The Evolving Expression of Live Theater - by Joe Keefe

Stunning, delicate, explosive, intimate, touching, immersive, passionate, funny, lovely – these are the characteristics of live theater and when done well, there is simply no substitute for the immediacy and power of a good old show. As a theater artist somewhere in my sixth decade, I continue to be amazed at theater’s ability to evolve through its primary asset: the actor.

A Chorus Line, now running at our Metropolis, is a modern staple of musical theater with a history too profound to easily describe. Yet this legendary show, this face on theater’s Mount Rushmore, continues to evolve and refresh with each new iteration as the show both invites and demands the very best from each generation of actors.

Sheila – the lovely yet world-weary vamp – and Val – the steamy self-made woman – are rivals at the audition, each vying for attention both for their talents and their attributes. These are talented professionals, wary of each other, a simmering duel forming one of the many subplots of a very tense day. In many versions of A Chorus Line, this rivalry becomes openly antagonistic, as each dancer tries to upstage the other.

And then theater evolves.

In a closing dress rehearsal, I was honored to experience an entirely new moment of this show. At the end of the audition as Sheila (Kara Schoenhofer) has been dismissed and is walking to collect her bag, she passes Val (Mollyanne Moon). In the past, the look passing between the dancers would have been daggers or icicles. These two brilliant actors evolved the moment, eyes welling with tears as the rivals ache for each other, the rivalry ending for now, the loss each will feel without the other’s presence.

It is a moment of wonder, of newness, of aching loveliness – a moment of pure theater, an evolution that advances the work and the art form. This is just one example of transformative power in this show and there are many more: Diana’s (Jessica Miret) battle for righteousness, Cassies’ (Casiena Raether) quest for acceptance, and Paul’s (Luke Halpern) search for himself and many more – the show overflows with funny, dramatic, touching and exquisite expressions.

Robin Hughes, a Director of colossal talent, provides both guidance and freedom for actors to finds these moments, to discover fresh forms of connections in the context of an established, venerable production. Excellent direction leads to an awakening of possibilities which the actors not only pursue but also thrive within. Theater continues to transform, to advance, to dazzle us with its immediacy.

It is my honor to be a part of this ongoing evolution.