The rest of the company shines, moving brilliantly as an ensemble, especially in Mr.
WHERE IS THE CHORUS LINE SET FREE
Other character highlights include Lina Lee’s grounded portrait of Connie, free of caricature accentuation, and Ben Gunderson’s Bobby, who is hilariously funny. Similarly, Adena Ershow manages to gets laughs for “Dances: Ten, Looks: Three” (aka “tits and ass”), a great song that typically isn’t funny once you know the joke. And Daxx Jayroe Wieser’s Mark, the youngest of the auditioners, is exuberant and joyful to observe. Trevor Michael Schmidt’s Mike is playful and energetic, his athletic “I Can Do That” an early showstopper. Maria Rizzo is pitch perfect as Sheila, the steely, “aggressive”, sad, and wise dancer hoping for one more chance as she approaches 30 she’s a standout, and her final moment on stage, following her ultimate rejection, is devastating. It is clear that this Zach is a serious artist. Risch’s handsomely rich voice reverberates throughout Signature’s intimate Max theatre-a 275 seat giant black box-and his cerebral and reserved characterization heightens the tension of the audition itself. Of note is Matthew Risch who plays the director, Zach, and is stationed in the middle of the audience instead of in his customary spot in the back of the auditorium this decision pays dividends not only because it is more realistic, but also because it affords the audience the opportunity to observe Zach observing his “line” of dancers, fully expanding the meta-theatrical device at the heart of the piece and better engaging his character in the action.
Gardiner and choreographer Denis Jones (“Tootsie”, “Holiday Inn”) lead a phenomenal cast who, at a minimum, check the necessary boxes-one need only say the words of Nicholas Dante and James Kirkwood’s brilliant book and sing the terrific songs of Marvin Hamlisch and Edward Kleban to have the desired effect-but also deliver a handful of knockout performances that combine to make a whole greater than the sum of its parts.
It calls for an ensemble of 19 triple-threats who are extraordinary dancers, actors, and singers an orchestra of 16 (faithfully re-created here with ten) and in less able hands, can easily devolve into schmaltzy shlok, leaning too heavily on sentiment over truth and grit. Yet, “A Chorus Line” is a difficult show to get right. The show is deceptively simple, with little set, basic costumes, and a form-defying conceit. The result, though not always effective, is nothing short of thrilling.įor the somehow unacquainted, “A Chorus Line” dramatizes an unconventional audition for an unnamed Broadway musical, diving deep into the individual lives of its aspiring chorus dancers “on the line” jockeying for jobs before they synchronize as “one” in the most memorable, kick line finale in all of Broadway history. Adlredge’s costumes, Robin Wagner’s set, or Tharon Musser’s lighting. With “the cooperation” of John Breglio, sole executor of Bennett’s will, Signature’s “A Chorus Line”, under the direction of associate artistic director Matthew Gardiner, marks one of the first times that the show has ever been presented without Bennett’s original staging and choreography, Theoni V. A year later, my prayer has been answered.Ī sensational new production at Signature Theatre in Arlington, Virginia makes a compelling case for experimenting beyond the container of the original-breathing new life and new energy into “one of the best musicals ever”, and reclaiming the magic that made the show such a milestone in the first place. At the time, I wished for someone to approach the musical with new eyes.
WHERE IS THE CHORUS LINE SET PROFESSIONAL
Nearly every professional company since director and choreographer Michael Bennett’s blazingly iconic 1975 production has presented a paint-by-numbers facsimile that led me to declare “A Chorus Line” the “amber fossil of musicals” following 2018’s otherwise thrilling gala presentation at New York City Center ( read my review).
In the case of “A Chorus Line”, itself a groundbreaking revolution for Broadway and American musical theatre writ-large-earning nine Tony Awards and the Pulitzer Prize before becoming (for a time) the longest running show in Broadway history by a long-shot-the property has not been well-served by an ideology of museum preservation exercised by its small circle of legacy-keepers. The pesky problem with game-changing musicals like “Oklahoma!”, “A Chorus Line”, or “Rent” is that once they change the game, the game has been changed for all that follows, which, ironically, can make them seem quaint by comparison.
0 kommentar(er)
