A Chorus Line + Tour = AMAZING!!!

[EvanK]

Posted: 11/9/09 at 1:27am

2 summers ago I played Mark in a local production of A Chorus Line. The show amazed me, the realness of it, the depth, the emotion, everything. When I discovered the chance to see the revival I jumped at it!!

So Thursday November 5th I sat front row centre and beheld a show, (one I knew like the back of my hand)and it was as if I was seeing it for the first time. Pure joy and amazement.

The lush orchestra, the amazing vocals and acting.. Not too mention Bennets AMAZING choregraphy. The show flew by, and it was a pure joy to FINALLY experience the broadway production. Robyn Hurder as Cassie was simply fabulous; from her dancing, to her emotion, to her AMAZING voice. An absolute treat to behold. At The Ballet was beautiful, and boy could Maggie Belt. The entire cast was wonderful, and even after many being in it since the tour began most seemed to still be in it 100%.

From joy, to tears, to really appreciating this AMAZING show.. I just had to go back.. so I saw it Friday night as well.


A Chorus Line is an amazing piece of art. A classic, revolutionary, a masterpiece.

Not too mention the AMAZING documentary I bought at the show "Every Little Step"... Michael Bennet is a genious, Rest in Peace, and thank you for creating this show!!

Im 18.. young.. but it does not mean I cannot appreciate the relevence this show still has today, and it is still relevent.
Updated On: 11/9/09 at 01:27 AM

[sing_dance_love]

Posted: 11/9/09 at 3:22am

So glad you loved it. Playing Bobby in A Chorus Line is still probably one of my favorite experiences I've ever had in ALL the shows I've done.

I thoroughly enjoyed the revival and Every Little Step moved me deeply.

Thanks for sharing!

[CyCoSpAz2]

Posted: 11/9/09 at 5:21am

Glad you enjoyed the show, even though your math confuses me

[husk_charmer]

Posted: 11/9/09 at 9:27am

Who's the Zach on tour now?

[PalJoey]

Posted: 11/9/09 at 10:32am

I saw the tour twice and enjoyed it more than the revival on Broadway. Robyn Hurder was the Cassie and Sebastian La Cause was thge Zach. They were both terrific, with great chemistry, but they left the tour a few moths ago.

[singalongsong2]

Posted: 11/9/09 at 10:36am

I saw the tour last year and really enjoyed it. It's good to hear that it is still going strong. I'm thinking about revisiting it when it comes to my area in a few months.
Updated On: 11/9/09 at 10:36 AM

[EvanK]

Posted: 11/9/09 at 12:03pm

Well Robyn Hurder is Cassie and Michael Gruber is Zach

[Theatreboy49]

Posted: 11/9/09 at 12:16pm

Im so happy you enjoyed it. I just played Richie a couple weeks ago and it was such an amazing experiance. This show shall always have relevance forever and always.

[broadwayguy2]

Posted: 11/9/09 at 1:19pm

So glad that you enjoyed the tour.

singalong,
just so you are aware, it will be a "new" tour coming to your area. The 1st National Tour officially closes this weekend in Canada.

I am sending best wishes and great thoughts to the A Chorus Line company on their final 8 performances! Congrats on a fantastic run!

[EvanK]

Posted: 11/9/09 at 1:21pm

is this new tour equity/broadway revival?? Or something different?

[broadwayguy2]

Posted: 11/9/09 at 1:31pm

Well, all professionally staged productions of A Chorus Line are required, by licensing agreement, to be recreations of Bennett's original staging.

I am not totally sure, but I THINK that the new tour will be using the set and costumes from the current tour. As far as Equity or not, once again, I'm not sure. I do think that it will be non-equity, or at the very least, it will be on the tiered touring contract with lower salary.

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 11/9/09 at 1:54pm

I missed the tour when it was in Chicago, but I'll be catching it in Indianapolis in April. I loved the Broadway revival, though.

[ACL2006]

Posted: 11/9/09 at 2:17pm

this is the last week for the current cast as the tour recently recasted and will resume Jan. 5 in Houston. I believe the new cast will consist of union & non-union members. I have a friend that got cast in it and he's union but they also held a non-union call.

BTW, does anyone know if the tour will continue past Sacramento?? It's slated to run until May 30 only.

[broadwayrob]

Posted: 11/9/09 at 3:47pm

This is a great cast.. So interested to see who is going to be in the show when they recast this tour..

[AEA AGMA SM]

Posted: 11/9/09 at 5:17pm

The new tour will be Equity. Now, whether it will be utilizing the full Production Contract, one of the tiers, or the new Split Week contract Equity is working on I couldn't say.

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 11/9/09 at 5:24pm

Now that I see there are only 22 "amazings" in this thread (when generously including the headlines), I understand why the revival had such a short life.

[husk_charmer]

Posted: 11/9/09 at 5:45pm

Now that I see there are only 22 "amazings" in this thread (when generously including the headlines), I understand why the revival had such a short life.

It is my personal belief that the reason the show had such a shortened run (it honestly should have still been running) was shoddy producing on John Breglio's part.

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 11/9/09 at 6:28pm

"Every Little Step" also revealed the utter commitment to the Tragedy of Being Gay narrative on the part of the queens on the creative team. That didn't help at all, as far as casting and POV went.

Posted: 11/9/09 at 8:04pm

Evan, you saw it in Vancouver too I take it? I saw it this Saturday--I've been very sick and thought I wouldn't be able to make the trip over--but after being obsessed with Chorus Line since I was a kid, never having seen it on stage, and figuring this might be my last chance to see the original staging I made myself, and it was worth it.

To be honest the cast was much better than I expected--it's interesting to hear PalJoey say he enjoyed it more than the Broadway revival (I saw Gruber as Zach as well but he was excellent--it made me wish the character was on stage more cuz the little dancing he did was so on--Hurder is still very much with the tour, as is her husband who I believe played Mike).

Anyway, from my seats to the cast and production I really felt it was near perfect. My one disagreement would be Evan's comments bout the "lush" orchestra. The program lists I think a *four* person orchestra. (!!!) I didn't think orchestras could be that small for equity tours. The pit was covered (if they were even there--I know different productions have placed the orchestra in different areas) so I didn't check it out, and I know a lot of this was covered up with programmed sequencing--something I don't really understand at all. I have to say though that while in theory I hate theidea of such a small orchestra, if I hadn't read the program I probably would have thought it was a decent size--it sounded for the most part absolutely fine (even if maybe it didn't blow me away the way a full one might have, I didn't miss it not to know it)
Updated On: 11/9/09 at 08:04 PM

Posted: 11/9/09 at 8:05pm

""Every Little Step" also revealed the utter commitment to the Tragedy of Being Gay narrative on the part of the queens on the creative team. That didn't help at all, as far as casting and POV went."

I sorta got this feeling too from the documentary--so I know where you're coming from, but at least in the tour, I didn't feel it carried over or anything

[gypsy4]

Posted: 11/9/09 at 8:11pm

about your orchestra comment. a lot of the time Tours generaly travel with 4-5 musicians (Drums,Keyboards,Guitars) and then incorperate the rest of the parts with local players are you sure this wasn't the case?

Posted: 11/9/09 at 8:13pm

When I was typing my message out I actually thought of that. Maybe it was--like I said I didn't get to see them and certainly it sounded to me fuller than some past tours with tiny orchestras using sequencers to pad out the sound (like when I saw the Troika Cats tour 3 or so years back). The only Vancouver review does mention a "tiny" orchestra that nevertheless sounded great, but doesn't give anymore details either (and the reviewer sounded pretty clueless in general)

[BwayTday]

Posted: 11/9/09 at 8:14pm

Could someone post a link to the cities and dates for the new tour? I would really like to see it if it cam to my area.

Posted: 11/9/09 at 9:02pm

http://www.achorusline.com/tour_cities.php is a list of the cities the current tour, ending this week in Edmonton, played. As for upcoming ones for the new tour--I have no idea.

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 11/9/09 at 9:19pm

I saw the tour too Eric, after being utterly turned off by the way every aspect of the Broadway revival was handled, from pre-sales to premium seating, to ... Charlotte.

I saw Michael Gruber and Nikki Snelson and really enjoyed it, as well as the men in the cast. I felt the tour was one of the strongest productions I had seen, after seeing the original production at the Shubert.

While watching "Every Little Step" I kept wishing Frank N. Furter would pop in saying, "Give yourself over, to Nick Dante's self-loathing, swim the warm waters, of tragic gay men..."

Updated On: 11/9/09 at 09:19 PM