Theater Reviews—

Dedication Onstage And Off Shines

In ‘Chorus Line’ At Sherman Playhouse

By Julie Stern

SHERMAN — If you’ve seen A Chorus Line, then you know that the last scene reveals a group of dancers who have made the cut following a grueling day of auditions. Dressed in gold top hats and suits doing a precision high kick, they appear as identical and interchangeable as cogs in a machine, which is exactly what a chorus line is supposed to do: don’t distract the audience’s attention from the really important people on stage, the principals.

That, of course is the irony, for there are no principals. A Chorus Line is dedicated entirely to the gritty, hardworking, anonymous dreamers who make up the backbone of every Broadway musical: the boys and girls of the chorus.

Currently onstage at The Sherman Playhouse, the premise of A Chorus Line is that Zach, the choreographer, must choose eight dancers from the stage full of candidates competing for parts. Rather than make his decision merely by watching them dance, he questions them closely, demanding that they reveal their inner emotions and identities. This sets up a series of dramatic monologues, by turns comic and poignant, that display myriad personalities.

There is Mike, the flip, confident, 17-year-old who was dragged along to watch his older sisters’ dance lessons, discovered “I can do that!” Then there’s Bobby, the self-denigrating weirdo from upstate New York who realized that when you live in Buffalo, “suicide is redundant,” and Sheila, the cynical, pill-popping, veteran who wishes that she could still be “young.”

Cassie is desperate that her past history with Zach not stand in the way of keeping her in the show. The 15 dancers in the show also include a the starry-eyed kid from Texas who doesn’t want to hear that Broadway is dying when she is just starting out; a shy, sensitive Puerto Rican kid from the Bronx who is terrified his family will discover he is gay; and a hetero guy who needs the job because he’s got a family to support and tuition bills ahead of him, and so forth.

These anxious, hopeful, dedicated and struggling human beings are each committed to a line of work that abuses their bodies and grants them no prospects of fame or security, simply because they love to dance. That’s what they do, and it’s what they want to do, until they are too worn down or broken to do it any more.

In the Sherman production, acted mainly by high school and college students, it is fitting that the role of Zach is played by director-choreographer Lanny Mitchell, who has put on other successful musicals in past years. Mr Mitchell is also listed as the teacher who has trained so many of these kids. Their devotion to him is obvious, as is the dedication with which they pursue this calling.

This combination succeeds conclusively in capturing the whole point of the show, illustrating how some talented youngsters have learned to love the dance so whole-heartedly that they are willing to follow it as far as it takes them, no matter how rigorous its demands, simply for the joy of the craft.

It’s on for another two weekends, and well worth a trip to Sherman.

(Performances are Friday and Saturday evenings at 8 and Sunday afternoons at 3, and tickets are priced at $18 for adults, $16 for students and seniors.

Contact the Sherman Playhouse, 860-354-3622, for directions, reservations or other information.)