REVIEW: “A CHORUS LINE” @ LIVINGSTON COMMUNITY PLAYERS

By the time it closed in 1990, A Chorus Line had logged 6,137 performances over its 15-year run, garnered nine Tony Awards, one Pulitzer Prize and remains the longest running Broadway musical originally produced in the United States, and the fourth longest-running Broadway show ever. Quite a resume for a show that had not one central character, that focused on the lives and back stories of the “gypsies” (anonymous dancers who populate the choruses of musical productions) and that really didn’t have much of a plot. In short, it was a production that literally broke the tradition of the great American musical.

Given those credentials, A Chorus Line is not a play one would expect to be produced by local community theater. That the play requires 19 actors who can both sing and dance, a great number of them men (difficult to find at community theater auditions) makes its success problematic. Thankfully, no one ever told that to the Livingston Community Players who are performing A Chorus Line for only two weekends, through Sunday, November 21, at the Mt. Pleasant Middle School in Livingston. Their stellar production, directed masterfully by Patrick Starega with musical direction by David Regner, reminds me how much I love this show and how much talent is out there in the hinterlands of New Jersey.

Culled from interviews conducted with dancers, A Chorus Line follows the trajectory of a one-day audition for an unnamed show. We watch the auditioners learn the dance combinations, under the direction of the director Zach and his assistant Loren, only for some of them to get cut in the opening scenes, leaving 17, all desperate to work, to literally face the music and dance. Looking for a troupe of four men and four women, Zach asks each dancer to tell him something about his/her past. Their responses proceed from childhood and early exposure to dance through teenage angst to adulthood and, ultimately, to the end of a career.

I had forgotten how many of the numbers were montage pieces, performed as one dancer told his story in pantomime while the rest sang and sometimes danced their inner thoughts. Most of what we remember from ACL are the big solo numbers, but these montages gave minor characters a chance to shine.

The “big” solos are, however, show-stopping. Esther Cohen (Sheila), Laurie Guthrie (Bebe) and Chelsea Varga (Maggie) recount how, “At the Ballet,” they could forget their rotten home life. As Kristine and her husband Al, Liat Perelman and Joey Tolina convey the predicament of a performer who dances better than she sings. Appearance is often more important than dancing skill, Christy Casey (Val) perkily informs us in “Dance 10, Looks 3”), and in Gimme the Ball,” Lyle Dungee (Richie) recounts how he turned from basketball (which earned him a college scholarship) and a career as a teacher to follow his dream of becoming a dancer.

Other standouts include Erin Barry Bleiweiss as Cassie, who had gone on to bigger and better starring roles but who finds herself on the unemployment line seeking a role in the chorus. Her performance of “The Music and the Mirror” is truly a star turn. Desiree Caro as Morales has two blockbuster numbers, “Nothing” and “What I Did for Love,” both of which she performs with style and grace. And Michael Miguel as Paul will break your heart from the minute he sings "Oh, God, I Need This Show" in the opening number to his spoken recollection of his start in a drag show; the audience held its collective breath as he recited his lines, convincingly and naturally.

Of course, the final number is dynamite as all the dancers appear in their white tuxedo costumes, singing “One” and high kicking in unison. Reminds me of the televised clip of the show’s final production where all the dancers who had appeared on Broadway joined the chorus line once again. It brought tears to my eyes, both times!

Livingston Community Players has outdone themselves with this production of A Chorus Line. It’s polished, professional and proficient. If you missed the play the first time around or have only seen the film, you “need this show.”

Note: this is not a play for kids under the age of 13 as there is frank talk about adult situations and adult language is used. Leave the little ones at home.

A Chorus Line will be performed Sundays at 2 PM and Fridays and Saturdays at 8 PM through November 21 at the Mt. Pleasant Middle School, 11 Broadlawn Drive off Mt. Pleasant Avenue in Livingston. For information and tickets, call or tickets & info call Joan @ 973.743.0976 or Teddi @ 973.535.3141.

Tickets are available at Silverman's, Jay's Shoe Box, and Senior, Youth & Leisure Services in Livingston.