Munk's A CHORUS LINE review

[munkustrap178]

Posted: 9/28/06 at 12:43pm

From the opening chords of the audition, the audience cheered and I was hooked. I have seen (in some form of unmentionable format) the show with the original Broadway cast probably close to 100 times, memorizing every cue, every entrance, and every flip of the mirrors.

What immediately struck me was how bright the show is. For drab clothes on a black stage, it emits quite a bit of color. I suppose it shocked me because I am so used to watching the show in black and white.

Strangely enough, watching the show is sort of like staring at the new CGI-looking logo on the exterior of the theatre. To see Michael Bennett's original staging in person is, quite possibly, the biggest and most impactful thrill I have had in a Broadway theatre. The cast, as expected, executed the choreography as if they had been doing it all their lives. Always uniform, and always breathtaking.

But, several (if not many) of the performances just don't match Bennett's magic. One couldn't help but wonder how different the show would be if they had cast people who didn't obsess over A CHORUS LINE when they were children. It's quite obvious that everyone on that stage was romanced by A CHORUS LINE at some time or another, and I think it shows in their performances. They are not organic and raw as they were in 1975, they are more sketched and self-conscious.

As Bobby, Ken Alan danced up a storm, but completely lacked in the acting department. Not horrible, but he could have done so much with his monologue that he didn't do. I am sorry for all of these inevitable comparisons to the original, but there's no avoiding it. "Don't perform" Zach tells them over and over. So why are so many of them just performing? Ken Alan, for the most part, performed. His monologue seemed overlong, and forgettable - which it wasn't in 1975.

As Zach, Michael Berresse is horrible. Every line has the same inflection, he commands no sense of authority, and he seemed thoroughly dissinterested by what the auditionees were saying. Sure, the guy can dance - but it's almost as if he's just phoning this one in. His relationship with Cassie is absolutely not believable. D'Amboise is working up against a brick wall here, and I feel bad for her.

As Diana, Natalie Cortez is generally very strong. Her "Nothing" was not a carbon copy of the original, and it was acted beautifully. She is one of the stronger members of the cast.

As Cassie, Charlotte d'Amboise is...well...Charlotte d'Amboise. Her acting is, surprisingly, the best part of her performance. She had me wrapped around her finger for the first half of the show, until "The Music and the Mirror" started. Her vocals are fine enough, but not as strong as they could be. The first half of the dance looked wonderful - contrary to what I have heard. The biggest problem for me was the ending. It was almost as if Charlotte just lost steem and started to jump around and make things up herself. Now, I know that's not true because I am familiar with the original choreography - but it simply looked like she just got tired and couldn't do another pirouette. She's at an obvious and extreme disadvantage here: she is performing a number that was constructed for someone else. It doesn't make McKechnie a better dancer than d'Amboise, it just makes it more right. I wish to God that Avian would take it upon himself to fix this. All around, she proves to be a wonderful actress. Unfortunately, her final scene with Zach during "One" was just a mess. He really gives her nothing to work with. And I wouldn't count on a Tony for her.

As Maggie, Mara Davi was strong in each and every area. Probably the best vocal work in the show, and possibly the best acting. Truly fantastic performance.

As Val, Jessica Lee Goldyn was also fantastic. It was nice to see some flavor brought to "Dance: Ten, Looks: Three." A great actress.

And now, Diedre Goodwin. Jesus Chris, Diedre would you wake up? Carol (Kelly) Bishop's 1975 Shelia was bitchy, yes - but also funny, and also heartfelt. When Shelie got cut, you felt bad for her and you wanted to see more of her. Here, when Shelia got cut, I thought "Thank God, now she can go be annoying elsewhere!" Her performance is completely one note - all sass and bitch and absolutely no humanity. She's a terrible actress - I thought that after I saw her in NINE and CHICAGO - and she didn't prove me wrong here. She delivers every line in a sort of (and forgive me for the bluntness here) "I'm gonna cut you!" way. A total disappointment. Avian should be ashamed.

Tyler Hanes, James T. Lane, Paul McGill, Heather Parcells, Michael Paternostro, Yuka Takara, Chryssie Whitehead, and Tony Yazbeck are all fantastic.

Alisan Porter has a nice voice, but someone else could do more with the role - as perhaps her mother did. The original Bebe remained imprinted in my mind. This one is totally forgettable.

And, for the revelation of the evening, Jason Tam as Paul. Engrave the Tony, clear the shelf, Mr. Tam. WOW. I never thought it possible, but his performance actually equalled (if not topped) the original. I don't know if I have seen a performance of that brilliance on the stage of a musical by a supporting character in, perhaps, ever. He made me cry. I can't really associate with his monologue, but his acting is so brilliant that I saw each memory flash through his head, and every ounce of pain sweat out through his pores. When he hurts his knee and must be taken to the hospital, I almost felt wronged by it. Sort of like "How can you NOT let him stay! Don't write him out! No!" I knew it was coming, too - but it effected me like I did not anticipate. He is BRILLIANT.

Other than some of the performances, I have only three complaints - and one is fixable.

The orchestra sounds horrible. It sounds canned, it sounds consensed, the sounds like it's all performed on keyboards, if not prerecorded using a computer. It's not, but it sounds that way. Perhaps it's the way it's piped into the house. I don't know, but I thought it sounded very bizarre. And some of the tempos need to be increased. The opening number is just too slow.

Second, "What I Did For Love." They use the accompaniment and orchestrations used in the original production, but I vastly prefer the accompaniment used on the original recording. It lends itself far more to the dramatic nature of the song. Overall, "What I Did For Love" seemed forced and like an afterthought.

And third, ATTENTION TO ANYONE IN THE COMPANY WHO HAPPENS TO BE READING THIS, when the cast is told to go take a break in the alley while Zach talks to Paul, I beleive the cast actually DID go out to the alley, which lies parallell to the house left side of the theatre. And they were talking, shouting, laughing, and seemingly carrying on. Through almost all of Paul's monologue, it was interrupted by laughter and talking from the company in the alley. Perhaps this is intentional, but it was horribly rude and distracting. They should really keep an eye on that, as several people around me kept looking over to where the voices were coming from.


So overall, this is a rewarding, worthwhile experience. By the end of the show, the brilliant finale makes you forget some of the less than stellar performances. It takes your breath away. I left the theatre immediately wanting to see it again - and that is a true testament to the absolute genious of the staging and the choreography. It has been stunningly re-created here and it will take your breath away. Despite the fact that I know the show inside and out, I was still able to take the journey with them, and I was still taken by surprise at the powerful and brilliant finale. Go see the show, and be mesmorized.

[Yankeefan007]

Posted: 9/28/06 at 12:46pm

Great review....did you pay $111?

[munkustrap178]

Posted: 9/28/06 at 12:47pm

Hell, no. I got standing room.

[Yankeefan007]

Posted: 9/28/06 at 12:48pm

What time did you get there, how was the line?

[munkustrap178]

Posted: 9/28/06 at 12:55pm

I think I got there around 6, and I was the 4th person on line.

They sell only 6 standing room tickets. 1 ticket a person for $26.25.

[Michael Bennett]

Posted: 9/28/06 at 12:55pm

I enjoyed reading your thoughts Munk. I've seen ACL so many times, that it is always refreshing to experience the show from somebody who hasn't seen it before (well, live at least). I agree with a lot of your thoughts regarding the cast (at least from when I saw it in SF) - in particular that Berresse's performance is problematic and that D'Amboise's choreography should be fixed. I liked Jason Tam a lot in SF, and it sounds like he is finding a lot of new layers in the role, but I'd frankly be surprised if anybody from this production won a Tony Award.

One slight correction: the orchestration used for "What I Did for Love" is actually neither from the original Broadway production or the cast recording but a new orchestration that was created in 1977, a few years into the first Broadway run.

[munkustrap178]

Posted: 9/28/06 at 12:57pm

Oh, I didn't know that it wasn't used from the start, but I meant "Original Production."

[BSoBW2]

Posted: 9/28/06 at 1:39pm

Is that 6 am?

[munkustrap178]

Posted: 9/28/06 at 1:40pm

No way...6 PM.

[BSoBW2]

Posted: 9/28/06 at 1:42pm

Thank G-d!

I wasn't sure if they do it when the BO opens or not.

My family bought tickets to see the show when I'm on vacation but decided they didn't want to make sure I wanted to see it and didn't get me a ticket.

So I am trying to find out about SRO and Cancellation line so I can see it with them.

D'oh!

[Yankeefan007]

Posted: 9/28/06 at 1:45pm

And they sold them at 6?

[WesternSky2]

Posted: 9/28/06 at 2:00pm

Great review. I'll be there October 28th, and I absolutely cannot wait.

Also glad to hear you loved Mara Davi - just from hearing a snippet of her vocals on one of the news report videos from SF, I knew she'd be someone to look out for.

[munkustrap178]

Posted: 9/28/06 at 2:12pm

No, they didn't sell them at six.

They told us to wait on line until they had word that they could sell them. They probably started selling them at around 6:45, 7:00.

And the standing room (only 6 spots) is behind the left most "railing," stage right. The center railing cannot be used because of Zach, and the right railing is blocked off, probably to cover the door to the lobby.

[Princeton78]

Posted: 9/28/06 at 2:31pm

So...what was the original orchestration for "What I did for Love" like?

[shesamarshmallow]

Posted: 9/28/06 at 2:44pm

I'm so glad Jason Tam is getting the accolades he deserves for this performance - hope the reviewers are of the same opinion!

[munkustrap178]

Posted: 9/28/06 at 3:06pm

It's more erratic and unmelodic.

[MargoChanning]

Posted: 9/28/06 at 3:13pm

Great job, Munk. So glad you enjoyed it overall. You mentioned most of the same problems with the show that I did after seeing the first preview. If they still haven't been fixed, I'm wondering whether a lot of the needed improvements (tempos, orchestrations, sound, performances) are going to be made at all.

[MTVMANN]

Posted: 9/28/06 at 3:51pm

Very Nice Review! I'm coming to NY for the first time ever in November and I hope to see this (along with Les Miserables).

A few questions:

Isn't Bobby's monologue supposed to be "performed"? I would assume so, since he is making most of it up and whatnot. Anyways, that's the impression I have always got.

Also, what do you mean about Alisan Porter's mother? Did her mother play Bebe at one time?

[DottieD'Luscia]

Posted: 9/28/06 at 3:57pm

Just curious as to why the tempos are much slower. Seeing as though most people are having a problem with Michael's portrayal of Zach, who would you have cast in that role? I'm drawing a blank.

[SeanMartin]

Posted: 9/28/06 at 4:02pm

You mentioned some of the orchestations sounded like CG, and I wonder if indeed that's so. I know that when the musicians went on strike, there was the threat of using all-computer-based music (which thse days, with a program like Notion, would be virtually indistinguishable from a real peformer). I wonder if orchestrators are now availing that sort of thing as a cost-cutting option.

[Producer2]

Posted: 9/28/06 at 4:06pm

I also thought "What I Did For Love' could have been vocally stronger and more meaningful.

[munkustrap178]

Posted: 9/28/06 at 4:12pm

It doesn't seem like all the tempos are painfully slow, but the one that stuck out for me was the opening number. I wanted to jump backstage and speed them up. It was very plodding, calculated, and safe. It wasn't explosive as it was in the orignal run. In the original production, you watched in awe as the performers danced the whole audition number. You marveled at their endurance. Here, it's just very conservative.

I think Beressee just looks too young and innocent to be Zach. He's not intimidating, his voice has sort of a faux-authority to it here. I think he would be much better suited to play one of the auditionees, like Mike or Al. He just comes off as a huge pushover. I would have chosen someone a bit older, or at least someone with a bit more authority. Robert LuPone was great because he was a DIRECTOR. He ruled the room, and then when he shows compassion for Paul, your surprised by it. Here, his compassion for Paul was not fully realized, as he was not tough enough the entire way through. What he WAS good at was yelling out dance steps and correcting Cassie. "Don't pop your head!"

The orchestrations sounded lame and canned, but the orchestra was indeed live. According to the playbills (original and revival), the breakdown was as follows:

ORIGINAL PRODUCTION:

2 Keyboards
2 Guitars
1 Bass Guitar
1 Bass
1 Harp
Drums
Percussion
5 reed players
3 trumpets
2 trombones
1 bass trombone

REVIVAL:

3 keyboards
1 bass
percussion
drums
4 reed players
3 trumpets
2 tombones
1 bass trombone

Not TERRIBLY different, but it sounds like a completely different thing.

[munkustrap178]

Posted: 9/28/06 at 4:15pm

I was so disappointed with "What I Did For Love." Her voice lacked the power of Lopez's, and it was completely uninspired. Not to mention, the orchestrations and accompaniment were just strange. It's not the first time I heard it, but compared to how it was originally recorded, it's just lame.

[Bal]

Posted: 9/28/06 at 4:21pm

I usually lurk, but I just wanted to pop my head up and say that this review was both beautifully written and wonderfully balanced. Thank you so much.

[munkustrap178]

Posted: 9/28/06 at 4:26pm

No problem, and thank YOU!