A Chorus Line

I

A Chorus Line is "often called the Anti-musical because it defied most conventions of the American musical" ("Berkshire Theatre Group"). On December 13, 2013, I witnessed the musical in action. It was a stunning spectacle of the many elements that accompany the theatre. My seat was 101, row L and the musical began at 8 PM at San Francisco State University, College of Liberal & Creative Arts building. A group of college students graced the theatre. There were men and women sitting in their seats preparing to watch the musical. They were of all races given the diversity aspect of the university. A Chorus Line was a musical written whose subject is to celebrate the resilience of the art of dance and the intensity that often occurs as a result of competing for a role. It can best be described as a full-length play with its cast of characters, the plot centered on the many individuals who were seeking to pursue their dreams and the stories of their lives both on and off the stage. While musicals are in fact plays, they are separated from plays in terms of context because they include singing and dancing, and often have both comedy and drama.

A Chorus Line was and is still considered legendary in the musical genre. It was “originally directed, conceived and choreographed by Michael Bennett. The lyrics of the musical were written by Edward Kleban. The book of the musical was written by James Kirkwood and Nicholas Dante with the music provided by Marvin Hamlisch. The original production of A Chorus Line on Broadway was produced by the New York Shakespeare Festival, with Joseph Papp as the producer in conjunction with Plum Productions Inc. The musical at the Creative Arts Building. Little Theatre was done by Associate Professor Barbara Damashek, with choreography by Assistant Professor Ray Tadio. In its time on Broadway, A Chorus Line has won a total of nine Tony Awards that have included Best Musical. A Chorus Line has also received the Pulitzer Prize for Drama” ("A Chorus Line: Music by Marvin Hamlisch, lyrics by Edward Kleban, book by James Kirkwood Jr. and Nicholas Dante"). A Chorus Line could quite possibly be referred to as meta-theater.

According to the Berkshire Theatre Group, the musical has often been called the Anti-musical due to the fact that most musicals that are produced tend to have the pizazz and essential elements of a musical, while A Chorus Line does not (1). Meta-theater can be best described as a thematic presentation where the play's content expands outside of the production and becomes an entire world (Cohen 235).

II

The musical’s duration lasted approximately two hours. It was difficult to specifically categorize the musical’s tone as there were elements of both comedy and drama in it. The musical's plot began with an auditioning for a Broadway production. The director of the production was looking at a variety of different dancers, each who had stories to tell. The stories were done in chronological order in order to further explain the characters themselves and to offer background to the audience. It was this exposition that helped define A Chorus Line's overall story and why the musical has become such a Broadway sensation. While exposition has been considered a "word not much in favor not, it remains a useful term, referring to the background information the audience must have in order to understand what's going on in the action of the play" (Cohen 34). Therefore, as the audience along with myself watched the musical, the exposition unfolded in order to provide background context on the characters, both principal and minor as well as the conflict associated with the overall story.

The actors and characters of the musical were varying in age and ethnicity. The theme essentially was about the individual's determination to achieve their dreams and goals and enjoying the path that life tends to lead individuals on when they are on the precipice of their dream being fulfilled. The diction of the play was modern given the time in which it was written as well as the fact that it touched on subjects such as homosexuality, plastic surgery and other subjects combined with humor. The musical numbers were standard musical fare in terms of a few lines stated by the actors and then a song would emerge following that group of actors’ lines.

Cohen writes that a play "is essentially what happens in theatre [...] an event. It is the theatre's drama that we remember" (21). A fine play has many attributes but the most important can be noted as shaping the action into something that has a purpose and meaning to the audience, framing the lines that the characters will say in a fashion that draws the audience in and synthesizing life's confusions, glories, and triumphs (Cohen 21-22).

III

The cast of A Chorus Line included the actors, Casey Robbins as the character of Zach, the director/choreography; Jana Griffin as Laurie, Zach's assistant; Nicole Helfer as Cassie; Kelly Bentley as Sheila; Angela Torres as Diana; Juliana Lustenader as Val; Mackenzie Conway as Judy; Nicole Mischke as Kristine; Kimberly Gosnell as Maggie; Miko Ison as Bebe; James Mayagoitia as Paul; Charlie Field as Mike; Ryan Marchand as Richie; Jason Williams as Bobby; Nathan Brown as Al; David Glazer as Greg and Renzo Romero as the character of Mark. Each actor that played in the production especially Casey Robbins and Charlie Fields were exceptional. There were times in the musical were I felt as if I was watching a Broadway musical in New York City rather than in the Little Theatre.

The director's conceptualization of A Chorus Line appeared to be to show the audience the depth of why the musical has become such a sensation and is so well-known around the world. The director, Barbara Damashek, according to the San Francisco State University website, "is an expert in musical theatre" (1) and this particular aspect showed through heavily in the musical's theatre production. There is no mistaking the fact that anyone watching the musical was not drawn in by the elements of preparation, casting, implementation, staging, pacing, and specific coordination that was put into the musical.

IV

The setting of A Chorus Line takes place in an auditioning room for the most part with reflections from each of the characters in their pursuit of getting the part in the Broadway production. Cohen writes that the design and technical properties of a play must be "create[d] uniquely [and] a comprehensive design emerges from the repeated sharing and building upon [many] contributions" (136). In order for the production to be noted as meta-theater, it had to incorporate conceptualizations of the psychology of the characters which included having the correct costumes, makeup and scenery for both the auditioning room as well as the recollections that the characters had. This was undeniably a feat for the designers and technicians, but they pulled it off masterfully. To provide the meta-theater concept, the visuals had to be "more than mere backing for the action of the play. It [was] instead the visual and spatial of the play's actions and help[ed] reveal the play's deepest meanings" (Cohen 136). It was interesting to how thorough the materials of the stage were as far as presentation and surfaces, materials used. This particular production provided the audience with a perspective of the vision of how the director of the musical saw the musical in her mind as it was visually impactful and very realistic.

The musical has by most contexts been considered a historic musical in its depiction of the life of a gypsy dancer, therefore, this had to be specifically captured by bringing the experience of a gypsy to life in the stage production. Cohen writes, that "theatrical design is unique to theatre" (137) and each element of theatre makes a profound statement to the audience as to the message it is conveying. This includes everything from the choice of makeup to the music that evokes a particular mood.

V

Perhaps one of the prime reasons that A Chorus Line has been regarded as such a spectacular production is that it emerged as an American musical celebration of why Broadway actors do what they do - because of the love for the craft of theatre and the revelatory dynamics of what it can bring to the audience. This production of A Chorus Line held true to what the musical is known for presenting artistic quality combined with visual aesthetics that made for a wonderful stagecraft experience.

This essay sought to provide a description of the production that was witnessed in the College of Liberal & Creative Arts building and the different dimensions that were explored by the professor that directed the production and the cast that participated in it. It was a worthwhile experience for the writer of this essay to witness the vision of the theatre department because while all plays that are performed are based off of the original story, they each capture something different about it because they have different actors, directors who may have a distinct vision as to how they see the script and there is also a money factor to consider as well as far as set design. Perhaps, A Chorus Line was one of the best musicals that I have seen personally, not solely because it was moving with its song and dance, but because it appealed to the emotional aspect within me of never giving up on the dreams one sets out to achieve.

Works Cited

"Barbara Damashek." San Francisco State University, 2013. Web. 13 Dec. 2013. <http://theatre.sfsu.edu/people/faculty/barbara-damashek>.

"A Chorus Line: The Story Behind the Show." Berkshire Theatre Group, 5 July 2012. Web. 13 Dec. 2013. <http://www.berkshiretheatregroup.org/multimedi a/btg-blog/69-btg-blog/276-a-chorus-line-the-story-behind-the-show.html>.

"A Chorus Line: Music by Marvin Hamlisch, lyrics by Edward Kleban, book by James Kirkwood Jr. and Nicholas Dante." San Francisco State University, 2013. Web. 9 Dec. 2013. <http://creativestate.sfsu.edu/events/2013/12/05/6101>.

Cohen, Robert. Theatre Imagination. Special. 2013. Print.