Hey, it turns out that Jeremy Gable, winner of our seemingly endless funny-caption contest for “A Chorus Line,” is no slouch as a critic, either. Not content merely to take his two opening night tickets to the production at the Orange County Performing Arts Center, Gable sent us a mini-critique of the show which I think is quite perceptive (and I’m not saying that just because he agreed with my review).

Jeremy, it turns out, is no amateur. He’s the artistic director of Fullerton’s Hunger Artists, an innovative little theater company that’s been around for quite a few years. (He also plays a character called Dr. Pleasurepants in the Orange County Underground Burlesque Society’s latest extravaganza. But I digress.) His review:

I just re-read your “Chorus Line” review, now that I actually had a chance to see it (thanks again, by the way), and found myself in agreement.  I feel like the essential problem with the show (and its production) is that instead of having its choreography/book/lighting/set/costumes/poses lovingly re-created, it needs a face lift.  The steps are simple:  Tweak the book so that it fits with the problems of Broadway dancers today, such as the lack of original shows, or having to back-up a celebrity who has only a fraction of their talent (something the Broadway revival of “A Chorus Line” went through with the bicep-touting Mario Lopez).  Then, give new orchestrations to the songs so that they lose that melodramatic 1970’s feel (perhaps Duncan Sheik could work the same kind of magic he did with his own “Spring Awakening” tunes).  Then, reign in the lighting/sets/performances so that they come from as organic of a place as the street costumes (instead of a black void with mirrors, how about making it one of those windowed warehouse spaces that I see in rehearsal videos?).  Finally, re-work that finale so that the glittery gold costumes are replaced with the typical costumes of one of those Fosse musicals that were popular in the 1970’s (black skirts and slacks, bowler hats, etc.), to show how little has changed from then to now.  Also, it always bothered me that the dancers who are rejected get to be in the closing number.  In the world of auditions, some people win and some people lose, and a production as insightful as this one about the audition process should reflect that.
 
With those not-so-easy steps, that just might make take the gloss off of what’s currently a period piece and make it just as original and immediate as it must have been when it first opened.  Since “Gypsy” and “Grease” showed us that it’s never too early to revive a revival, we’ll get to see that “Chorus Line” in a few years.
 

Posted in: Theater by Paul Hodgins |

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