A Chorus Line, that most iconic of musicals celebrating the Broadway gypsy dancer ethic and detailing the intricate tapestry of emotions, human frailties and theatrical ambitions, opens in San Diego, courtesy of the San Diego Musical Theatre.
A Chorus Line presents the quintessential backstage look at the process of musical theater; a snapshot of the flawed yet determined individuals who, combined, make up the spectacular whole. A classic example of the whole being greater than the sum of its individual parts.
For the uninitiated, A Chorus Line follows the dramatic final day of auditions for a stage musical, as the hundreds of would-be chorus line dancers are whittled down to 16 semi-finalists, and then finally, through songs and soul-baring personal drama, to the remaining eight triumphant, hardworking winners who will feature in the show.
James Kirkwood and Nicholas Dante, the book’s two authors, once described the musical as a show about “competition,” something that everyone can relate to in their day-to-day lives. The authors also called it a “…celebration of those unsung heroes of the American musical theater – the chorus dancers, those valiant, over dedicated, underpaid, highly trained performers who back up the star or stars and often make them look even more talented than they are.”
“I think (director and choreographer) Robert (Marra) created a show where he stuck to the integrity of what Michael Bennett created,” said Alexis Carra of the San Diego production, adding, “while at the same time allowing us as individuals to explore who these people are: art mirroring life.”
Carra plays Cassie, the ex-girlfriend of the musical’s on-stage director Zack. Cassie is the epitome of the roller coaster gypsy dancer lifestyle. Having started in the chorus, Cassie became a star, but her career has regressed and she is back auditioning for her ex-boyfriend for a chorus line spot again. However, Carra doesn’t see it that way, instead pointing to Cassie in a positive light.
“I see Cassie firstly as someone who comes into her true passion – her love of performing and dance,” Carra said. “She is a gypsy in the sense that she started in the chorus and worked her way up. But when she comes back to New York after her failed attempt at Hollywood, she is a woman who is both humbled, but yet empowered and not stuck in her past.”
The San Diego cast is also true to their passion, showing the diversity in the actors playing the equally-diverse characters.
“This production has a lot of ranges of experience levels and credits. We have young talented people, who are in the thick of getting their careers going, and then you have people such as myself, and Leslie Stevens who have been in several Broadway shows in the chorus and who have actually experienced auditions like the one these characters go to,” she said. “Because of this mix, I think the show has a lot of reality to it – a lot of heart. It is exactly the kind of thing you see when you go to an audition – all types and kinds of people.”
A Chorus Line runs from May 27 through June 12 at the Lyceum Theatre (79 Horton Plaza, in San Diego). For more information, contact 858-560-5740 or visit sandiegomusicaltheatre.com.
