A CHORUS LINE

Book by James Kirkwood & Nicholas Dante

Music by Marvin Hamlisch
Lyrics by Edward Kleban

Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre
New York City, New York

Directed by Bob Avian
Choreography Re-staged by Baayork Lee

REVIEWED 05-13-07 PERFORMANCE

 

 

 

 

__________________________A CHORUS LINE__________________________

 

For those who have a deep passion for musical theater, within them there is a special list of his or hers all time favorite musicals. With this comes a laundry list of reasons on what makes these personal favorites stand above all others in the canons of musical theater history.

One musical that is on my list of all time favorites has always been Michael Bennett's emotional opus about dancers, A CHORUS LINE. The funny part is I don't dance, nor never could claim that I'm a dancer. I'm more of the "I move well and do a mean jazz square" type. And yet somehow the music, lyrics, and book speak deep within me. I connect so emotionally with the material that I just never tire of watching it again and again.

ACL opened at the Shubert Theater on July 25, 1975 and would run for a staggering 6137 performances, closing in April 1990. It was honored with nine Tony awards, including Best Musical, beating out Kander and Ebb's CHICAGO. The musical would also be honored in 1976 with the Pulitzer Prize for Drama. In 1984, the musical was presented with a special Gold Tony for becoming the longest running musical at that time.

Alas, I never saw the original Broadway production, or its national tour. But I had the original cast recording & would listen to it over & over again. Years later I finally got to see a bootleg video of the original production Throughout my life I would see regional, summer stock, and amateur productions of ACL. Some were better than others. But none of them were perfect. Some did not have true triple threat performers, or the choreography was not clean or displayed any of Bennett's original artistry. Others had mediocre direction, bizarre updates within the material, etc.. Some I really did like immensely, but they lacked that special quality to make it the definite production of ACL.

Seventeen years later after it closed, Broadway has brought back the first major revival. And with that I have finally found the perfect, definite production of A CHORUS LINE.

When it was announced there was going to be a Broadway revival, it was revealed that the material (book & lyrics) were not going to be updated or freshened up for today's audiences. I thought that was strange, cause there were some dated lines & references sprinkled throughout the show. Having now seen it, I can see why they left it intact.

They wanted us- the audience who never saw Michael Bennett's artistic beauty live to truly experience it. We are shown the creative genius that was Bennett right there on stage. It is his vision, his choreography that we see and get to so wonderfully explore.

In re-creating Bennett's vision, the musical has two members of that legendary original production to bring it back to life. Bob Avian won the Tony for co-choreographing the original CHORUS LINE with Bennett. This time around he serves as Director.  His direction is faultless here. While the book and score are left alone, Avian instead has allowed the cast to create their own interpretation of the characters. They do not copy the singing or acting whatsoever of the original, but instead flesh out new, original, vibrant characterizations under Avian's superb direction.

Baayork Lee originated the role of "Connie", the 4 foot Chinese girl who called herself "a peanut on Pointe". For this revival she serves as the choreographer who brings back Bennett and Avian's marvelous choreography back to life. Ms. Lee brings to the table a history of working with Bennett. She was part of the original "Turkey Lurkey" trio from PROMISES, PROMISES, which Bennett choreographed. Lee was there with the other original dancers telling stories about their lives that would become the material for the musical. Thus she knows every arm extension, every turn, and every flip of the head. But she also knows how each character came to be. It is breathtaking to see how Lee has brought back to life the original choreography. To watch such fantastic numbers as "Hello Twelve, Hello Thirteen" done in its original format is pure brilliance.

The entire line of dancers within this revival are spectacular, not a weak link in the bunch. It is so hard to pick out those who stood out, because each brought such passion and vibrant energy to their roles, they all deserve endless pages of accolades. Each one of them shined in his or own way to make their performance so magical. But there were some that had that extra spark.

Deidre Goodwin delivers a sensual, bold, and sassy performance as "Sheila", the dancer who remembers the choreography when she's up front. Goodwin wisely chose to steer clear of Carole Bishop's legendary portrayal of the role. Bishop would later change her name to Kelly during the original run.

Ms. Goodwin displays this great sense of being friendly, but don't push her, or else you'll come face to face with a tiger.  Her facial expressions are beautiful to watch, especially when the final eight are chosen. This is how amazing she is, at the performance that I attended, she received the loudest applause during curtain call from the audience. Like everyone else in that house, I too fell in love with Ms. Goodwin's performance.

Michael Paternostro is "Greg", who with his beard looks so much like Michael Bennett. So much so that for a split second you think that maybe Bennett might have actually come down from heaven to dance one last time. As the dancer who is Jewish and gay, Paternostro generates some of the best laughs within the show.

Jessica Lee Goldyn brings down the house with her comedic tour de force performance of the classic solo, "T*ts and a**." The combination of hysterical staging and delicious comedic timing and delivery from Goldyn makes her glow brightly on stage. But then observe her facial reactions at the end when the final eight are showing. You see so much of what "Val" feels inside. She now has the body they want, but she never repaired her heart, and rejection is still very much in the forefront of her psyche. Tears are streaming down her face as Zach makes the cuts. Ms. Goldyn delivers a fully textured performance here.

Another scene-stealer is Tony Yazbeck as "Al", the married dancer. In the past this role has tended to be over played with a heavy New Yawkish accent. Not here, Yazbeck gives the role an exquisite sense of compassion and humor. Talk about a triple threat here. Yazbeck has a gorgeous tenor voice; he dances beautifully, and has a grounded sense of organic truth to his acting. Observe his body language and facial expressions when he and his wife are not chosen, it will break your heart.

I strongly feel that Goldwyn, Yazbeck, and Goodwin were horribly robbed of Tony nominations for their terrific work in this production.

Within the large company providing smashing performances they include:

Michael Berresse as "Zach", the director/choreographer holding the auditions we are watching; Tyler Hanes as "Larry", Zach's assistant choreographer; Natalie Cortez as "Diana", the girl from the Bronx who sings two of the show's most memorable songs and does a wonderful job with both; Brad Anderson as "Don", the other married dancer; Mara Davi as "Maggie" whose soaring soprano voice on "At The Ballet" is sublime; Jeffrey Schecter as "Mike", the "I Can Do That" dancer; and Chryssie Whitehead as "Kristine" who is hysterical with the character driven number "Sing!"

Charlotte d'Amboise is "Cassie", the dancer who left Broadway to make it in Los Angeles, only to come back without any success from LaLa land. The relationship between Zach and Cassie is mirrored a lot after the real life relationship between Bennett and Donna McKechnie, who originated the role.

Fun fact here: In her current autobiography, TIME STEPS: MY MUSICAL COMEDY LIFE, McKechnie reveals that it was her painful, distant life with her father that made it into "At The Ballet". Such as the line, "I was born to save their marriage" and the Indian chief references.

Ms. d'Amboise dances the role with glorious results, and brings a devastating, complex, yet emotional center to the character arc. Her scenes with Berresse are full of layered subtext that unfolds with naked, raw, realism. She does however have a couple of minor struggles vocally with her big number, "The Music and the Mirror". She does not possess that booming belt that hits the back of the wall voice the song demands. Don't misunderstand me, she still does a solid job with the vocals, but it is her acting and dancing that make her performance so memorable.

Every production number is a glittery bauble. From the eye-popping dazzle of "I Hope I Get It" to the poignant "At The Ballet" to "What I Did for Love", which still puts a lump in my throat.

This revival of  A CHORUS LINE is a sparkling production, from those oh so familiar beginning chords of the piano that introduces the dancers, to that shimmering satin, rhinestone encrusted finale. This production is pure musical theater heaven. The dancing alone is mouth watering remarkable, but add to that  transcendent acting and golden vocals from a top notch cast and you have a must see hit on your hands!

GRADE: A
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A CHORUS LINE is playing at the Gerald Schoenfeld Theater, 236 West 45th Street, New York, NY.

To order tickets 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, please call:
·Inside the NY metro area (212) 239-6200
·Outside the NY metro area (800) 432-7250