My Own Take: 'A Chorus Line' at Goodspeed

The show: ‘A Chorus Line at Goodspeed Opera House in East Haddam.

What makes it special?: For Goodspeed at least, this feels like a modern revival — even if it is 50 years old and set in the mid-‘70s when the show premiered. (Goodspeed, at least for a good part of its history, presents musicals that have a period feel — even if they were written from a more recent past.)

Also, this one is directed by Rob Ruggiero who has one of the most impressive track records at the theatre, staging some of Goodspeed’s best works of the last few decades.

What’s it about?: Dance auditions — but much much more.

Is it dated?: Some of the references to New York City may seem dated — though true of that period — but the subject, themes and human emotions surrounding the narrative and the characters are as universal as ever. You don’t have to be a dancer to feel your job — and life — are always on the line. That’s why the show connected so significantly when it premiered, and for me as well.

Meaning?: Though I had been going to musicals for more than 10 years at the time, I still vividly remember seeing the show when it was still playing off-Broadway at The Public Theater where word-of-mouth made it…er…a singular sensation. It was the hot ticket. Waiting in the cancelation line, I managed to get a single ticket. (Ticket tip: You can almost get a ticket to any show if you’re just seeking one ticket.) I still remember at the end of the show I was so moved I couldn’t leave my seat. I just sat there, taken in by what I had just witnessed, having seen nothing like it before in my young theater-going experience. (I was practically in the very same seat 40 years later when I saw “Hamilton” in that theater and felt the same way.)

That ‘Chorus Line’ memory is something to live up to: Yep. And because of that I resisted seeing other revivals and touring productions of the show.. (Don’t mention the movie to me.) So when Goodspeed announced it was going to present the show, I applauded the choice but was hesitant to see the show.

And…?: I’m glad I went — and you should too, whether you’ve seen the original, another production or have never seen it. It’s presented and produced beautifully, lovingly imagined (but not distractingly re-conceived) with all its humanity and theatricality — not to mention incredible dancing.

Ruggiero also wisely resists the urge to re-invent the show in an indulgent way. He also keeps it in its time and place. Even the costumes and some of the show’s iconography echo the original — with just a touch of the new.

BTW: How do they fit all those dancers on stage?: Just barely. The “line” just makes it to the edges of the modest Goodspeed stage and the choreography deftly adjusts to accommodate the stage space without feeling too cramped. Credit choreographer Parker Esse for stunning work while also paying tribute to Michael Bennett’s original dances and movement (with additional choreography here by Baayork Lee, the spiritual keeper of the “A Chorus Line” legacy.) If you love shows with dance, just go. You can’t get better than this production and the intimacy of the Goodspeed for me reminds me of being back in its small off-Broadway theater before it moved to its big Broadway house at the Shubert.

The show remains, as always, a love letter to the anonymous, hard-working and devoted “kids” in the chorus by the show’s original conceiver and director (and master manipulator) Michael Bennett. The show was derived from personal and intimate interviews with his chorus dancer pals (and re-crafted into a strong and clever narrative by James Kirkwood and Nicholas Dante). The script still works wonderfully, save for a subplot of romantic entanglement that goes on too long (ditto a revelatory solo speech) and a few of the songs don’t hold up as brilliantly as they once did. (Maybe because of its overexposure, “What I Did for Love” doesn't pack as much of an emotional punch — and the orchestrations, while terrific for the rest of the show, are for this song treacly.

And this production?: Overall, dazzling in dance (a 10!), beautifully staged and emotionally engaging. But emotions are what the show does not lack. There’s something incredibly powerful in seeing people’s masks (or glossy 8x10 photos) come down to reveal their real selves. Yes, it’s all pretty confessional but with this cast and direction, honestly presented.

And the performers?: Ruggiero is smart in not straying too far from the iconography of the original. The actors naturally bring part of their selves to the roles, but the character template is pretty solidly there from the original. Scarlett Walker as Sheila is deliciously bone dry; Jonah Nash as Richie (“Gimme the ball, gimme the ball”) is a bundle of energy; Beatrice Howell as Val is fabulous and fun in her “Dance Ten, Looks Three” number; Mario Rizzi has the right regular-guy swagger for “I Can Do That; Ryan Mulvany is hilariously “performative” as Bobby, and Karli Dinardo nails the show’s dazzling dance set piece “The Music and the Mirror” as Cassie , the role in which Donna McKechnie originated. Clifton Samuels is nicely icely as Zach, the show-within-a-show’s director.

Who will like it?: Dancers. Those who love dance. And pretty much anyone whose job has been on the line.

Who won’t?: Those who cringe at confession-therapy shows. But isn’t that what most musical theater is anyway?

For the kids?: You bet. Just a bit of salty language but nothing they haven’t heard on TV — or at home.

My pet peeve: Goodspeed’s unctuous program credits for the actors that, for me at least, have a coercive vibe or, at best, a pandering ick. Two in the cast are “excited” to be at Goodspeed; six are “thrilled,” one is “beyond thrilled,” one is “ecstatic,” one is “absolutely jazzed,” another is “elated,” three are “honored,” one is “extremely honored. “ It’s the theater that should be thrilled/elated/and honored to have this talented cast.

Info: The show plays through Nov. 2. Goodspeed.org.