Dance: Ten, Looks: Ten, Drama: Well, not that high. Paraphrasing one of its lyrics, that's my assessment of the new production of A Chorus Line. Today's hoofers dance as well as the original cast from 1975, and most of them sing better.
The show looks the same, using a bare stage and mirrors, and that's fine. But the story now seems obvious and overwrought. Three scenes in particular are tedious, through no fault of the actors. One is the dialogue between ex-lovers Zach and Cassie. (He doesn't think she can sublimate her individuality and become part of an ensemble. We get the point. Then the script repeats it again and again.) Also the long and maudlin story of Paul whose parents saw him dance in drag. We yearn to tell him to stop feeling ashamed. And finally the scene leading into "What I Did For Love," where the proclamations about the importance of a dance career are excessive.
The overall theme still resonates, encouraging young people to be themselves, even as they seek jobs where everyone has to mirror everyone else's moves.
James T. Lane makes a fabulous Broadway debut as Richie, kicking, strutting, singing and sparkling with personality. Charlotte D'Amboise is excellent as the beginning-to-age Cassie, in a class with Donna McKecknie's original-cast achievement. Deidre Goodwin is a black and sassy Sheila, making the strongest impression of anyone I've ever seen in this part. Yuki Takara is an adorable Connie, just as tiny and talented as the original, Baayork Lee, who recreated Michael Bennett's choreography for this revival. Michael Berresse is a Zach who shows the dancers how it should be done. His character is friendlier than most Zachs, not as cold and imperious. I liked this at first, but the approach doesn't build. An icy final speech as the cast prepares for Broadway would be more ironic and dramatic.
Two of the principals disappont: Natalie Cortez as Morales, whose "What I Did For Love" is vocally weak, and Jessica Lee Goldyn, who sings well but is too full-bodied to convince us that she needed tits and ass. This coming-of-age saga makes an enjoyable show, where one can cheer the repetitions of familiar set-numbers, just as we do at revivals of Traviata or La Boheme, But it no longer is the emotionally moving experience it once was.
