A Chorus Line 3/17/07 Matinee Review

[CrAzIaBoUtReNt]

Posted: 3/17/07 at 10:01pm

I saw A Chorus Line this afternoon and I loved it. It's such a classic, whats not to love? I was upset almost to the point of tears when I found out Charlotte D'Amboise, Natalie Cortez, AND Chryssie Whitehead were all out. They are three of my favorite characters and I went in a bit scared of what I would be witnessing from their understudies.

Lyndy Franklin (Kristine): My favorite understudy of the show. She had me in a giggling fit during her big number "Sing". I have'nt seen Chryssie Whitehead perform the role live, but I do own the cast recording and her "acting" choices on the CD didn't impress me. I couldn't believe that she was really a bad singer, just a good singer trying to be bad. When Lyndy went to hit the last note in the big finish to the song, she got me laughing out loud. Her voice cracked and sounded awful. She had great comedic skills. She was one of my favorite.

Jessica Lea Patty (Diana): I thought she handeled the role great! "Nothing" is one of my favorite scenes in the show and I was really pleased with her acting choices and her voice was great. "What I Did For Love" was beautiful and she had chemistry with everyone on stage. I wouldn't have been able to tell she was an u/s. Great performance.

And now for the biggest dissapointment, Nadine Isenegger as Cassie. Finding out that Charlotte was going to be out for me was like hearing my beloved dog just got hit by a car. I love Charlotte to death. I saw her in Chicago a few years ago and have been waiting to see ACL [i]just[/i] for her. But, of course, with my luck, she wasn't there. Nadine, as a whole, was okay. Her vocals are her weakest link. In "Music and the Mirror", her voice was weak and she sounded a little like she was stressing to hit some of the notes. Her dancing and acting are her strong points. Although she can't ever meet up yo Charlotte's dancing, she moved very smooth and sexy in her big number. Her acting was awsome. Defenetly her strongest point, which made up for her weak vocals.

On to the norms (Just FYI, I don't know all of the characters names by heart and I am judging them based on their headshots so if I get some mixed up, sorry! I am going to write reviews of all the people I remember)...

Ken Alan (Bobby): I am assuming this is the character who broke into people's houses to rearrange furniture...if I am correct, he had the audience in the palms of his hands. His dialogue was hilarious and I enjoyed his character so much. I think he got the most applause for the guys at the end of the show.

Jessica Lee Goldyn (Val): I love Val. She is my favorite character. There is nothing like a good slut. Jessica played a good slut. "Dance Ten; Looks Three" is my favorite scene and she nailed it. Everytime she would appear in "Hello Twelve...", "Tits. When am I gonna grow tits?" I thought she was the funniest thing. She had great stage presence, a great voice, and, like Ken, she also had the audience in the palms of her hand.

Deidre Goodwin (Shiela): A standout for me. She seemed to have an off night vocally in "At the Ballet", but her acting was probably one of the strongest in the cast. She had great presence and a lot of jokes. The audience loved her. She probably got the most appluase in the female line-up. I was just excited to see "that girl from Chicago!".

Michael Beresse (Zach): Good actor. His fight with Nadine was really realistic. I have a question. Is he in the audience at the orch. level because I was in the mezz. and couldn't really see him but heard his voice. All of a sudden her appeared at the bottom of the stage. I am assuming that he resides in the audience?...

Mara Davi (Maggie): I love her character an I lover her voice. She got applause for that high-ass note in "At the Ballet". I was amazed how high she was able to go. She was so cute. One of my favorites.

Tyler Hanes (Larry): He's very hot.

Jason Tam (Paul): When he told his story, I was crying. Especially when he told us that the first time his father ever called him his son was when he was in drag. Who wouldn't cry? Great performance from him. He was my favorite of the male cast. Love him.

Jeffrey Schecter (Mike): Another one of my favorite male characters. I love "I Can Do That". He gave a strong performance even though his character isn't really a stand out. He made is stand out as much as her could, which was a good thing.

Michael Paternostro (Greg): He was so funny! Who doesn't love a Jewish gay? Jews + Goys = Crowd pleaser. Acting was great. Didn't really pop out form the crowd dancing-wise.

Yuka Takara (Connie): She was so small, I just wanted to take her home with me! Her acting was great and I loved her part of "Hello Twleve...".

James T. Lane (Richie): I couldn't understand a word that came out of his mouth, but I still liked him. "Gimmie the Ball" was so fast and confusing I couldn't even hear him or understand a word. His dancing was awsome and his energy was bouncing off the theater walls. Strong performer.

Heather Parcells (Judy): I found her character to be extremely annoying. She could have made the character less...irritating.

These are all of the performers that I can really remember seperate details of. All in all I loved the show and had a great time. It's a timeless classic and I would defenetly recommend a visit to the show if you are looking for a good time. I mean, it's A Chorus Line. Does it get any better?

A few comments about the theater. There is like no leg room. My knees were probably pocking the heck out of the lady infront of me. And since when do people have the nerve to put there feet up on the backs of theater seats? Rude much?

This is a really long review and I hope it was beneficial and enjoyable to everyone who reads it. I have to say, you have more patience than me.

Peace out.





Updated On: 3/17/07 at 10:01 PM