– A CHORUS LINE...“as his former lover and future employee, Karen Frankel Jones, late of the Hubbard Street Dance Company, is a vulnerable, earthy woman whose singing is the equal of her virtuoso dancing” , “the Candlelight version has been careful to preserve the human truths that are at the heart of ”A Chorus Line” – Richard Christiansen (Chicago Tribune, Sep 30, 1985)
– HUBBARD STREET DANCE COMPANY (HSDC) …“at one point, Karen Frankel Jones’ skirt fell down. Unintentionally. Unable to refasten it, the expert comedienne flung the garment over her shoulder as the audience cheered. Then she launched into a hilariously goofy tango with Rick Hilsabeck” – Richard Christiansen (Chicago Tribune, Nov 26, 1980)
–HSDC... “a marvel of timing and ability” , ” a hilarious, inventive tango, danced by Hilsabeck and Karen Frankel Jones, a stunning blond” – Dorothy Samachson (March 6, 1981)
– HSDC…“Karen Frankel Jones has become a wicked comedienne in her bits from “At the Rosebud” and “The 40’s” , “a roar of applause and a mass of smiling faces for the curtain calls“, “Lou Conte’s dancers have been creating that kind of theatrical explosion ever since they started”– Richard Christiansen (Chicago Tribune, Oct 13, 1981)
I am slowly attempting to compile recordings of dance performances, commercials and industrial shows… digging though ancient times. IT’S CHALLENGING.
The first time I saw myself dance (besides what a studio mirror reflected back) was when a Hubbard Street Dance Chicago performance was recorded and broadcast on WTTW back in 1980-81. Nobody owned a video camera at that time. And although we could record off of our TVs and I often received copies of industrial shows from the 1990s – those VHS tapes deteriorated with age… just like me!! 😳
I was able to find my commercial from 1988 for Daily Queen, but so far unable to track down others. Stay tuned…
Unfortunately there’s nothing (video-wise) from my musical theatre days, as they were Equity productions (and nobody wanted to pay an entire cast for that).
HOWEVER, don’t tell a soul, but I do have a rough-cut, fuzzy, bootleg copy (down below) performing the role of Cassie, in “Music and the Mirror”, from A Chorus Line… sssshhhhhh.
Hubbard Street Dance Company, Chicago, 1980s. As seen on WBBM-TV’s “Two on Two” news magazine.
Hubbard Street Dance Company, 1980s. “At the Rosebud”, Choreography: Lou Conte
Theatre: A Chorus Line (sept 1985-april 1986), as Cassie “Music and the Mirror”, Candlelight Dinner Playhouse
Commercial: Dairy Queen – Fish Basket – 1988