. REGIONAL PREMIERE!

ACCOLADES

• Sarasota Herald Tribune 2015 “Handy” Award Recipient:  BEST ACTOR IN A PLAY
• Sarasota Magazine:  BEST ACTOR OF 2015

REVIEWS

• TalkinBroadway.com:  All that is really necessary to make this play work are two superlative performances—and Florida Studio delivers this. I was thinking during the play that Jason Cannon as Ever Montgomery may be the single best performance by a leading actor in a play that I will see this theatrical season. I noticed at one point, when he was listening intently to Vanessa Morosco as Senga Quinn, that the emotional distance, so typical of autism, was still in place.
• Ticket Sarasota:  An impressive performance by Jason Cannon as Ever… Cannon clearly did his own homework to prepare for the role. His portrayal of Ever is detailed, nuanced and honest.
• Sarasota Herald-Tribune:  Cannon, an associate artist at FST, whose intriguing portrayal steals the spotlight. His autistic mannerisms — rapid speech, lack of eye contact and body awkwardness — are authentic without becoming caricature and endearing without becoming saccharine. Thanks to St. Germain’s fine script, there’s never a word that’s less than credible.
• Sarasota Magazine:  Cannon and Morosco are convincing in their slow moves toward one another. Cannon especially has the physical attributes of an autistic right; his Ever is awkward physically, and literally has to practice making appropriate facial expressions in order to register the emotions that come naturally to others.
• ​The Observer:  Cannon (who must have researched tons of YouTube videos) has a perfect command of his autistic character’s dialogue rhythms. Emotionally, Ever’s either at a dead stop or putting the pedal to the metal.  Sometimes that’s played for laughs, at other times for heartbreak — but never feels like caricature. Feeling aside, Cannon also conveys his character’s beautiful mind — compensating for his lack of emotional wiring with a scientist’s constant observation, inference and hypothesis.