Reviewed by By Michele Markarian
Black Swan; Book by Jen Silverman, Music, Lyrics, and Orchestrations by David Malloy. Directed and Choreographed by Sonya Tayeh; Music Supervision, Music Direction and Additional Arrangements by Or Matias; Fight & Intimacy Direction by Rocio Mendez; Scenography by AMP featuring Marissa Todd; Costume Design by Shiona Turini; Lighting Design by Isabella Byrd; Sound Design by Kai Harada; Illusion Design by Chris Fisher & Skylar Fox. Presented by American Repertory Theater at 64 Brattle Street in Cambridge, MA through July 12, 2026.
I must admit I had some trepidation going into the theater to see a musical based on the Searchlight Pictures film Black Swan, with story by Andres Heinz. The movie was over-the-top and not my cup of tea, yet I was curious to see what a stage adaptation of the film would look like. The talented musical team of Jen Silverman and David Malloy made the prospect all the more compelling. Unlike my opinion of the film, Black Swan the musical is stunning, featuring a cast brimming with such remarkable talent it was almost hard to believe.
Nina (Melanie Moore, a powerhouse) is a ballerina in the corps with no friends or advocates – she is overlooked for roles, unlike the stately Beth (Tory Trowbridge, a formidable and lovely presence) who seems to get all the principal parts. Nina’s mother, the possessive and grasping Barbara (Mehry Eslaminia, playing the penultimate stage mother to a hilt) is living her dream of being a ballerina through her daughter. When rebel choreographer Barbara LeRoy (the magnificent Amber Iman) is hired to direct her subversive vision of Swan Lake, which eliminates both the Prince and the Sorcerer, she announces that she will be casting from the entire pool of dancers– not just the principals. Beth, who has been promised the lead role by the conservative company director, Jacques (Thom Sesma), is distraught as she realizes her time as a prima ballerina is over. LeRoy sees something wild and special in Nina (“I see hunger and conflict inside of you”) and casts her as the Swan Queen, with the popular Lily (a magnetic Jada Simone Clark) as the understudy. As LeRoy pushes Nina to become more familiar with her dark side, her inner “Black Swan” and Doppel (Ida Saki), Nina collapses under the weight of other peoples’ expectations and projections and starts to lose her sense of self.
The artistry of A.R.T.’s production is phenomenal. Melanie Moore’s and the casts’ balletic abilities are breathtaking, as well as the fact that the dancers all possess exceptional singing and acting abilities. Shiona Turini’s Costume Design is exquisite, as well as Scenography by AMP, featuring Marissa Todd. Isabella Byrd’s Lighting Design is gorgeous; special shoutout to the nightclub scene, where Malloy’s throbbing score works in tandem with a silver disco ball and lighting that brings the audience into the nightclub as well.
Black Swan is not for the fragile or faint-of-heart. There’s blood, self-harm, and a strobe. A creatively creepy scene set in a hospital with toy soldiers and Nina’s Doppel is particularly unsettling. Stage mother Barbara, who had to quit the dance academy after becoming pregnant with Nina, never lets her forget it – “I gave you the career I should have had” she seethes. Is it any wonder Nina is so anxiously determined to succeed? Her ultimate descent into the recesses of her soul does not end well. As Beth tells a reeling Nina from her hospital bed, “The wind’s changed, sweetheart. We chose a windy business.” Theater, too, is a windy business, but luckily for this show, the winds are very favorable indeed.
