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

[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.

[mondragon.livejournal.com]

"Adequate" is probably the right term to use. I think it's fair to expect more.