Chorus Line 8/25 2pm OUCH — Page 2

Just throwing in my two cents about the newbies.

I really loved Katherine Tokraz's Christine. It was nothing like Chryssie Whitehead's (which I also loved), but still delightful.

As for Melissa Lone, I had heard good and bad about her... but I loved her. Her singing was great, too... my friend and I especially liked her "Dance for Grandma!!!"

J. Elaine Marcos was really cute as Connie, but managed to sound a bit less cartoonish, for those of you who had issues with the way Yuka sounded (which I didn't mind, though it admittedly cartoonish).

As for the rest of the newbies, I think "competent" is a good way to describe them. They were by no means bad, they just also weren't spectacular.

Bryan Knowlton definitely took his time (to good effect) with the monologue, but dancing-wise... Jason Tam is sorely missed. His dancing wasn't bad at all, he blended in perfectly... which I think is a problem.

Will Taylor got laughs, but I missed Ken Alan's much drier delivery.

Michael Gruber didn't stand out as being as bad as everyone else seems to think, I just forgot he was onstage for most of the show.

Updated On: 8/26/07 at 01:16 AM

"Will Taylor, in my opinion, misses the ball. He misses almost all his jokes, and have seen him three times now and I think he skips a lot of lines (IE he forgot astroturf on the furniture today).'

Also, has anyone noticed a few changes? I like how the cast has played around with some lines. For example, in the opening Don goes into formation too early and Zach screams "Don!"...

Also, in the tap combination when Larry is calling the dancers into groups he calls "Mark" but means Mike. Mike responds with annoyed "It's Mike!"

The cast has nothing to do with the changes. Will hasn't forgotten any lines - they've been cut. And the astroturf never had anything to do with furniture (astroturf on furniture?). The "furniture" line has to do with Bobby breaking into people's houses..."Oh, I didn't steal anything. I just re-arranged their furniture". The astroturf line has been cut.

Zach doesn't scream "Don!", Al does, and that was in the '75 version of the show - they've just re-instated it, along with the new cast. And, as someone else said, the Mark/Mike bit has been in since day one.

Honestly, if you're going to post on these things, especially if you're being critical, at least have your facts straight.

agreed bsobw.

---

My apologies about "astroturf on the furniture," i meant "patio." I have seen Will Taylor 4 times, and this is the only time the astroturf line has been cut. I know other lines have been cut, but this seemed off. Sorry if my criticism personally rubs you the wrong way, ghostlight. And I never heard the "Don" line the 8 times I saw the original revival cast, so excuse me for not knowing the "straight facts".

And even if I am wrong, Will Taylor still does not get as positive a reaction from the crowd as Ken Alan, and that was my main point. Flubbing a line isn't a big deal, it happens to anyone. His character development matters, and in my opinion he is not up to par.

do you know why they would cut his lines? Bobby has few to begin with, and the lines they cut of his were some of the best that exhibited his dry character best

curly:
cassie is the female lead as is diana. it's not a small role... you imagine being up there singing and dancing for two hours straight with no breaks... then you can complain about ms. d'amboise and why she only does a six show week. i bet you couldnt do what she does once a month- its a very demanding show/ role.

---

No need to apologize Curly. That is why it's called A Chorus Line, as they are ALL chorus dancers. Some may have more to say than others, but ideally the message is the same. You left the theatre with the same feeling i had when seeing the OBC : wonderful moments, dancing, music and presentation.

Well, to be fair, Bundy is almost half the age of d'Amboise (give or take some years).

I believe it was best12bars who said it - it's not just the choreography of Music and the Mirror that's killer. It's standing around for all that time before it.

That makes sense. I think LBB did have more breaks. And an intermission too.

"This makes me wonder, did all previous Cassie's maintain the 8-show week schedule? How often were they out?"

In the original 15 year run of ACL, all Cassies performed 8 shows a week. None of them were on a 6 performance schedule. They also did not miss nearly as many performances as Charlotte does. I, too, am plerplexed as to why Charlotte is only doing 6 shows ... yes, its a difficult role, but all her predecessors were able to handle 8 shows; why can't she?

Has anyone seen Nadine go on as Cassie? I was wondering how she is. I didn't like the other understudy.