"New York City. 1975. On an empty Broadway stage, seventeen performers are put through their paces in the final, gruelling audition for a new Broadway musical. Only eight will make the cut."
A Chorus Line is a torrid tale of ambition, shattered hopes, and the cost of following your dreams. The musical that revolutionised Broadway, with creator Michael Bennett's use of real-life testimonies from late-night recording sessions with dancers, this show features iconic songs including One, I Hope I Get It, Nothing, and the emotive ballad, What I Did For Love. While the dancing is, of course, this show’s biggest selling point, the performers each had their chance to showcase strong vocals, and these were particularly highlighted in What I Did For Love.
An ensemble show, A Chorus Line has no particularly complex scenery or elaborate props — for the most part, it is simply a dance studio for auditions — and the costuming too is fairly simple, until the finale number which gives it a burst of glitz and showmanship. There are also no complex plotlines in this production, however, the show does have a tale of romance and heartbreak from Zach and Cassie woven beneath the surface, and bursts of humour, innuendo and camp comedy lines add a warmth to the gruelling audition process.
The energetic, synchronized dance routine choreography, catchy songs, and depth of storytelling from the show's characters make A Chorus Line still as captivating and enjoyable for audiences as it surely was when it first premiered in 1975.
Everything in A Chorus Line builds up to the sparkling, outstanding finale number with its memorable music, stunning dance number, and the iconic gold outfits. A Chorus Line truly is a 'singular sensation' of a show.
A Chorus Line runs for roughly 1hr 50mins, without an interval, which adds somewhat to the intensity and the pressure of the emotions felt by the dancers in this story. I would highly suggest you make sure drinks, snacks and bathroom breaks are sorted prior to the start of the show though, as you won't get another opportunity without missing some of the action.
Originally produced at Curve and directed by Nikolai Foster, with a book by James Kirkwood and Nicholas Dante, music by Marvin Hamlisch and lyrics by Edward Kleban, this production of A Chorus Line sees Adam Cooper (Singin’ in the Rain, Matthew Bourne’s Swan Lake) and Carly Mercedes Dyer (The Drifters Girl Tour, Anything Goes, Barbican Theatre, Dreamgirls, Savoy Theatre) reprise their roles as Zach and Cassie which they played to great critical acclaim at Curve in 2021.
A Chorus Line at The Birmingham Hippodrome runs from 10th - 14th September.
Comments