A Chorus Line

[gregography]

Went to see this revival in NYC with just-met rexsteed.

I missed the phenomenon the first time around and the show hasn't aged well.

The most glaring non-working thing to me was that maybe back then admitting you were gay, or having your parents catch you performing in drag, or being a wierd child, were intimate revelations that made you feel like you knew and cared for these people.

Now, with the internet and reality TV absolutely nothing was shocking. It was just boring - turn on any reality show to see people who are far more fucked up and think nothing of having a camera trained on them as they act it all out.

The woman who played Cassie - Charlotte D'Amboise - was a clumpy dancer, so much so that I had to ask rexsteed if her big mirror dance number was to make me believe the character was not and had never been a good dancer, or if the actress was merely ungraceful.

Also the guy who played the director was 1/2 her age, making the failed-relationship thing seem to come out of nowhere. He he took her out of the chorus line it was right after she picked him up outside the elementary school.

There were no "gasp" moments of good acting and it felt very work-a-day overall.

One of the guys had really pretty arms and they had him in a sleeveless shirt. rexsteed pointed out that in the original they had dancer's bodies, not gym-porn bodies. At least it gave me something to look at.

rexsteed was much more engaging.

Comments

[fabunobo.livejournal.com]

... Back then admitting you were gay, or having your parents catch you performing in drag, or being a wierd child, were intimate revelations ...

Yeah, hello? That kid on Ugly Betty is so me when I was twelve and he's performing show-tunes on the subway.

[sunsmogseahorse.livejournal.com]

I saw the road show in the eighth grade. I remember well the angst one character felt about being gay and thinking that things had to be different somehow when I was ready to come out. And they were.

[pagerbear.livejournal.com]

You know, I saw it for the first time ever before Christmas. I had exactly the same reaction you did, right down to admiring the fellow's arms. I wondered what all the fuss had been about in the 70s. (But then, I guess I take for granted a lot that has happened socially and politically since then.) I thought the singing overall was only adequate, and sometimes not that, although Mr. Arms wasn't bad. I did enjoy the large dance numbers, especially since I was very high up in the nosebleed section and could view them from above, as it were.

Yeah - I agree Greg

[swankyjournal.livejournal.com]

The movie is SO much better - you should have seen the Kenley Players production of it. Cassie was played by Helen Lawson!
XOXO

[macduff131.livejournal.com]

i think the biggest problem with this revival is in the direction. they wanted to be so faithful to Michael Bennett's vision, that it feels like they didn't allow for the actors to create their own characters. i first saw this production, not having seen the original, back in october, and all i could think was, "wow. this must have been amazing when it first opened."

and i cannot stand Charlotte.

'twas nice meeting you guys yesterday. i do apologize for not really being able to chat at all. it ended up being rather busy for me. thanks for saying hi!

[rexsteed.livejournal.com]

Well, and i will probably say this in my own posting, I enjoyed seeing the staging - I do think it's brilliant what can be accomplished on that bare stage - but I found it awfully synthetic. Like has been said, this was a copy... the actors were playing their parts, not creating characters.

Nice meeting you and spending time with you!