Exploring The Musical: A Chorus Line

An Overview

The musical, A Chorus Line, was opened Thursday, December 5, 2013, at the San Francisco State University College of Liberal and Creative Arts building. The seat was number 101 in row L; the ticket cost was $10. According to Michael Chase’s article “‘Chorus Line’ Still Sensational” at the Madison Capital Times: “it had won 10 Tony awards, including the coveted prize for Best Musical.” The musical A Chorus Line was an important event in theatre because it opened addressed homosexuality and it single-handedly ‘saved’ the world of theatre.

Second Section: Text

The genre of the musical A Chorus Line is in many ways, a tragedy. One of the songs sorrowfully sings about how the dancer desperately needs a job. The desperation and the chase for dreams is a heavy theme in this musical. One interesting aspect of the play’s structure is that it is set up as dancers auditioning for a musical as hopefuls and not as actors or performers who already have the part. According to the text, in the Western world, the proper duration of a full-length play means that production runs between two and three hours” (Cohen, 22). A Chorus Line is a drama; not exactly a comedy or a tragedy. “A tragedy is a profoundly serious play” (Cohen, 23) and a “comedy is a very clear and very popular genre and has been a staple of theatre since ancient times” (Cohen, 25). This musical is thoroughly a drama with elements of tragedy – there are pain and pride, joy and difficulty.

The premise of the musical A Chorus Line is a simple concept, though it should not be mistaken as a play with a simple idea. The plot remains that the 25 performers are dancers who are desperately auditioning for eight spots on the chorus line in a new musical. The original musical was created by director and choreographer Michael Bennett and the musical represented his “desire to make these dancers represent the thousands upon thousands of gypsies over the years who sublimated their own careers to support the star” (“A Chorus Line”). These dancers are the backbone of the theater, they are the background dancers that make the scene come together, and they represent the thousands of hopefuls who long to be a star on Broadway. A Chorus Line “has run for more than a decade, and has sold about a quarter of a billion dollars’ worth of tickets” (By). The theme of this music reflects the art of theater and the beauty of the strength of the human spirit.

There are now seven components of drama: plot, characters, theme, diction, music, spectacle, and convention. Diction is the communication of spoken dialogue (Cohen, 29). Music includes singing songs as well as recordings being played on stage. Music “intensifies the play’s emotional range, punctuates its action, intensifies its rising suspense and climaxes, and moves its audiences to an ever-deepening engagement” (Cohen, 29). The musical aspects, as well as the powerful diction, are strong in that they help to carry and convey the themes.

In By’s article, he writes about the amazing success that followed the premiere of A Chorus Line in 1975. It has won a Pulitzer Prize and Tony award for best drama and has left behind a profit margin in the millions. By writes that this production “did more than making actors weep, politicians beg, or the New York Shakespeare Festival well-to-do… The show, they say, saved Broadway theater.” By talks about the true themes that come from A Chorus Line. He writes that the difficulties and the joys of trying to make a living in what is to most “a dying institution” and to live “a life of practice, hopes, auditions and rejections.” It tells the stories of over two dozen performers that are competing for only eight jobs. There is an absolute guarantee, from the beginning, that the audience will experience unhappiness and loss along with some of these dancers and By writes: “the nuts and bolts of the staging process became the stuff of drama” (By). This musical is the drama that goes on past the stage – the drama that occurs because of the love for drama.

Third section: Director and Performers

Performers

In “Theatre,” Robert Cohen writes that “acting is perhaps the world’s most bewildering profession” (68). In the musical, A Chorus Line, the characters are normal people – and not just normal, everyday people that everyone can relate to. These characters represent the heart and soul behind the musical theatre. These people are auditioning for parts that the audition knows that more than half will fail at. “The characters of the drama are rarely mundane” (Cohen, 75). Actors, like directors, carry much pressure to perfectly peeling these characters from a black and white script to a real-life person who reaches out to captivate audiences.

In this performance of A Chorus Line, there are 15 actors listed on the main list of auditioners, as well as 8 others named as minor (hence the total of 25). There are 15 musical numbers as well, and a pit orchestra to assist in the musical process. The lights, sound, and setting were very simple. The set can be simply described as “a Broadway theatre.”

Direction

The concept of this play is very simple in setting, though the 25 performers have their own stories. The setting is simply the stage and the hopefuls: the direction of the dancers carries the musical. The director for this particular production of A Chorus Line is Barbara Damashek, an assistant professor and Tony nominee. The choreography by assistant professor Ray Tadio; the co-choreography was done by Bob Avian.

This musical is also a period piece. “It chronicled a historical moment in the life of the chorus ‘gypsy’ dancer when Broadway was ailing when the American musical was moving steadily away from its traditional dance-based origins and before the terrible onslaught of the AIDS pandemic. And for the record, it was also the first musical to deal with homosexuality in a matter-of-fact manner” (“A Chorus Line”). Cohen writes that “a play is not a thing but an event” (21). The director and technicians of a play help to create this event, this experience, come together before the audience – but it cannot come together in such a way in just a little time.

Cohen writes: “The director does not work in a vacuum… although the director may be said to have final artistic responsibility for shaping a production, he or she is usually working within a context” (97). The director creates the main focuses of the production itself, but as written before, a play is an event. Any given event cannot be run by one single person. The context that Cohen means working with producers and technicians, makeup and costume – direction is a multi-faceted system. The brochure for the musical reads: “… due to enthusiastic support from multiple departments, we have been able to offer Dance and Drama students a challenging, joyful immersion with a dynamic team of faculty.” It was truly a joyful and dynamic experience for a member of the audience. The direction was well-done and the performers were able to bring all the emotion of A Chorus Line to the San Francisco State University stage.

Fourth section: Visual Elements

Although the stage is set simply, there is still much needed as far as visual elements in A Chorus Line. “Theatrical design is a unique creature contribution to the theatre” (137). The design of the stage is based on the auditions, the lives of the dancers, and the feelings that they will convey throughout the two-hour performance.

Scenery, as noted by Cohen, is “what we first see” (139). Scenic materials are “scene designers begin their work with their work with the words of the text and the images in their minds” (Cohen, 144). Cohen, in the text, asks: “What are the dominant feelings the audience might be expected to experience when they first see the stage?” (138). These feelings are all a part of the scenery. It is not simply the physical outline of the stage: the doors, the walls, the chairs, the rooms. Although important, the crucial aspects of the scenery of a stage production are how the feelings are conveyed via the scene and the performers. The director describes the scene in the brochure as “just an empty stage with a white line painted on the floor, the dancers, the mirror and the lights.” It is interesting that the stage was set so simply because of the emotional range and depth of the musical itself. It was easy to follow visually, and even though the work seemed minimal, there was an air of confidence and an audience member could tell that everything was done thoroughly.

Despite the simple set, for this performance, there was quite a technical crew. The design team consisted of six people, and the production team consisted of 12 people. There were many others that worked on the crew, in the technical arena and the theatre and arts department did a lot of work as well. Many in direction and acting helped make this show a success and it was a positive and emotional experience to behold.

Final Section: Big Picture

A play is an event, an event with themes and social findings. Any good stage production should teach the audience something about the world around them, or about themselves. The musical A Chorus Line gives the audience something to think about as well. There is social and human significance in this work and there is great relevance to theatre and art.

Social or Human Significance

The basis of the production relies on the 25 dancers in the cast – the 25 hopefuls that are fighting to make their dreams come true. These people who are auditioning are trying to make something of their lives, and that is something that any member of any given audience can relate to. No matter what their dreams may be, chances are that they have to struggle, cry, lose, and want to give up along the way. A member of the audience who has tried to accomplish a dream of performing on stage, on Broadway, will be able to directly relate to the feelings of loss and anxiety of those who could not make. They will be able to relate to the joy and pride of those who do make it through auditions. Though simply set up, this musical has something for everyone in the audience to relate to, to take home with them and to cherish.

Relevance to Theatre

The relevance between A Chorus Line to theatre and art is absolutely direct. The very premise of the production itself is the background of the theatre. The thousands of people who audition for and dream of Broadway are depicted in the course of the play. This musical, released in the mid-1970s, was said to have saved modern theatre. It was the first stage production to be so candid about the topic of homosexuality and human rights to it. Most importantly, it speaks honestly about what actors, dancers and other performers go through to see their dreams through to the end.

Conclusion

The December 2013 production of A Chorus Line at San Francisco State University did well to depict the joy and hurt that comes from this legendary musical. The performers brought heart and soul into their performance and they were able to turn a simple stage setting into a lively event. A Chorus Line takes a very candid look inside of theatre and what it takes to really accomplish dreams – hard work, endurance, and plenty of singing.

Works Cited

“A Chorus Line.” Public Broadcasting Station. 2013. Web. 11 Dec. 2013. <http://www.pbs.org/wnet/broadway/shows/a-chorus-line/>.

“A Chorus Line: Music by Marvin Hamlisch, lyrics by Edward Kleban, book by James Kirkwood Jr. and Nicholas Dante” Creative State. San Francisco State University. 2013. Web. 11 Dec. 2013. <http://creativestate.sfsu.edu/events/2013/12/05/6101>.

By, Drew F. "The Endless `Chorus Line' made Money, Tears, and History." Newsday: 03. Jul 03 1987. ProQuest. Web. 11 Dec. 2013.

Cohen, Robert. “Theatre: Imagination.” San Francisco: McGraw-Hill Learning Solutions. 2011. Print.

Michael Chase Special to The, Capital Times. "`CHORUS LINE' STILL SENSATIONAL." Madison Capital Times: 0. Sep 29 1997. ProQuest. Web. 11 Dec. 2013.