THE MUSICAL WITH LEGS
by Tony Frankel
A Chorus Line remains as fresh as the day it appeared just over forty years ago, when the standard Broadway musical was already fading away, making room for the jukebox musicals and mostly hollow spectacles we are still forced to endure (Catstricide, anyone?). The miracle of A Chorus Line is that it is a very simple tale, but encompasses themes which resonate with universality. Revivals sprout up like the a Swan Lake corps de ballet on brand new toe shoes, but to miss an intimate production by one of Southern California’s most estimable companies would be ridiculous. And with Chance Theater’s Artistic Director Oanh Nguyen at the helm, I promise that everything will definitely be beautiful at this ballet, barre none. It officially opens July 9, 2016, but some shows are already selling out, so act — or rather, dance — fast.
The simple plot: On a bare stage, a director not only puts auditioning dancers through the usual grueling repetitive combos, but interviews them as well. A side story involves the director and his ex, a leading lady who needs work so badly she is willing to return to the chorus. For those who haven’t seen it, believe it or not, that’s the entire story. Yet as the performers begin to open up about their lives and how they became dancers, themes of growing up, dysfunctional families, careers, and, yes, what we do for love, mirror all of our lives, not just those who stretch before a literal mirror. Like us, those auditioning cover the gamut of race, religion, and creed. Whether gay, old, Puerto Rican, privileged, Asian, short, flat-chested, or scared, everyone is unsure of the future.
James Kirkwood and Nicholas Dante’s book (which is far too salty for the younger kids) holds up remarkably well, as do the songs of Marvin Hamlisch (music) and Edward Kleban (lyrics). This bittersweet musical is also a tribute to that great pre-AIDS era before theater became more entertainment conglomerate than art form.
And while there is certainly R-rated content, definitely bring your teenage brood, as this will be the show which hypnotizes them into a love for the arts, especially when the ensemble song “Hello Twelve” musicalizes the pain, joy, angst and embarrassment of adolescence better than any other number has to date. And no one can deny that the story from a character named Paul, who endured his uneasy adolescence by joining a transvestite burlesque in Harlem, is one of the most heartbreaking monologues in any musical.
The cast for this production of A Chorus Line includes returning artists Ben Green, Ashley Arlene Nelson, Tasha Tormey, Victoria Rafael, Camryn Zelinger, Dannielle Green, Angeline Mirenda, Tina Nguyen, Joseph Ott, John Wells III, and Monika Pena. Making their Chance debuts with this production are Tatiana Alvarez, Emily Abeles, Ben Heustess, Christopher Mosley, Xavier Castaneda, Brandon Carter, Robbie Lundegard, Garrett Engle, Calvin Brady, Carolyn Lupin, Liz Williams-Borud, Damon Williams, and Dustin Nguyen.
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