AD | Tickets gifted in exchange of an honest review
A show about the journey of becoming a theatre performer with the question of what makes them want to perform? This 1975 musical has returned in this new production, which was originally staged at the Curve Theatre in Leicester back in 2021, and is hitting the road on a UK tour!
A Chorus Line is a concept musical, which is a type of musical that centres more around a theme or message, rather than a narrative. We follow seventeen stories of hopefuls and why they perform, and how they are all fighting for one of the eight places that are up for grabs. Originally created by Michael Bennett, Bennett uses real-life stories to create this great show. With a book by James Kirkwood, Nicholas Dante, Music by Marvin Hamlisch, Lyrics by Edward Kleban, Choreography by Ellen Kane and Directed by Nikolai Foster. A Chorus Line is the show that is still for aspiring performers of today.
A Chorus Line runs for 1 hour and 50 minutes with no interval. Like always, my reviews are 100% honest and I will always justify my ratings, thoughts and feelings, always giving constructive feedback and my opinions are my own.
Directed by Nikolai Foster, Foster creates some great direction, such as having the cast entering and exiting from the audience which made the audience feel like they were viewing an empty theatre. Plus how he created a singular moment for each of the hopefuls to ensure they had full focus on their moments. While this was great, Foster's directional choices do have its faults. One of these moments was during Manuel Pacific’s monologue, who plays Paul. Pacific's monologue is heartfelt and deep, covering some difficult subjects about his life and what had happened to him. The way this was presented to us felt slightly manic, with a little too much movement. Personally I felt that the interaction needed to be pulled in, with also needing to be smaller and with more stillness, this would've really helped the focus on the monologue, this was not a performer issue this was purely directional. The other directional choice by Foster, which I felt didn’t quite work, was the videography. We are seeing this more and more in shows recently, and while it suits some shows and cleverly adds to the performance, in this show it felt like a distraction. The video made you look at the big hanging screen rather than looking at the actual performers on stage, and at times the person on the screen wasn’t the person performing the song or monologue, which to me was confusing. Personally, a show like A Chorus Line needs to let the performers, book and music sing for itself, without adding these modern elements we are seeing currently, there were enough changes in this production to make it feel like a fresh production.
With this being said, Foster does create some beautiful moments too, such as Adam Cooper, who plays the Director Zach, the way his character at the end relives his dancing days with very simple direction of reaching for his hat and dusting it off was so impactful but so simple. The way Foster creates a feeling of getting deeper into the characters and why they perform even though they know how difficult the industry is. Foster’s direction is really good overall, I just feel it needed to stick to the simple direction that worked so well to create a great base for the performers to shine.
With a book by James Kirkwood and Nicholas Dante, both Kirkwood and Dante take these real-life stories and expand them into something that is special, and are still relevant today. This overriding message of “why they perform” is continuously visible through each character's stories, who individually express the ups and downs from their past to their present. Kirkwood and Dante’s writing is heartfelt and warming with also an addition of humour which is perfectly balanced to create the seventeen individual stories of theatre performers' journeys to achieve their dreams, each story felt well written, and pushed the show forward easily. I think the idea of making the show a concept musical is a good idea, it creates individuality and freedom in the piece, allowing each performer to get deeper into the details of their character.
A Chorus Line has music by Marvin Hamlisch and Lyrics by Edward Kleban, both Hamlisch and Kleban’s music and lyrics are brilliantly written and definitely help drive and tell the characters lives. Hamlisch’s lyrics have great narrative and really do help you understand each performers “Why?” Kleban’s impressive score feels grand and also creates different moods, tone and feelings which add to Hamlisch’s well known catchy lyrics.
Ellen Kane’s choreography is truly something! Kane’s energetic choreography is engaging and is quite simply terrific. Kane’s work has mixes of different styles and all really shine. From powerful slow elegant movements performed by Carly Mercedes Dyer, to the full out entertaining all cast numbers, which really makes you feel and see the original influences which are enjoyable and really tries to capture the original productions feel. Kane’s choreography is such a delight to watch from start to finish.
The cast are without a doubt a sensation that come together as an ensemble and display tremendous amounts of talent, through the fantastic choreography, and the incredible songs, while also having a moment to shine on their own.
All the cast are true talents with many standout performances from the likes of, Jocasta Almgill, who plays Diana Morales. Almgill is marvellous, wowing the audience with fabulous vocals, during ‘What I Did For Love’ is just one example. What I really liked about Almgill’s performance is that when asked “what are you going to do when you can’t dance?” You can see the change in an instant in the character, which made me feel and see the character looking back but also looking to the future making you see the true feeling of Morales’ “Why”.
Carly Mercedes Dyer performs Kane’s choreography exceptionally well, the contemporary choreography is beautiful and wonderfully performed and with that moment created something special to watch. Mercedes Dyer shows just how hard the industry can be with showing determination and the pure passion for performing, with insisting that going back into the chorus line would be enough, it’s something that probably performers can relate to and have a connection with Mercedes Dyer's character Cassie.
Archie Durrant plays Mark Anthony, Durrant’s character is new to the performing world, Durrant has a very likeable performance, and does take on the role really well, Durrant is excellent during ‘Montage part I’, Durrant shows Mark’s eagerness and want to be a performer while also feeling very natural on stage, Durrant is a great performer.
Grace Smart’s set design is very much paired back, which has the whole stage space in open view to the audience making what would be the wings visible to the audience. Personally I really liked the idea of it being open as it helps Foster's direction by giving the feel of an empty theatre and letting us see behind the scenes.
A Chorus Line is a classic, and is sure a hit, while this production is very good it adds something that isn’t needed and makes you lose focus of what you should really be watching. With that being said we get something that is simply a show for performers performed by performers! The show will definitely have a connection to many, with unforgettable songs, seventeen singular stories and remarkable choreography.
A Chorus Line is the show for all aspiring performers.
★★★★
A Chorus Line plays at the Lowry Theatre until Saturday 27th of July, click below to book your tickets.
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