Fancy Nancy the Musical

“Ms. DiLallo has cleverly incorporated characters who are in the series but not the “Mermaid Ballet” book: Lionel (Kyle Motsinger) adds boyish high jinks, and Rhonda (Jes Dugger) and Wanda (Tricia Giordano) have a funny, circus-tinged number about their friendly (mostly) sports rivalry. The authors have also written a sweet ballad for Nancy’s mother (Amanda Savan), who helps her daughter resolve her tangled feelings. But the show’s most inspired stroke is to stage the dance recital itself. (Sam Viverito choreographed, and Amanda Jenks designed the imaginative costumes.) Here the scene stealer is Lionel as a hip-hop shark, doing a hilarious rap. Under Mr. Viverito’s direction, the cast members mostly act like 8-year-olds (as they should). The show demonstrates that ordinary children can be fancy too, and, even more important, that Fancy Nancy can be an ordinary child.”
-New York Times