Broadway: A Chorus Line, November 2006
Philip on Jan 10 2007
This musical is perhaps the show that I’ve seen more than any other since I started going to Broadway shows back in 1974. I was so pissed off when the movie version of A Chorus Line came out because in my humble opinion it ranks as one the worst stage to screen transfers along with the movie version of The Wiz, another show that I had seen a number of times.I was not sure what this new cast would bring to the table and was quite interested to see if they lived up what I remembered being an inspiring show for all performing artists, knowing what we all did for love.
From those opening five notes and the count off by Zack “A five, six, seven, eight” we are back into the story of A Chorus Line. As I watched, everything came flooding back. I was comparing actors to the ones I had seen years ago, listening to the difference in specific song arraignments and I have to say that this version did not disappoint. There were definite differences in the way certain roles were played, not better or worse, just different.
I was happy that they did not try to update the story but kept in the 70s. From what I can remember they did not change anything and I was quite pleased. The highlights for me have always been “At the Ballet”, “The Music and The Mirror”, “Dance Ten, Looks Three” and of course “What I Did For Love”, and they did not disappoint. Strong performances from the characters Diana, Paul and Cassie, to point out the standouts but overall not a weak performance in this cast.
reproduced from Nico and Philip’s Travel Blog
