A Chorus Line

  “Step, kick, kick, leap, kick, touch...... Again!” 

As the time came for the show to start, children ran on to fill the front apron of the stage. They began stretching, and as the piano played the show’s opening chords, these children began dancing (not altogether in time) to the music. “Step, kick, kick, leap, kick, touch... Again!” In that moment, I honestly sat in my chair thinking “Oh God! This is going to be a long night…”. I thought this for two reasons. One, A Chorus line is traditionally performed by triple-threat-adults. Two, the content in the show, in my opinion, is not for kids to try to interpret.

The opening bars of the show came to an end and as the show kicked into full gear, the orchestra joined the piano, the curtain went up, the lighting state changed, and out of the wings came bounding the adult cast with aplomb. If they were trying to create an impact, they certainly did, and they did it well! The children dissipated and the adult cast continued on to dance out the opening number, ‘God, I Hope I Get It!’. If I can single out two dancers, Robbie Carmellotti and Melanie Ott danced with skill and poise, and shone in their respective groups; their technique and experience being obvious as they effortlessly moved around the stage. Overall, Karen Pottinger-Taylor’s choreography in this and other group numbers was together and appropriate.

First time director Drew Downing’s vision for this show was ambitious, and he has done a very good job bringing all of the elements together. The most obviously different thing about this interpretation of A Chorus Line – apart from the inclusion of children – was that this company set it in the present. Traditionally, the show is set in the late 70’s, and I have not seen a company attempt to stage this show as anything but a period piece. The performers wore a mix of modern clothing and dancewear, and the stage was dressed with a number of scaffolding pieces and mirrors. Also, there were two plasma screens on either side of the stage, showing live footage of the onstage action. The performers would even perform directly at the cameras at different times. The lighting helped create atmosphere and focal points throughout. Visually, it looked like a So You Think You Can Dance concert, and I’m pleased to report, seeing A Chorus Line presented as such was one of the most refreshing things I have seen on stage in a long time. The music was also given a modern edge with the inclusion of extra guitar charts to give it a more contemporary rock feel at appropriate times. Sound was generally good, but at times the orchestra/ vocal balance didn’t allow some of the subtle lyrics to be heard through ‘The Montage’ and ‘One: Rehearsal’.

For the most part, many references in the script were appropriately changed to complement the present day setting. The characters’ years of birth were updated from circa 1940’s to 1980’s. References to past stars of the stage and screen were also updated to include today’s Catherine Zeta-Jones and Cameron Diaz. My only criticism with regards to the period change was that some of the references in the show were left untouched. For instance, the mention of The Ed Sullivan Show was no longer appropriate, as the show would not have been on TV if the character of Christine was growing up in the 80’s and 90’s. Also, I would have changed the name ‘Larry’ to something more appropriate for the girl playing the role.

The production featured some very good performances, and as the night progressed, the use of the children became something that impressed me more and more. It became obvious that every child on stage was a representation of one of the show’s adult characters as they were growing up. This was evident as they were costumed the same, but smaller. Luke Vare as Mike began performing “I can do that” – a tap number in which he tells the story of beginning tap classes as a child – and I was impressed by his ability to sing and tap simultaneously. Soon into the number, a young Bailey Nathan-Park joined him, dressed as his “mini-me”, and the two tapped though the rest of the song seamlessly. I was blown away at Nathan-Park’s ability, and watching the two dancing together was sublime. The three younger cast members who featured with their older counterparts in “At the Ballet” were also graceful, and the performances in “The Music and The Mirror” by Melanie Ott and Harmony Thomas were uplifting. It was lovely to see a genuine rapport between the girls as they danced.

What was most clever was that the use of the children was incredibly appropriate to content of the songs. The Montage in particular, in which the characters reminisce about their early teen years, included the younger representations of each character, only to help the audience visually realise what the song was about. Whilst Panorama are a youth oriented theatre company, I was pleased to see that these children were not just on stage for the sake of it. Their presence added depth to the stories being told.

I would like to commend standout performances by Tara Kabalan as Maggie, my favourite voice on the stage for its pure clarity and strength in ‘At the Ballet’, Letecha Cadle as Sheila who commanded with just enough bite, and Gracie Sabbatucci who packed a punch as feisty but likable Connie. Ashlee Smith gave a rousing rendition of “Dance: Ten, Looks: Three” and certainly had the figure for the role, while Avril Campbell-Smith sang beautifully as Diana. I also enjoyed watching Timothy Blencowe who sang convincingly through his jazzy vocals, and Ashley Roussety hit some high tenor notes as the “Black…ish” cast member.

I found some of the monologues were not as convincing as I would have liked. I would have enjoyed more stillness from Nathan Eva as he portrayed his camp, slightly deranged alter-ego Bobby, and Douglass Halls as Mark seemed to lack confidence in his delivery of the Gonorrhea passage. Shaun Harvey had a nice and gentle presence as Paul, but raced through his monologue, which otherwise has the potential to be one of the most poignant moments in the show.

The Finale was well done, and saw the entire company back on the stage. This number can be tricky to prepare for, as there is little time for costume changes. Extra music and lighting was added to fill in some of the time before the performers came back on to finish the show. My only disappointment here was with the costumes. I would have liked them to be a bit more elegant in design, and more consistent within the male cast where some wore black jeans, some wore pants, and t-shirts ranged from baggy to tight. Costumes aside, the dancing was polished and ended the show with a bang… and 32 bars of well-delivered fan kicks!

My personal nit-picks aside, this production was polished, and gave a breath of fresh air to what is now generally considered a classic period piece. Congratulations to Downing on taking a huge risk and successfully re-vamping A Chorus Line, and to the cast for making this production truly unique. I really enjoyed it, as did many I spoke to afterwards. Unfortunately, the show was only playing for one weekend and is now closed. Hopefully you didn’t miss this ‘singular sensation’!

Christian has performed in a variety of shows including, ‘The Lion’ and ‘The Tinman’ in productions of The Wizard of Oz, ‘Tommy’ in Annie Get Your Gun, ‘Nick’ in Fame, ‘Marius’ in Les Misérables, ‘Michael’ in The Witches of Eastwick and ‘Billy’ in Anything Goes in his home town, Geelong.Since moving to Melbourne he has performed with Whitehorse Music Theatre in A Chorus Line as ‘Paul’ and as a ‘Wickersham Brother’ in Seussical. He was ‘Eddie’ in CLOC’s Blood Brothers, ‘Austin’ in I Love You Because with SHooSH! Productions and ‘Danny’ in PLOS’s Grease. He was last seen in Working with 3 Big Men Productions. Christian works as a graphic designer by day and is currently in rehearsals for Rent which opens next week at the Besen Centre, Burwood.