Tap Dogs

Special discount for Groups of 15 or more available for the Saturday 3pm show - call the Shubert Box Office at 203-562-5666 or 888-736-2663

TAP DOGS is part theater, part dance and part rock concert. Created by two-time Olivier Award-winning choreographer DEIN PERRY, with a construction site set by eclectic designer/director NIGEL TRIFFITT and a driving score by composer ANDREW WILKIE, TAP DOGS, is a rough, tough and rocking reinvention of tap.



View video of Tap Dogs and other upcoming events on the
Shubert Theater's You Tube channel.

Australian DEIN PERRY has come a long way from the make-shift dance school in Newcastle, a steel town north of Sydney, where, as young boys, he and the future dogs learned how to tap. At the age of 17, with no opportunities in sight for a dancing career, he earned his union papers and worked as an industrial machinist for six years. He then moved to Sydney where he tried to break into show business. Small chorus parts in Broadway-style musicals led to Dein’s big break when he was cast in the long-running Sydney production of 42nd Street. When it closed, Dein decided to create a contemporary show around the themes of his industrial experience with his Newcastle tap dancing mates.

With a small government grant, Dein contacted his old friends, who had also taken up various “real” jobs by this time, and formed Tap Brothers, an early incarnation of TAP DOGS. From this, Dein was offered the chance to choreograph the West End musical, Hot Shoe Shuffle, which brought the group to London and earned Dein his Olivier Award in 1995. A subsequent offer from the Sydney Theatre Company led to the collaboration with designer and director NIGEL TRIFFITT; which resulted in the creation of TAP DOGS.

TAP DOGS was the instant hit of the Sydney Theatre Festival, where it had its world premiere in January 1995, and caused an equal sensation at the Edinburgh Festival later that year. TAP DOGS then played to standing room only at London’s Sadler’s Wells, return tours of Australia, and a second West End engagement.

TAP DOGS made their North American debut at Montreal’s “Just For Laughs” festival in August 1996. The show then played to critical acclaim on a limited North American tour prior to an engagement in New York City, where Dein Perry earned a 1997 Drama Desk nomination for “Best Choreography” and the show received a 1997 Obie Award. Tap Dogs went on to be immortalized in the movie Bootmen, directed by Dein Perry and inspired by his Tap Dogs experiences. Since it’s debut, TAP DOGS has toured extensively throughout North America, Europe, Australia, the Far East and South Africa.

TOY AND FOOD DRIVE
The Shubert Theater will be a collection site for non-perishable food items and new, unwrapped toys. Patrons are invited to bring toys and food items to the Shubert Theater when they attend performances through December 20. Donations can also be left in collection bins in the Shubert Lobby during regular box office hours. All food items will donated to the Connecticut Food Bank and the New Haven Fire Department will help distribute toys to New Haven-based family organizations. Even a small donation of a new toy or a can of food can help brighten the holidays for a child and families in need.

All prices listed below include a $3 restoration charge.