Chicago, The Wiz, The Rocky Horror Show and A Chorus Line all opened on Broadway in 1975. Does A Chorus Line stand up to the test of time?
The show presses a few contemporary preoccupations, particularly the current popularity of the musical, competition, the audition process, and the bid by talented singers, dancers and musicians for acclaim and status via shows like The X Factor. The opening is thrilling with dance choruses and the disembodied voice of Zach the producer shouting out steps, instructions and corrections to 17 triple-threat hopefuls all trying to be picked for eight dancing spots in a Broadway musical. There’s humour in the way each dancer steps in line, fluffs a step or mimics the sequence idiosyncratically.
Ironically, Josh Horner, judge of Dancing With the Stars plays the all-powerful Zach and displays his own dancing finesse on stage. As far as musicals go, and this is one of the positives, choreography and dance routines are the focus rather than belting singing stars. There are songs, but dance is at the fore, and the only song that truly lingers in the memory’s musical bank is ‘One’, and that is continually reprised as a ghostly echo or half-hearted rehearsal music. The theatrical edge rests in the execution of show biz choreography – all fan kicks, travelling and dazzling spins.
Ours is an era saturated in reality TV in which nurses, border control officials, truck drivers, wannabe pop stars and chefs, and wife-hunting farmers spill their innermost secrets to millions every night. The media is brimming with the everyman or everywoman’s personal stories. So when Zach prods, probes and needles his auditioning force and each one spills the beans about their ‘truth’, whether that rests in toxic families, abusive experiences, poverty, unemployability or jaded dreams, it is not a sufficient enough draw card to capture interest. There are too many snatched stories and this segment is stretched to the limit. A few sneaked a peek at their watches, perhaps wondering when the drama really kicked in. When the spotlight hones in on a few it intensifies, but never enough.
Sheila (Deborah Krizak) is jaded and oozing snooty contempt and walks her way through the audition sequences, yet Krizak is not entirely convincing. Cassie (Deone Zanotto) is Zach’s former lover; her solo aspirations have nose-dived, she needs a job and yearns to be once more a ‘gypsy’ in the chorus again despite Zach’s misgivings. The theatrical crossfire between them is as theatrical as it ever gets. Apparently Cassie is too gifted but her danced solo, ‘The Music and The Mirror’ is horribly crass and doesn’t merit critical Zach’s admiration. Paul (Ross Hannaford) is shamed by his sense of belonging when he danced in the Jewel Box Drag Review but his pain isn’t persuasive. Sage Douglas’ Val does hit the spot in her spoof on her commercially purchased physical endowments. Kurt Douglas is terrific as Richie.
Some found it slow. Another was moved to tears having seen the original production on Broadway. Others said the final number – all glitz and golden, bling fuelled, hat-doffing glam with the moves finally polished to perfection in ‘One’ – made up for the deficits. The revival is founded perhaps more on sentiment for another era, a time when process and the inner workings of the artist and performer was still a mystery, but this reviewer found it dated; an over-rated, toe-tapping anachronism despite the best efforts of the energetic cast.
Rating: 3 stars
A Chorus Line
Conception, Original Director/Choreographer: Michael Bennett
Director and Original Co-Choreographer: Bob Avian
Book: James Kirkwood & Nicholas Dante
Music: Marvin Hamlisch
Lyrics: Edward Kleban (1939-1987)
Director/Choreographer: Baayork Lee
Scenic Design: Robin Wagner
Costume Design: Theoni V Aldredge
Original Lighting Designer: Tharon Musser
Lighting Design Adapter: Natasha Katz
Producer: Tim Lawson
Executive Producer: John Breglio
Cast includes Kurt Douglas, Sage Douglas, Ross Hannaford, Deborah Krizak and Deone Zanotto
Lyric Theatre, Queensland Performing Arts Centre
16 November – 2 December
