A Chorus Line’s Zach: Brian Kulaga
On my thirteenth birthday (it might've been my fourteenth) my girlfriend at the time bought me "B'Way: The American Musical" CD; a compilation of songs from monumental musicals starting with [...]
On my thirteenth birthday (it might've been my fourteenth) my girlfriend at the time bought me "B'Way: The American Musical" CD; a compilation of songs from monumental musicals starting with [...]
The simple set design created by Christopher Rhoton made for the perfect space to allow a full cast to dance freely and display their beautiful technique, excellent character, and overall talent. The story is simple: these actors need this job. Every character has their moment to share, to put on display why it is they do what they do.
"When Mitzi was talking to us about how this show was created, she said one thing that I will hold onto forever," Hamman said. "She said that before 'A Chorus Line,' dancers were hired basically to look pretty; rarely did a dancer have a sort of speaking part in a show. "They had no identity or unique traits," he adds. "This show, 'A Chorus Line,' gave dancers a face, and an identity."
I came to the theatre expecting a superior dance piece which is how many patrons think of A Chorus Line. But what I saw was singing, acting and dancing from a high caliber group of actors. And, I dare to say there was also a fourth element that enhanced every single scene and that was the lighting design by Michael Wagner.
But "A Chorus Line" demands top-notch dancers including bona fide triple threats: singer-dancer-actors. At this point, not every member of Robin M. Hughes' young, capable ensemble matches that definition. Still the cast -- buoyed by performances from the crackerjack trio of Luke Halpern, Jessica Miret and Casiena Raether -- is solid.
But even more specifically, this show with this cast of young, non-Equity performers in a lovely though- relatively-unknown suburban venue with this staff working their asses off to gain a little traction among Chicagoland musical theatre patrons… Let’s just say some stars align.
But in this production--at least for this reviewer --it’s the raw talent too that helps burn these small cameo portraits into your heart. They all danced, but it was hard not to especially notice that Ivory Leonard IV has an ability to fly across the stage with grace that reminds of Fred Astaire in the oldie movies.
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If you enjoy the girl groups of the early 1960s as well as the individual performances of this decade’s latter part when women were gaining empowerment, "Beehive: The ‘60s Musical," is the show for you. It’s currently playing at the Metropolis Performing Arts Centre in Arlington Heights and is definitely worth the price of admission.