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A dazzling finale caps off a sensational evening of song and dance.Summary
Rating
Excellent
Nikolai Foster’s production from Leicester’s Curve Theatre finally makes its way to London where we meet seventeen dancers auditioning for just eight roles in A Chorus Line. This musical is very much an ensemble piece, emphasising their personal stories over a traditional plot. The stories shared by the dancers are famously based on true accounts from performers auditioning in the mid-1970s. Despite this authenticity, some stories occasionally feel a bit contrived and veer towards stereotypes. The central question remains: will these dancers go from obscurity to stardom?
The audition director, Zach (Adam Cooper) frequently directs from offstage using a handheld mic, presumably from somewhere within the stalls. His volume is amplified, creating a booming voice that delivers light direction. The intent is clear: a commanding presence that every dancer aspires to impress and earn a role from. However, this approach doesn’t quite click. Since we can’t always see Zach, it’s difficult to follow his direction, which feels slightly sinister and faintly voyeuristic. To get a part, the dancers must also reveal personal parts of themselves to Zach, a gruelling process showing that dancers need to be in top shape mentally and physically. Zach seeks to understand them more than just their dancing bodies and quite forcefully pushes them to open up. This contrasts starkly with the literal chorus line, where their individuality will be stripped away. In the chorus line, each dancer wears the same costume and performs the same routine, all to a uniform standard and ticking the same boxes in precisely the same way.
Grace Smart’s minimal set design comes close to a blank stage, emphasising all the hopes and dreams the dancers bring and a series of mirrors at the back of the stage provides the dancers nowhere to hide. This works in tandem with lighting designer Howard Hudson as the descending lights during the dance numbers draw our focus tightly on the dancers, rendering everything else extraneous. It’s a fantastic combination from the creative team.
Slightly less successful is a video screen with on-stage camera work that provides close ups of dancers as they tell parts of their stories. The camera work isn’t as slick as other recent productions and at times it feels unintentionally amateur. The moving light gantries repeatedly appear in front of the screen leaving only a rare moment where the screen can be seen unencumbered.
In Sing! Joshua Lay and Katie Lee deliver a funny and touching performance as a husband fiercely and tenderly protective of his newlywed wife’s less-than-stellar singing voice (brilliantly portrayed by Lee) and their dynamic brings both levity and warmth to the scene. Cassie (Carly Mercedes Dyer) looking to restart her career after long gone earlier success, is now trying out for the chorus line and is so desperate to make it that she begs Zach for a chance to dance. Dyer’s solo in The Music & The Mirror is superb, captivating the audience and holding our complete focus as we become absorbed in her performance.
The finale One is a dazzling powerhouse of song and dance, with lights and pyrotechnics perfectly complementing the golden costumes (designed by Edd Lindley). The razzle dazzle it brings contrasting so vividly with the empty stage where the dancers spent so much time and effort trying to get into this chorus line. It’s the ultimate celebration of the dancers’ journey, from hopeful hopefuls in their own basic dance kit to triumphant stars dressed head to toe in gold. It is an absolute peak for the show to end on, not just for entertaining the audience on the day but to cap the journey the dancers have taken. A singular sensation indeed.
Conceived & Originally Directed & Choreographed by Michael Bennett
Book by James Kirkwood & Nicholas Dante
Music by Marvin Hamlisch
Lyrics by Edward Kleban
Co-choreographed by Bob Avian
Director Nikolai Foster
Choreographer Ellen Kane
Set Designer Grace Smart
Sound Designer Tom Marshall
Costume Designer Edd Lindley
A Chorus Line plays at Sadler’s Wells until 25 August. Further information and tickets can be found here.
