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Jones’ choreography is breathtakingly complicated, with rapid changeups in dance styles and far less repetition of sequences than the original. Jones reimagines all but the most iconic and unchangeable dance sequences, introducing elements of not only modern and jazz styles, but also a few recognizable mainstream dance moves and winks to other iconic Broadway show choreography like West Side Story. Signature choreographer Denis Jones takes a huge risk with the classic – and it pays off. Most productions hew closely to Michael Bennett’s original high-kicking, tap-happy choreography and for good reason-much of the dialogue of the show has the director (modeled on Bennett himself) calling out the steps to the dancers.
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In more comic roles, Maria Rizzo as Sheila-an acid-tongued dancer nearing 30-and her best friend Bobby (Ben Gunderson)-a clownishly-energetic optimist who’s got his sights set on the silver screen-are devilishly funny.īut any production of A Chorus Line is ultimately about the dancing. Phil Young (Richie) and members of the cast of A Chorus Line at Signature Theatre. A true triple threat, Pecchioni delivers a heartbreakingly vulnerable performance and showcases a bright, clear soprano with an impressive range. Kayla Pecchioni, as wide-eyed Maggie similarly entrances the audience. Jeff Gorti stuns as Paul – a painfully shy dancer who reveals the story of his childhood and early career as a drag performer in such tenderly awkward fashion that the audience is absolutely riveted. Such intimate surrounds allow the actors to connect to the audience in a raw, almost unsettling way. Zach sits hunched over a small desk, staged smack in the middle of the audience itself, causing the first few rows to crane their necks back and forth to be sure not to miss anything. The dance “line” on which the actors gather is set back only the slightest distance from the lip of the stage, the dancers almost looming out over the audience. Staged in Signature’s self-described “intimate” MAX theater, Director Matthew Gardiner and choreographer Denis Jones blur the line between actors and audience. Signature Theatre’s A Chorus Line digs deeper into the psyches of the struggling young performers than any production I’ve ever seen, stripping the characters bare before the audience (not literally) in a manner so disarming, you forget you’re watching a musical. Zach wonders the same and, after thinning the herd down to 8 female and 8 male dancers (still twice as many as he can cast), he begins to pry from each desperate-to-please auditionee, the sometimes funny, sometimes disturbing parts of their past that led them to become dancers. It’s perhaps one of the least romantic versions of ‘Broadway stardom’ one could imagine – leaving the audience to wonder: why would anyone put up with all of that-the hours of exhaustive, repetitive dancing, the constant criticism and public shaming-just to dance in the chorus? Emily Tyra (Cassie) and Matthew Risch (Zach) with the cast of A Chorus Line at Signature Theatre. Amidst the furious flurry of movement, the audience can see the grim concentration on the dancer’s faces, only partially masked by their bright, forced, stage smiles, and palpably feel their fear. (Photo: Christopher Mueller)Ĭasting director Zach (a tensely-brooding, near-smoldering Matthew Risch) relentlessly puts the dancers through their paces again and again as he barks out cues, interjected with harsh criticisms aimed at particular dancers, in humiliating fashion.
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![back on the chorus line back on the chorus line](https://theartsdesk.com/sites/default/files/styles/mast_image_landscape/public/mastimages/achorusline.jpg)
Trevor Michael Schmidt (Mike) and the cast of A Chorus Line at Signature Theatre. On a barren stage-devoid of any scenery or set but for a wall of floor to ceiling mirrors to evoke a dance studio-a nervous gaggle of young dancers lines up, shoulder to shoulder (here, along a brightly lit neon line set into the stage), to audition for the few choice spots in the chorus of an unnamed Broadway show. A Chorus Line is known as one of the most pared-down, starkly intimate “song-and-dance shows” in the Broadway canon.