SYRACUSE, N.Y. (NCC News) – When the producers of the new musical “How to Dance in Ohio” were looking for a location to premiere the show, they immediately thought of Syracuse Stage.
Syracuse Stage has a history of including members of the neurodivergent community in its shows. In 2017, it was the first theater to put on “The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time,” with an autistic actor in the lead role.
The Syracuse theater was a natural fit because “How to Dance in Ohio” features autistic actors in all nine roles.
“They have dipped their toe into this work and have done things that have shown us that they’re interested in incorporating this community into their work,” said Ben Holtzman, one of the producers of the show. “This really was the first priority for us in choosing a partner to work on with this.”
The show opened on Sept. 22 and will run through Oct. 9. It tells the story of autistic teens facing their fears as they prepare for a dance.
Holtzman said the casting team began searching for neurodivergent actors in the summer of 2021. “Neurodivergent” is a term preferred in the autistic community because it highlights diversity, and not the disorder, of those with autism.
“We got hundreds of submissions for these roles. And we were blown away by how much talent we found and how many people were interested in being a part of this,” Holtzman said.
Holtzman also said that the number of submissions energized the team.
“Yes, we found our cast, who we adore,” he said, “but we also found this amazing pool of talented neurodivergent individuals whom we can continue to cast for years to come.”
Sammy Lopez, another producer of the musical, hopes audiences walk away from the show with a greater understanding of the power of human connection.
“There’s so many beautiful story lines within this show that allows it to have that universal impact,” Lopez said. “We hope that this show allows for communities to see themselves in a new way that hasn’t happened on stages before.”
The producers hope to eventually take the show to a Broadway stage. Lopez said they want to continue telling the story in the most responsible way possible while still finding large audiences.
“Now that we’re at a place where we finally see the piece on its feet, this is the time where we are activating those conversations of identifying next steps,” Lopez said. “And we do have every intention of bringing this show to Broadway.”
