You won’t forget, can’t regret catching ‘A Chorus Line’ at Drury Lane
The Company. Photo by Brent Beiner.
An obvious lede, that, yes, but every little step that Drury Lane’s twenty-seven triple-threat sensations take reminds patrons why A Chorus Line is musical theatre church.
Lyrics from the show’s signature song, “One,” write this review. Give them your attention. Uncommonly rare. Poetic and chic. Maddening poise, effortless whirl. Loaded with charisma. Jauntily sauntering, ambling quintessence of making the grade.
Indeed, they’re the ones!
Think of this as Studs Terkel’s Working for dancers: twenty-five dancers work with a director/choreographer to see which eight will be cast in the chorus of a new Broadway show. That extra frisson is knowing that what these dancers say to make their individual cases is based on real-life stories garnered through hours of interviews with Broadway ensemble dancers. (Book by James Kirkwood and Nicholas Dante; music by Marvin Hamlisch; and lyrics by Edward Kleban.)
Drury Lane’s production lives up to the musical’s award-laden legend. Director/choreographer Jane Lanier keeps the show in its original period (circa 1975), with terrific costumes and hairstyling to match. (Kudos to Sarah Cubbage, Heather C. Jackson and Emily Young.) Crucially, she also keeps many elements from Michael Bennett’s Broadway original, from some of its signature steps (co-choreography by Bob Avian, tender of Bennett’s flame until his death) and the use of mirrored reflections and stunning lighting to that upstage wall of mirrors.
It’s tricky to pick standouts in a piece about the anonymity of the whole. Even so, they emerge. As Diana, the lovely Broadway and national tour veteran Yesy Garcia slays the signature solo portion of “What I Did for Love,” along with her solo of frustration, “Nothing.” Wonderful Sawyer Smith, among this reviewer’s favorite local performers, is as fabulous as he is hilarious. And Alexandra Palkovic as Sheila hides the fallout of a sad childhood behind peppery wryness.
In one opinion, two of the show’s most poignant scenes would benefit from a bit of editing (read: shortening). The first is Paul’s heartbreaking childhood tale, magnificently performed by Martin Ortiz Tapia, “the Swiss Army knife of Chicago dance,” per Dance Magazine. This strongest dramatic piece of the show would be better at a minute shorter. As would the character Cassie’s “The Music and the Mirror” dance solo. Performed impeccably by another Broadway and national tour actor, Sara Andreas, Cassie is a tough but damaged ex of the director desperate to dance professionally once again. Her performance shows she obviously still has the chops.
Musical direction by Carolyn Brady and Christopher Sargent’s lead on a seven-member pit orchestra bring accomplished musicianship. In addition to “One” and “What I Did for Love,” the beautiful “At the Ballet,” gorgeously performed by Alley Ellis (Maggie), TJ Tapp (Bebe) and Palkovic, is a choral delight.
There’s certainly humor, drama and enough raw talent to wax poetic about the nuances each of these twenty-seven singular sensations brings to Drury Lane’s Chorus Line. But the real takeaway is that this ensemble encourages patrons to ask themselves the seasonally appropriate question each of them answers with their splendid performance: What would you do for love?
A Chorus Line runs through March 19th at the Drury Lane Theatre, 100 Drury Lane, Oakbrook Terrace, IL. For tickets or more information, please call (630) 530-0111 or click here.
For more reviews on this or other shows, please visit theatreinchicago.com.