My A Chorus Line Experience

[WickedGeek28]

Posted: 2/11/07 at 11:18am

I was fortunate enough to see the show last night and rather than write a review on how wonderful the dancers were or so-and-so was great, I put my thoughts into a short essay that conveys the experience that I had last night.

“5-6-7-8!”

So begins the era defining musical, A Chorus Line. With a burst of music, that legendary count, and the sound of clicking heels on a wood stage, the audience is magically transported, as only a musical could do, to a 1975 audition. For the next two hours they sit spellbound in their cramped velvet seats with far too little leg room, but they don’t mind. They smile at the dances, laugh at the antics, and cry with applause – but why? Do all 1,500 theatergoers actually have interest in the audition process for a Broadway musical? Do they care what difficult dance moves the casting director Zach is screaming at the dancers? No - they care about the people who are represented on stage – themselves.

Modern audiences don’t care that Paul is injured mid audition, or that Cassie is finding it increasingly difficult to return to the chorus, or that Sheila’s quickly approaching thirty and finds that she can no longer be “the chorus cutie.” Rather, they care about the human issues facing each of the seventeen dancers: defining their sexuality, aging, and most importantly, the insecurity of their lives. No one on this planet is without anxiety and worry, and the dancers in this show represent that reality. The audition is a metaphor of the human experience.

While most classical Broadway musicals have conventional happy endings, A Chorus Line altered what a happy ending could be. If you told someone on the street that nine out of the seventeen dancers that they would soon fall in love with do not get the job, they certainly wouldn’t think of that as a happy ending. The happy ending lies within the hope that each of the dancers give to the audience and that hope is what has made A Chorus Line an international success. The hope has been conveyed in many different countries, languages, and cultures, but it is present in each production nonetheless. The high amount of hope is what keeps theatergoers going back for more and more, year after year.

Each character in the show presents the audience with something they could take home with them and cherish. Each audience member is present on that stage through at least one of the characters, though I’m sure most people find themselves in little pieces in each. Al and Kristine tell the audience how strong a relationship can develop to be and how a support system must be in place. (Someone’s always has to be there to throw out your chewed up gum!) While Val’s story can easily be interpreted as phony and misleading, it teaches the audience to really fight to achieve something they really desire and learn from mistakes to accomplish their personal goals. Paul’s heartfelt monologue reveals to the audience that you can always move on and nothing can ever diminish the passion within you. Instead of letting a personal tragedy cripple you, you must learn from it as it will enrich your life later on. Perhaps the most inspirational advice present in the show is Cassie’s message of putting yourself on line – take a chance on yourself and always keep your faith alive.

“Kiss today goodbye and point me toward tomorrow”

Seeing any production of A Chorus Line or listening to the cast recordings becomes much more of an event and an experience because of the human quality of the piece. This Pulitzer Prize winning musical’s impact on audiences will never fade, just as the beauty of Shakespeare’s words will never lose value, because it deals with real people and real lives.

There are no special effects and no flying witches at Broadway’s Schoenfeld Theater, yet the show continues to sell out nightly. This fact alone should put hope in our heart’s that theater is not entirely a spectacle and that people can still have a wonderfully intimate experience with seventeen young dancers all together on a clear-cut white line.

A Chorus Line has endured for more than thirty years and will continue to thrive for many more. The show exists without star power, without a name over the marquee, without one main character, and without a story line. Doesn’t seem like a conventional hit musical, does it? It exists because people need the hope that in provides them with. People need to see that it’s okay to go after what you want, to fail, and to take a chance, especially in today’s world. Without the chance taken by Michael Bennett and his creative partners, our theater world would be very different and our hope wouldn’t be as prevalent as it is. Long live A Chorus Line!

Updated On: 2/11/07 at 11:18 AM

[Yankeefan007]

Posted: 2/11/07 at 11:23am

5-6-7-8*

Nice piece.

[WickedGeek28]

Posted: 2/11/07 at 3:19pm

There were three understudies on last night.

Don: Grant Turner
Bebe: Michelle Aravena
Cassie: Nadine Issenegger

[neddyfrank2]

Posted: 2/11/07 at 3:21pm

What did you think of Nadine?

[C is for Company]

Posted: 2/11/07 at 3:28pm

Nadine was in better voice than when I saw Charlotte do it and her dancing was just as good as hers. The only thing Charlotte tops her on was definitely the acting. Nadine was way too emotional and whiny about it, whereas when I saw Charlotte, her acting was her strongest quality.

[WickedGeek28]

Posted: 2/11/07 at 4:03pm

I found her to lose the character unless she was performing as Cassie. On the line I didn't feel like that was Cassie, it was a cold woman standing there. Also, she looks way too young to have had the relatioship pass with Zach and years of experience.

her dancing was very impressive and her singing was fine. Instead of saying "squeezing toilet paper" she said "squeexing soap" and then corrected herself.

Overall, she was fine, but she didn't seem as connected to the audition as the others.