My A Chorus Line Review

[ACL2006]

Posted: 10/13/06 at 10:59am

Saw A Chorus Line last night(10/12) and I have to say simply amazing. I've done two productions of ACL and it was so nice to see it done at the highest professional level. The theatre was completely packed, the cancellation line was about 20 long. Ok, now on to the show.

"I Hope I Get It" was amazing. The theater went nuts when they started. No flaws here, this is still the best opening number of any Broadway show.

"I Can Do That" - Schecter plays Mike perfectly, lots of energy and a great voice.

"And" - Ken Alan can be a little annoying as Bobby. I liked his monologue but the accent just doesn't do it for me. "And" seemed to lack energy and almost didn't seem important to the show. This number seemed to drag a little and was somewhat dull.

"At The Ballet" didn't disappoint. Still a beautiful number and Goodwin, Porter & Davi all hit their marks. It was so great to see & hear Davi in person. She was one of the standouts - such a great performer.

"Sing!" - loved the new take on this. Yazbeck has such a powerful voice and Whitehead's version of Kristine was hysterical. Their chemistry is perfect. Yazbeck needs a show that can really show off his voice.

"Hello, Twelve..." I was so looking foward to seeing this. Both productions I was in had cut parts out or trimmed some of the dancing. This number had so much energy - loved, loved James T. Lane & Paternostro!!! Both were outstanding! Brad Anderson did a great job as Don & Parcells WAS Judy. Yuka Takara & Paul McGill both pulled off their respective parts without any flaws. I LOVED this number.

"Nothing"/"What I Did For Love" - Michelle Aravena was in for Diana and I wasn't disappointed. She doesn't have the vocal power that Cortez has but did a hell of a job anyway. "What I Did For Love" got a huge applause for about 2 minutes. AMAZING!!!

"Dance: Ten; Looks: Three" - I'm not sure what everyone is complaining about Goldyn for. She was one of the standouts and certainly did not come off as cute. She put Sheila in her place many times and was very aggresive & dominant. Would love to see her go on as Cassie. Great job!

"The Music & The Mirror". I'm going to agree with mostly everyone in saying Charlotte is the weak link in the show. She can not sing the part and for a number as powerful as this one, it was disappointing. She did a good(not great) job dancing the part and tries to make up for it with her amazing acting(her only highlight). Berresse is a good Zach, not as dull as some people say but he still needs to be more forceful.

"One(both parts)". These numbers along with "What I Did For Love" made up for the poor "TM&TM". Outstanding!!! You really felt the desperation from the cast in the first "One". Loved every minute of it. The finale was so beautiful, the audience went nuts as they all come out one by one. It really topped off the show perfectly.

Other notes: Paul's monologue had the audience in tears, very moving and the gasps that went through the audience when he falls. WOW! Tam plays Paul perfectly although I think he is a little young for the part. Tyler Hanes is amazing, such a great dancer and I actually think he could be a better Zach if given the chance.

Well I think I've covered everything & everbody. Overall, A Chorus Line is still an amazing show and would definitly see it again and recommend it to everyone I know. My standouts were Goldyn, Goodwin, Davi, Lane & Tam. The only weak performances were D'Amboise & Ken Alan.

Updated On: 10/13/06 at 10:59 AM

[Rathnait62]

Posted: 10/13/06 at 11:03am

"She doesn't have the vocal power that Cortez has"

Wow. That's saying something.

[EponineAmneris]

Posted: 10/13/06 at 11:05am

Thank you for the review I'm sad to hear so much negative talk about Charlotte But I will get to see for myself on the 26th

[ACL2006]

Posted: 10/13/06 at 11:06am

On a side note, when standing at the stage door for autographs I was talking to Heather Parcells about Standing Room Only & The Rush Lottery. She said SRO has been increased to 16 since the demand is there and the student rush lottery should start in the next couple of weeks. Just about everyone in the cast was so friendly at the stage door except for D'Amboise. She didn't want to talk to anyone and was actually asked by her friend who walked out with her if she was going to sign any autographs. Her responce "I guess so".

Michelle Aravena(Diana cover) also didn't sign any autographs. My only guess is maybe she's not used to it as this may have been her first time covering in NYC.

[ACL2006]

Posted: 10/13/06 at 11:08am

Aravena has the voice, she just couldn't belt certain parts that Cortez does on the cast recording. That's all I meant by power.

[Rathnait62]

Posted: 10/13/06 at 11:10am

The night I saw it, Cortez was quite lacking in any sort of what you'd call vocal power.

[ACL2006]

Posted: 10/13/06 at 11:46am

That's a shame. She sounds so good on the recording.

[NJgirl]

Posted: 10/13/06 at 12:00pm

ACL2006- According to the Playbill, Tyler covers Zach....so just maybe we'll get to see that. Here's to hoping....though I'm guessing he may not be the first to cover it?

[ACL2006]

Posted: 10/13/06 at 3:29pm

Probably not. Each of the 17 dancers plus Zach & Larry have 2 understudies. Tyler Hanes covers Zach as well as Bobby. Also, Jessica Goldyn also covers for Cassie. They're the only two to cover another dancer's role.

I would really like to see Goldyn cover for Cassie. She has to be better then D'Amboise.

[Katie2]

Posted: 10/13/06 at 3:51pm

EponineAmneris - I'm going to ACL on the 26th too!

And wow, I'm surprised Natalie was out and it's too bad you didn't get to see her. I'm glad you liked Jessica though... I thought she was great, despite the negative talk on the board.

[ACL2006]

Posted: 10/13/06 at 10:33pm

I think I'm going to try and see it again on November 14. I'm hoping I can get SRO. D'Amboise will be out since she'll be at the 10th anniversary for Chicago. I have to think either of the Cassie understudies (Goldyn or Nadine Isenegger) will at least sing the part better.

[bwaylvsong]

Posted: 10/13/06 at 11:25pm

I saw Isenegger in 42nd Street and she is a fantastic singer.

[Broadway Matt]

Posted: 10/13/06 at 11:34pm

Glad u liked the show! I got to leave early last night but would have liked to see how Michelle did as Diana. To the best of my knowledge it was her first time doing the part, both here and in SF. I think she's gone on as Bebe once or twice.

Jessica is the primary understudy for Cassie, and would probably be the 1st choice to go on at this point since Nadine (Jessica's cover) has done the role of Val on tour and I believe at Paper Mill, and should be more than ready to step in. If you check out the latest installment of Broadway.com's video series, they have a clip of a teenage Jessica doing the Cassie dance quite well. This should link to it:

http://www.broadway.com/Gen/Buzz_Video.aspx?ci=538524

[ACL2006]

Posted: 10/14/06 at 11:43am

Thanks! I've been watching those Broadway.com videos ever since they started them. Since Goldyn is the primary u/s for Cassie makes me want to get tickets for Nov. 14 even more.

[NJgirl]

Posted: 10/14/06 at 11:58am

Interesting that they would essentially put two understudies on by bumping up Jessica to Cassie and putting Nadine on as Val if Charlotte was out instead of just putting a Nadine on as Cassie and being done with it.

[Broadway Matt]

Posted: 10/14/06 at 12:34pm

that's not official, but it seems to make sense since Nadine is mostly known for her performances as Val and would be able to step in pretty seamlessly. but you're right, it's hard to say what they could decide to do

[bwayondabrain]

Posted: 10/14/06 at 7:47pm

oh, i didnt know Nadine was in this show :) very cool

thanks for the review, acl2006, i really am kicking myself for not getting tickets for my family earlier. now its almost impossible to get seats, especially for the time we are going in December! we might try lottery, or maybe go to the box office, and see if there were any cancellations or anything...

i am dying to see this though! i especially want to see Natalie, and Chryssie :)

sorry to hear about Charlotte, both on and off the stage. that's too bad

anyways, yeah A CHORUS LINE!

:)
Updated On: 10/14/06 at 07:47 PM

[WickedGeek28]

Posted: 10/14/06 at 9:05pm

Thanks for the review! I haven't stopped playing the cd since I bought it on Tuesday. I even had to make a car copy!

[danaonotlater]

Posted: 10/22/06 at 11:50pm

I'm a little late here, but I'm glad that everyone seems to be enjoying Michelle Aravena's performances!

I became familiar with her during her run of West Side Story at the Walnut Street Theatre in Philadelphia. She blew me away!

I am looking forward to seeing her perform all of the roles she understudies...and according to her I have "one down!" lol. I was able to get a SRO ticket on Saturday and see her Bebe. :) Though I was really hoping that she would be going on on Friday, when I had a first row ticket! But alas, no.

It is my dream to see Michelle's Diana. I imagine that she would have the power that I have felt that Natalie Cortez lacks (though as compared to the first preview, she had considerably more power the last two times I saw it).

Broadway Matt, I believe that was the first, and possibly only time...so far, that Michelle has been on as Diana. She performed Bebe 4 times in SF and has been on a few times here in NY. Last week she also went on as Maggie. I wonder when she'll go on as Connie...I would LOVE to see that show! hehe.

[Broadway Matt]

Posted: 10/23/06 at 12:17am

Well it looks like I was wrong in my speculation about who would go on as Cassie in Charlotte's absence, as Nadine has had quite a busy week taking on the role. She's really doing a great job and is getting better and better with each show. The majority of the disgruntled audience members I've run into were primarily disappointed not to be seeing Charlotte, but more than a few have come up to me afterwards to sing Nadine's praises before heading to stage door to tell her in person.

Michelle has has a very busy week, going on for Bebe a number of times and as Maggie once. I've heard that her Diana was very good as well. Also on the understudy front, I think Grant Turner (boy in the headband) has done a great job as Don the 2 times he's gone on.

It'll be interesting to see what they do with it if and when Michelle goes on as Connie. I've seen a few white Richies in the past and more female Larrys (usually renamed Laura) than male ones, but never a non-Asian Connie. What can I say, we Asians are a hard-working people.

[AudreyTwoTwo]

Posted: 10/23/06 at 10:27am

Ah, I am seeing it tomorrow!

I can't wait! I have always wanted to see this show-- especially since my Uncle and Grandma were friendly with Sammy Williams when my uncle was in a Broadway show! I have always wanted to meet Sammy and I love the music in this so much :)

A Chorus Line will probably make my mom cry, since this is all part of her childhood (the Sammy thing)

[Ciaron McCarthy]

Posted: 10/23/06 at 10:30am

this is still the best opening number of any Broadway show.

Really? :::cough:::Company::::cough::::::

[DRSisLove]

Posted: 10/23/06 at 10:50am

Gah, I so wanna see this and don't think its ever going to happen.

Maybe in five years the hype will die down...

[somethingwicked]

Posted: 10/23/06 at 4:45pm

If Goldyn is indeed the primary cover for Cassie, it makes perfect sense that they wouldn't be putting her on right now.

For one, this early in the run, they are going to want as few principles out as possible, and with so many people being out at the same time recently, they aren't going to put two understudies on (for Cassie AND Val) when they can just throw one on.

Also, I doubt they've had time to rehearse Jessica properly ANYWAY. With this cast not having had a day off in a WHILE due to their exhausting preview schedule, I don't see where she would have had the time to be performing AND attending understudy rehearsels, especially for a role as demanding as Cassie...

Posted: 10/23/06 at 9:17pm

I've never seen it, but I heard on BBC radio a version of ACL with a southern-belle Connie. I didn't care much for that performance. And can Michelle pull off a 4'10" number? How tall is she?