Chorus Line is  A Reflection Of the Human
Spirit

by Pat Lindsey

Touted by critics as “the best musical–ever,” A Chorus Line has the same appeal for audiences today as it did 42 years ago when it won a Pulitzer and Tony Award for Best Musical on Broadway. With music by the late great Marvin Hamlisch and lyrics by Edward Kleban, it was destined to have a long, successful lifespan that earned eight additional Tony Awards and a 15-year run on Broadway.

 A Chorus Line gives the audience an up close and personal view into the lives of 17 dancers who desperately want to be chosen for one of the eight available places in the chorus line of a Broadway show. They not only need a job to survive, but they need it to fulfill their hopes, dreams and validate their human existence. The concept seems simple, but as director-choreographer Zach (Ivan Hernandez) peers into the dancers’ lives through personal interviews, we soon learn how complex each person is.

The Muny’s opening scene puts the audience on stage by reflecting it in huge mirrors. The dancers have their backs to the live audience and it appears that they are rigorously learning their dance steps to audition for the audience that is reflected in those mirrors. The cast sings “I Hope I Get It” and Zach’s commanding voice is heard from off-stage as he directs the grueling audition process. After the dancers have sufficiently repeated the routines over and over again, Zach asks them to line up and tell him something about themselves. This creates a great deal of angst for several of the dancers who reluctantly reveal secrets about themselves that probably shocked audiences in 1975. In some cases, the interviews are more like confessions. When Paul (Ian Paget) is finally able to tell his story of being an abused gay male, Zach’s toughness softens as he steps on stage to hold Paul and allow him to cry in his arms.

During “The Music and the Mirror,” a standout performance is delivered by Cassie (Bianca Marroquin), who was once romantically involved with Zach, failed at achieving stardom in L.A., and now wants to start all over again in the chorus line. Her solo dance among the mirrors is riveting and there is no doubt in anyone’s mind that she should have been a star.

Despite their personal circumstances, every dancer makes it clear that dancing is their true love. Diana (Hannah Florence) gave me goosebumps when she sang, “What I Did for Love.” There are many bright spots in this show where individual performers shine, but the entire company singing “One” is the show topper and gold-studded glittery finale.

Director/choreographer Denis Jones has triumphed with this production of A Chorus Line. Departing from the original script, he has added children to portray some of the dancers in their youth. As they give their interviews to Zach, some burst into song and dance. When Mike (Sean Harrison Jones) sings about how he learned to dance in “I Can Do That,” a little boy in a matching outfit dances beside him.

Special praise goes to Paige Hathaway for scenic design. From the huge mirrors that reflect the dancers’ lives, to the posting of the enormous head shots of the dancers across the stage, to identifying every cast member in the closing credits, she has updated the timeless show with a new emphasis on each character. By the end of the show, the audience really knows each of the dancers chosen for the chorus line.

    A Chorus Line has danced its way into the present while retaining every bit of its greatness from the past. It’s so much more than “a singular sensation.”

Performances are nightly at 8:15 p.m. at The Muny in Forest Park from now through August 4. Muny-goers should be aware that there is no intermission for this show and concession stands and restrooms should be visited before showtime.

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