Arvada Center
Seen 9/27/2017
A Chorus Line is, simply put, the story of an audition for places in the chorus of a coming Broadway musical Performers who appear in the chorus have to be able to dance and dance well in a variety of styles from jazz, to tap to ballet and more. To carry this musical off you cannot shortchange the dancing. It is quite literally the reason the characters in the show and those who loved the stories behind the characters do what they do. They love it. Hence, the song What I Did For Love, late in the show. Thus, it was with some trepidation that I sat down to watch A Chorus Line at the Arvada Center. I have been to many shows at the Arvada Center, and while the dancing was competent, it was never the highlight of any show, mostly because it was performed by people who were far from trained dancers. I needn’t have been worried. Instead, the dancing was excellent and I was reminded of how a good a show A Chorus Line is.
The cast as a whole rocked this show. They danced and performed their hearts out. Each one creates a unique person whose only goal is to get the job. Over the course of the evening they bare their hearts and lives. Standouts in the universally strong cast were Jake Mendes as Paul, Katie Mitchell as Sheila, Parker Redford as Bobby and Natalie Clater as Diana. Mr. Mendes does not get a solo song but he does get an aria in a monologue delivered near the end of the show. Mr. Mendes hits it out of the park. He makes you feel this characters shame and pain. I was one of many in tears by the time it was over. Ms. Mitchell captures the jaded cynicism of the oldest performer with every move she makes. From the barely dancing through the early audition to the acid comments dropped along the way, you know this character has seen it all. Then, she opens the door on the pain that caused the character to become who she is. Ms. Clater’s Diana is the heart of the show. She is all about the love of dancing and knowing what you want and going for it. She nails Nothing and then breaks are hearts in What I Did For Love. I cannot say exactly why Mr. Redford stands out. I only know that he seemed to have an extra spark that made you root for his character.
All of these performers more than carry off the dancing. The comments from the choreographer in the program were enlightening. She wanted to bring the characters from dancing with all their individual quirks to a polished chorus line at the end. Kitty Hilsback pulls this off incredibly well. From the opening number where all the dancers bring their characters quirks to the dancing making them seem like a group of individuals all doing the same steps to the rousing One where we get a unified chorus in all its glory we see the characters arcs visibly in the choreography.
The one weakness in the show is the distraction of the relationship between Zach, the director of the musical, and Cassie an old flame and former chorus girl. This plot piece feels like it was thrown in to add a wrinkle to the show and give the director a personal stake in one of the auditions. Instead of really adding to the show it detracts from the core of the show, the lives and stories of the dancers in the chorus. This is not to say that the performers do not give it their all. They do. Danya Tietzen, in particular gives her all to Cassie’s big number, The Music and The Mirror. Still I wanted more. I felt like the choreography here had been made simpler than it should have been so the performer could look good and sell the number. The result is that it did not quite feel like the pure release of the love of and desire just to dance that it should be.
In the end, the dead giveaway that the show has worked is the moment when the sixteen dancers come to the line and await the final decision on who is in and who is out. The fact that we feel we know each character as an individual enough to care about the result says everything. We feel for the people who have been cut, while understanding why. We celebrate with those that made the show. I felt all of this at this outstanding show.
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