Barbara Barsky, Keanu Uchida, & Sterling Jarvis in Dancer: A Musical in Ten Furlongs | Photo by Racheal McCaig
So much love has gone into this production, I’m compelled to hug the people involved and congratulate them on seeing it through. Critical eyes and committed scrutiny feel almost tyrannical here, so hold my hand and we’ll get through this together. Presented by Oh What a Ride! Productions in association with Crow’s Theatre and The Toronto Stage Company, Dancer: A Musical in Ten Furlongs has been in development since 2010, with a hugely popular Toronto Fringe Festival run in 2023 that garnered considerable attention. (I didn’t see it.)
Having experienced this latest incarnation, I find the material and execution, for the most part, mediocre—though certain aspects are quite stunning.
Taking us back to the 1960s, this musical tells the true story of Northern Dancer—a runty, ill-tempered horse that surprised everyone by becoming the first Canadian-bred horse to win the Kentucky Derby and, subsequently, sire a staggering percentage of currently competing thoroughbreds. The story itself is compelling on its own terms as a piece of Canadiana. I’m tempted to use this space to get into the weeds on all the charming details, but (as the narrator of the show tells us) you have Google for that.
With the exception of “Kentucky Rose,” which I found a genuinely poetic and moving number (though it was mostly the choreography that did it for me), the material here is hokey and amateurish, specifically Jim Betts’ book and lyrics. Though Marek Norman’s music has a decent contemporary musical theatre sound with evocative period flavouring and embellishments, it is a bit generic
Given the civil rights era setting, themes of racism and feminist empowerment woven into this underdog narrative makes sense, but I would have preferred more nuanced integration. Winnie Taylor (Barbara Barsky), a tycoon’s wife, may very well see herself reflected in a horse overcoming obstacles in his rise to prominence, but I’d prefer we truly got to know her better instead of just having her air her grievances in a monologue that is neither set-up nor paid off. Bill Brevard’s (Sterling Jarvis) storyline—a Black stable hand promoted to prestige handler while facing condescension and social ostracism—feels considerably more organic, but his plight too feels more like a token than a fully dimensional portrait.
Keanu Uchida (centre left) with the dance company of Dancer: A Musical in Ten Furlongs | Photo by Racheal McCaig
There is an array of flamboyantly comic and heavy-handed performances as business mogul E.P. Taylor (Tyler Murree) finances Northern Dancer’s journey from unsightly ruffian to magnificent steed. Sam Rosenthal as a track announcer and narrator has an affable, emblematic voice for this. Kent Sheridan’s Horatio Luro, the eccentric and bullying horse trainer who calls himself “The Grand Señor,” comes off a bit like a pantomime villain. Perhaps most baffling to me was Lara Angela Roda’s arch and giddy portrayal of Lester B. Pearson.
Julia Kim’s set is utilitarian, but relatively stylish. Representing a half-circle of racetrack fencing, a ramp curls along the back to provide some levels, with black and white projections establishing time and place. It’s clear the intention is to allow for as much open space as possible for the choreography (more on that soon). Chris Malkowski lighting is trying too hard to be (unnecessarily) theatrical—the flashy colours flooding the stage and neon outlines along the set are garish and unmotivated. It is a distracting feature of Stacey Tookey’s direction, which feels, generally, both awkwardly glitzy and rather flat. Her choreography, though, carries this production.
The horses are embodied by dancers who, with Tookey’s lively choreography, have convincing equine affect without getting too goofy in their horsiness. The parading, the rambunctious sparring, the racing—it’s all very persuasive and exhilarating. I wish these stirring, emotive sequences had made up the entirely of this production.
In particular, my eye was consistently drawn towards Keanu Uchida as Northern Dancer. Jerky and off-putting, haughty and aloof, brazen and ambitious, sensual and attentive—his almost entirely mute portrayal feels modelled on a petulant teenager gradually discovering his embodied power and harnessing his guarded, wild impulses. No matter what else was happening with any human character on stage, I kept tracking him and his riveting body language.
Dancer: A Musical in Ten Furlongs
October 13 to November 1, 2026
The Terminal Theatre
(207 Queens Quay West, 3rd Floor)
100 minutes (no intermission)
Tyler Murree & Barbara Barsky with the Dancer ensemble | Photo by Racheal McCaig