Theater Review (Waterbury, CT): A Chorus Line

I have a confession to make. I am a dance geek and Broadway musical nerd. I danced through the various stages of my life with pretty tutus and costumes from my childhood and painfully blistered feet from beginning lessons in toe shoes. I was part of the dance team in high school; I tapped my way through an unhappy marriage, and celebrated my divorce with ballroom lessons. Fred Astaire figures prominently in my dreams of what heaven is like. As for Broadway, I was the nerd with the collection of show tune records that I sang along with in the privacy of my room, a tradition that I carried on and passed on to my children. I can now confess that the few times I skipped school during my high school years, it was to take a train into New York to see a Broadway musical. Sometimes two in one day, because back then, in the ancient past, a Broadway show was not as expensive as they are now, and standing room tickets were readily available.I love the Broadway series that has been presented this year at the Palace Theater in Waterbury. Given my love for dance, I was overjoyed when I found out that A Chorus Line was coming to the Palace. The gilded and glamorous Palace Theater is the perfect setting for the Pulitzer Prize-winning musical. Since its original production in 1975, A Chorus Line has become the longest-running American Broadway musical ever. Its winning score by Marvin Hamlisch and Edward Kleban and fantastic original choreography by the incomparable Michael Bennett are classics. It won nine Tony Awards®, including “Best Musical,” and has been an inspiration to dancers and performers for generations. The production at the Palace Theater lived up to the show’s illustrious past and rekindled my love for musical theater. I was smiling from the opening notes through the end of the show, and I did my best not to sing along to the songs that have become a part of the repertoire of musical theater lovers everywhere. It was a thrill to once again see the dancers posed on the line, nervous and unsure and aching for their big break. In fact, it was a thrill to again experience a show that celebrates dance, from small numbers highlighting the talents of one or a few dancers, to big production numbers like the opening audition piece, and of course, the finale filled with mirrors, gold costumes, top hats, and the famous kick line.As stated in the show, each individual performer who made up that line was special. Standouts included Ashley Yeater as the somewhat older, jaded dancer Sheila, and Selina Verastigui as Diana, the would-be actress who felt “Nothing” in her improvisation course and opted for a career in dance instead. Kristin Martin as Val, whose solo number trumpeted the benefits of plastic surgery, and Hilary Michael Thompson as Kristine, the dancer who could never really “Sing!”, provided comic numbers. This is not to say that the show was perfect. It can be difficult for individual actors to live up to the classic and, let’s face it, idealized numbers and performances of those who have played the roles in the past. Rebecca Riker, as Cassie, the dancer who had some success as a Broadway star, was convincing as she struggled with toning down her dance style in order to fit back into the line, but she fell short in her solo number, “The Music and the Mirror.” Her dance was technically good, but lacked passion.  Her lackluster kicks and incomplete layouts gave me the impression that she was playing it safe and I was never convinced that she was dancing for her life. It was a disappointment.

Article Author: CindyC

Cindy's interests include books, music, charitable work, musical theater, the arts, Hugh Laurie, and House. She is now a member of the Connecticut Critics Circle.

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