Edgy provocative storylines with a mix of fun and heartfelt songs made three hours fly by. ‘A Chorus Line’ made its opening debut on Feb. 28 at College of the Canyon’s Performing Arts Center in Santa Clarita.
Although the show ran longer than expected, sitting in the cramped theater chair was not torturous by any means. The play had vivacious dance choreography and strong vocals up to the end.
Presented by Santa Clarita Regional Theatre and originally directed and choreographed by Michael Bennett, ‘A Chorus Line’ follows 17 dancers during a Broadway audition. Set in the 1970s, the audience soon learns about each character and their struggles in life on and off the stage.
Only eight dancers make the chorus line and get the job. Each dancer had a compelling story to be told, but not everyone made the cut.
Cassie (Denise Plummer) is a washed up star who comes back to audition for a small chorus line job. Her ex, Broadway director Zack (Jarod Scott), comes to head with her decision.
As the chorus auditions unfold so do the characters, and the play doesn’t hold back on much. Homosexual characters revealed their intimate lifestyles and childhoods. Paul (Hebert Pabon) had a compelling monologue in which he tells the director about his dancing past and difficult family relationships.
On the lighter side, Greg (Tim Kendall) speaks of his numerous ‘hard-ons’ that occurred during school and how they applied to pretty much everything except girls. Bobby (Spencer Moreno) thought his normal adolescent changes were a sexually transmitted disease. It wasn’t until a Catholic priest set the young boy straight.
While the male plot-lines bounced from serious to downright hilarious, the women were far from being upstaged.
Their stories and sang were just as meaningful and comical. Sheila (Rena Bailey-Barrett) went into her rocky childhood with her dad while Val (Amber Leigh Grebmeier) sang about her ‘tits and ass.’ The song ‘Dance Ten Looks Three’ was about how Val buys ‘tits and ass’ to further her dancing career. Needless to say, endless opportunities opened up once her looks improved as much as her dancing.
‘Dance Ten Looks Three’ was an enjoyable melody that left the packed theater laughing. Every song had an effect on the crowd.
The songs were an expression of each character’s situation in life, tits and ass and all. Its end result created an intimate setting for the theater as the characters opened a window into their life.
At the end the audience was left wanting more. Who knows what will happen to the old dancer who believes her career is nearing the end? We will never know what happens to the 11 who did not make the chorus line.
Even though they were merely actors in a play and just words in a script, ‘A Chorus Line’ came alive on stage. It left the audience with feelings of empathy and laughter. Most of all after three full hours in that tiny theater seat, we were still longing for more.
