'SMALL' Off-Broadway review — Robert Montano retraces big dreams and risks to match
Read our review of SMALL off Broadway, the return engagement of writer/performer Robert Montano's Drama Desk Award-nominated autobiographical solo show.
Summary
- SMALL is a solo show written and performed by Robert Montano about his journey from aspiring jockey to Broadway dancer
- The show is an inspiring reminder of life's ups and downs even as the pacing and performance are uneven
- The show is recommended for fans of memoirs; coming-of-age stories; and dancers' stories
Life dreams come in all sizes, and each one is steeped in drama. That’s one of the messages of SMALL, writer/performer Robert Montano’s eye-opening and intense if uneven solo show about his teenage do-or-die desire to be a jockey.
Another key takeaway is that horse racing and storytelling are different animals. Explosive, nonstop speed out of the gate at the track can determine an entire ride, but theatre requires calibration and building momentum.
On stage, while recalling his Long Island, New York childhood and personifying his parents, Montano starts out so relentlessly breathless that he leans hard into distracting overstatement. Less really can be more. Surely, the maker of a piece called SMALL can appreciate that.
Beyond the overwrought, performative opening stretch of the work directed by Jessi D. Hill, Montano deserves credit for his messy-but-real coming-of-age tale set in the ’70s. Over 100 minutes, he shares how his pint-sized stature as a kid got him bullied and benched his West Side Story-inspired dreams of being a dancer. Once his mother took him to the Belmont Park racetrack, he was bent on a career of a different color. He’d determined he was born to be a jockey.
Montano recalls a cast of colorful racetrack eccentrics who showed him the ropes, notably the kindhearted star jockey Robert A. Pineda. He remembers, too, how straddling Thoroughbreds and donning silks was a scary business — and worse. Potentially career-ending growth spurts in his late teens led him to desperate and reckless measures to shed weight to be able to ride.
He turned to eating nothing but lettuce, “flipping” meals (as in purging), and popping speed, or “black beauties,” as he called the drugs. He was on a collision course. The raw and wrenching story of the lengths he went to lose 12 pounds overnight for an all-important race — all too fittingly on a horse named “Sow & Reap” — makes for the show’s bracing centerpiece.
Montano’s brief coda relates how he returned to his original career vision after a night at a disco. The dance world was a different proving ground, but he eventually traded horses for Cats on Broadway and work onscreen. Life comes with huge twists of fate, and SMALL offers a worthwhile reminder.
SMALL summary
SMALL, Robert Montano’s solo stage memoir, follows his life journey and changing career dreams that went from his boyhood vision of being a jockey to grown-up success as a dancer on Broadway and an actor on screen.
The show premiered in 2022 in Stony Point, New York, and made its Off-Broadway debut at Primary Stages a year later before returning for its current run at the Pershing Square Signature Center.
What to expect at SMALL
Dressed in street clothes, Montano relates his story on a simple but evocative set by Christopher Swader and Justin Swader depicting a barn-like paddock area and a few props: a stool there, and a couple whips hung on beams there. Jamie Roderick’s lighting lends textures and drama, including beaming bright red when a 14-year-old Montano is set up with a woman in her early 20s. Brian Ronan’s keen sound design makes us prick up our ears to bugle fanfare (the famous “Call to the Post”), horses clomping, lights clicking on and off, a car screeching, and much more.
What audiences are saying about SMALL
Theatregoers discussing the show on Mezzanine and Reddit shared mixed reactions to Montano’s star turn, the running time, and the story.
- “Spirited solo performance. A bit long but engaging.” - Mezzanine user D T
- “100 minutes of overacting on very thin and repetitive material – he was getting taller and had difficulties meeting the weight requirements of a jockey.” - Mezzanine user kat
- “I found the acting to be too over the top and the show too long.” - Reddit user u/Kathrynxuxx
Who should see SMALL
- Fans of solo memoirs will appreciate Montano’s approach to a well-traveled genre.
- Fans of coming-of-age stories will enjoy Montano's tale of how he rolled with life's transformative changes.
- Theatregoers who’ve seen Montana dance in the Broadway shows Cats, Kiss of the Spider Woman, and On the Town will savor the chance to hear his story. Dancers typically don’t get to say much.
Learn more about SMALL off Broadway
Robert Montano’s stage memoir takes some time to settle into a rhythm that clicks, but it ends up reminding us that life is a dance packing challenges, perils, and joyful highs.
Photo credit: SMALL off Broadway. (Photos by Valerie Terranova)
Frequently asked questions
What is SMALL about?
Small traces the life of Robert Montano, who started off with dreams of being a racetrack jockey but found new path to Broadway.
Where is SMALL playing?
SMALL is playing at Pershing Square Signature Center. The theatre is located at 480 West 42nd Street, New York, 10036.
How much do tickets cost for SMALL?
Tickets for SMALL start at $79.
How do you book tickets for SMALL?
Book tickets for SMALL on New York Theatre Guide.
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