I’ve been waiting for A Chorus Line to come to Cardiff for a while. A production played in London 10 years ago, but as far as I can see the last time it toured the UK was 1997 – until now, with this Leicester Curve production presented by Sadler’s Wells.
Before the action starts in Cardiff’s New Theatre tonight, we hear distinctively New York-ish street sounds, and onstage in front of the title curtain is a ghost light: we’re in a theatre within a theatre. If the name didn’t give it away, A Chorus Line is set onstage, at a Broadway theatre. Seventeen dancers audition for eight places in the chorus line itself (the answer to the lyrical question “how many boys, how many girls?” in opening number I Hope I Get It – four each).
Over the course of the audition, and the musical numbers, the characters tell their stories, based on the real experiences of actual Broadway dancers recorded at the time. A Chorus Line is truly an ensemble show, everyone is superbly cast, and even the characters that don’t specifically get ‘their’ song leave an impression.
Amy Thornton’s Sheila using flippantly aggressive sexuality as a cover for aging out of dancing; Toby Seddon as the weird kid who wants to be a star; Bradley Delarosbel as Gregory the slightly camp Jewish homosexual; Carly Mercedes Dyer – fresh from a tour of The Drifter’s Girl – as Cassie, the former success story returning to the chorus and singing this show’s 11 o’clock number, The Music And The Mirror: they’re all fully realised characters.
Yet one of the most intense scenes wasn’t even anywhere near a musical number. Reluctant to tell his story among the others, Manuel Pacific’s Paul performs a monologue about overcoming his femininity – an essay on toxic masculinity before that was even a thing. As Pacific speaks, the audience is in reverential silence.
Director Nikolai Foster made the decision to have a camera roaming the stage with live projection above some scenes, the intended effect of which is unclear. It provided close-ups to portray intimacy, but otherwise just seemed to get in the way. It also felt somewhat half-hearted, shown only on a portrait-orientated screen on the left – why not go bigger? – and it’s easier to relax and watch the action onstage when there isn’t a screen to look at as well.
The brassy Marvin Hamlish score is brought to life by the musicians, sounding ‘70s New York’ without coming off as dated. While Edd Lindley’s costume design hints at the same decade, this musical’s situation is timeless – add a few characters checking their mobile phones at a break and it could be the present day. A Chorus Line is a sharp, sometimes gritty modern classic of musical theatre, an ode to the supporting performers on a stage.
A Chorus Line, New Theatre, Cardiff, Mon 16 Sept.
On until Sat 21 Sept. Tickets: £20-£54. Info: here
words CHRIS WILLIAMS
