A Chorus Line - changes for Mario?- Page 3

[dancingthrulife04]

Posted: 4/17/08 at 9:36am

All in all, Dance 3, Looks 10.

That's great.

[WestVillage]

Posted: 4/17/08 at 9:42am

Flippancy ... I agree with your comments ... his acting ... very TV sitcom; his dancing ... awkward. His hands look terrible ... too stiff and forced. He obviously nailed the double pirouette, but his technique is not strong. As the director, he should be doing the opening combination BETTER than all the others who are just learning it, but he obviously is the weakest dancer on the stage. If Michael Bennett were alive to cast the revival, I think Mario would have found himself "in the alley with the other rejects."

[Flippancy]

Posted: 4/17/08 at 9:43am

Oh yeah -- one more thing.

It may be odd to see him playing against Charlotte D'Amboise. Stage is more forgiving with the age thing than film or television (and Mary Martin thanked her lucky stars for THAT, but I digress); however, Charlotte's near my age (early-mid 40s), and Mario looks late 20s at the most.

Maybe Cassie's last name is "Robinson". :)

West Village, thanks for the agreement -- but I don't think choreographers have to be stand-out dancers. Case in point: Agnes DeMille. Dancing ability and choreographic ability are not reciprocal, necessarily. So that doesn't bother me.

That being said, I do think choreographers should have a small whisper of technique. :) Bless his heart...
Updated On: 4/17/08 at 09:43 AM

[dancingthrulife04]

Posted: 4/17/08 at 9:58am

He did nail the double pirouette but seemed to be traveling a bit.

Oh well, hopefully with time he'll grow into the role.

[WestVillage]

Posted: 4/17/08 at 10:08am

Flippancy .. yes, I agree that choreographers don't have to be stand-out dancers. I meant that in the case of ACL, if Zach is going to be dancing the opening, he needs to at least be as good as the rest of the cast, or he shouldn't dance it at all (which has been done in the past). Mario stands out as a weak dancer trying his best to keep up with the others.

[Flippancy]

Posted: 4/17/08 at 10:12am

Gotcha...agreed.

[dancingthrulife04]

Posted: 4/17/08 at 7:32pm

http://www.broadway.com/Gen/pop_Photo_Op.aspx?ci=563896&pn=2

[uncageg]

Posted: 4/20/08 at 3:24am

So with these changes made for Mr. Lopez on Broadway, does anyone think they will make the same changes with the touring cast to keep it consistant with the Broadway production? I am thinking not because they don't have a "star" doign the tour.

[PalJoey]

Posted: 4/20/08 at 2:03pm

No, they won't.

[Maurice]

Posted: 4/20/08 at 5:16pm

Personally, I think it sets a bad precedent for changes to be made to a show so that a star could be featured more. Others may insist on the same treatment. This kind of makes me wonder... Have changes been made to other shows just because of a star taking over a role?

[SirNotAppearing]

Posted: 4/20/08 at 5:51pm

I agree. All these changes to make sure the "star" is featured more destroys the purpose of the show and sets a bad precedent.

[verynewyorkcurious]

Posted: 4/20/08 at 9:45pm

I arrived at the Schoenfeld Theatre at 2:45pm, hoping to get rush tickets for today's show. I found out that they moved the show up to 2PM for today..because of Mario Lopez. I have no idea what the reason was, but all they said was because of Mario Lopez. What the hell

[dancingthrulife04]

Posted: 4/20/08 at 9:56pm

I wondered why it seemed so empty (passed by there on my way home). That's very strange that they moved it up for him.

[millie_dillmount]

Posted: 4/20/08 at 10:31pm

Was 2 pm only for today or all Sundays the duration of his run?

[Maurice]

Posted: 4/20/08 at 10:36pm

According to Telecharge, the show is at 3 p.m. for next Sunday and the Sundays that follow.

[Zeitoujo]

Posted: 4/20/08 at 10:37pm

I was wondering the same thing millie

[ACL2006]

Posted: 4/21/08 at 12:11am

It was only for this Sunday. Can't imagine why he would want only one Sunday changed. And does an hour really make a difference??

[blaxx]

Posted: 4/21/08 at 12:14am

What? That doesn't make sense, why would a production change a scheduled show for a performer? They might as well use the understudy, it doesn't make sense that they changed the time because of him, unless this was done in advance.

[verynewyorkcurious]

Posted: 4/21/08 at 12:21am

If any of you guys are going by the Schoenfeld, try to ask for details to why it was moved up from 3 to 2.. Let's try to give Mr. Lopez the benefit of the doubt.

Imagine if it really was because of him.. The entire cast, crew, and audience members had to move up an hour.

or maybe they were just trying a new 2PM time slot..to see if it works out better.. Hmm.
Updated On: 4/21/08 at 12:21 AM

[SirNotAppearing]

Posted: 4/21/08 at 3:31am

Though I'm not fond of the casting, I think people are being a little hard on Mario. I mean, maybe some of the changes aren't for him. Maybe they were just trying out a new timeslot or there was some other issue and that guy just didn't want to give you a real answer.
Let's just start blaming Mario Lopez for things he had nothing to do with.
Mario Lopez is keeping Phantom running.
Mario Lopez charged you $450 for Young Frankenstein tickets.
Mario Lopez closed Moose Murders.

[stepkickkickleapkick2]

Posted: 4/21/08 at 4:03am

They changed the schedule today because the cast had to fly to LA for the taping of Dancing With the Stars. They were heading out on a 4:30 bus to catch their flight.

[Auggie27]

Posted: 4/21/08 at 9:10am

Oh, change the damned thing a tad, why not? I saw it last month, and one of the creakiest elements is the reverential treatment of the "character" of Zach. The Svengali-fied disembodied voice, the humorless approach to all proceedings (I never noticed how he never, ever, even kids with anyone.) All that barking of intrusive, psychotherapeutic questions, seeking answers that are frankly none of his business, and no director would really be interested in.

So making Zach a cute, younger wunderkind who is a bit too big for his britches (!), and jumps up on the stage to ask his nosy questions and try to jump start an old romance, hey, why not? Let the show breathe! The strict adherence to something done in 1976 is like making every Dolly literally squeeze into Carol Channing's red dress. Bring on flesh revealing shirts, a few tweaks, and above all, some compelling way to shake the whole thing up.

[broadwayrob]

Posted: 4/21/08 at 9:19am

which is what they did in the 80s and the show failed miserably which led the show to close.

there are certain traditions to a show and fundamentals that make a show what it is.

changing anything about this show to making a "star" happy kind of goes against the whole point of the show.

the whole reason this revival was successful in the first place was because it was a very faithful re-creation of the 1975 production.

[morosco]

Posted: 4/21/08 at 10:53am

which is what they did in the 80s and the show failed miserably which led the show to close.

What specific changes were made to the show and how did they cause the show to close?

[ACL2006]

Posted: 4/21/08 at 11:12am

I thought they were flying out to tape for DWTS on May 5??