“If you’ve got a good curtain call, the audience leaves thinking the show was good, even if it wasn’t.” Director Neal Newman
This quote more or less sums up the recent production of “A Chorus Line” produced by Seattle Musical Theatre. Originally produced on Broadway by Joseph Papp’s New York Shakespeare Festival in 1974, this famous award-winning musical was staged at MagnusonPark. “A Chorus Line” takes place during an audition for dancers/singers (gypsies) who go through dance and singing auditions and then have chats of varying length with the off-stage director. The “gypsies” discuss their miserable childhoods as a motivating force for performing-as if this was some sort of earth shattering revelation. However, the audience was cheated, because the content of the “gypsies” monologues were the details of their tragic upbringings, not how performing had rescued them by providing positive experiences with lots of endorphin rushes. No performer goes through that much rejection and insecurity simply because they were scarred by childhood experiences, but rather because the joy of performing heals those scars.
Also the play left out one thing that does tend to motivate performers: the love of auditioning. It is usually fun, it is a chance to perform, it is a chance to meet new people, as well as learn new things, and you may not get cast in the show you are auditioning for, but one year later you might just get a call asking if you can get to rehearsal the next day because they need you right away. Even if the stage manager or director acts like a jerk-there will be great value in the narration. This aspect of the performers experience was not developed and since the play didn’t say anything new about performers’ existential angst, 90 minutes was far too long.
The play itself and the accompanying music and lyrics are all too depressing with only one up-beat number. The only way to sustain a musical without a plot, character development, interesting costumes, polished dance numbers, a protagonist, catchy music, interesting lyrics or very much conflict is to have stellar performances, which were lacking in this production. The curtain call was the only scene which dazzled because it was danced to the one interesting song, had brilliant costumes and some excellent choreography.
A CHORUS LINE, Music by Marvin Hamlisch and Lyrics by Edward Kleban. Seattle Musical Theatre, MagnusonPark. 7120-62nd Ave,NE Seattle,WA98115 , Feb. 10 to Mar. 4. For tickets call (206) 363-2809, www.seattlemusicaltheatre.org