Break Out

In a cartoonish dance-comedy attraction such as Break Out, you would hardly expect a message. Nevertheless, what lesson there is seems extremely confusing. During a cheesy video prelude, we leaf through an ancient magical tome, which reveals the secret history of break dancing through the ages. (Stick with me here.) Starting with hieroglyphic Egyptians doing “the Robot,” we eventually end with Hitler screaming at a rally, under a swastika that has been tweaked to look like a B-boy with four limbs akimbo. This signifies…what? The Nazis liked Breakin’ 2: Electric Boogaloo, so they weren’t all bad? Perhaps the confusion comes from the frantic aerobic activity onstage: Nothing and no one can sit still for a second without being popped, locked, kick-twirled or head-spun into profound idiocy.

The lack of logic shouldn’t surprise, since Break Out is a collection of sketches that exists solely to show off a hardworking ensemble of Asian B-boys and -girls. The tale is framed as a classic escape caper, with five stock types (dummy, strongman, old guy, sexually ambiguous guy, hunk) digging their way out of jail and then lamming it from a dogged warder. Our zany crew makes dance stops in a hospital, and then its last stand in a Catholic church. The latter sequence is particularly weird, with stale jokes about Catholic guilt and sexually repressed nuns. Such jabs would be in poor taste if they weren’t so totally random. It may be possible to create a showcase for break dancing that is less stupid, but the dramaturgs will have to polish their moves.