Non-Chicago Theatre: Broadway

A Chorus Line
Schoenfeld Theatre
New York, NY

One of the greatest musicals of all time has not aged well. This is nothing to against the show as a whole. The music and dancing remains top notch and was performed with absolute precision by this excellent cast. And it was very nice to see the characters dressed like someone I would meet in the street rather than the dated costumes of the movie. My biggest problem with the show itself is that some of the perspective on what it means to be a gay man has changed since the show was first produced. I’m not saying that discrimination and homophobia has vanished – the opposite is closer to the truth, but we don’t live in the same world where the stories we hear in the show have the same impact the may have twenty years ago.

Mario Lopez, from Dancing with the Stars and Saved By the Bell, starred as the choreographer Zach. Well, sad to say, it was a good thing that the majority of his acting is done out of the view of the audience and over a microphone. Lopez subscribes to the “look at my muscles” school of acting and was not helped by some of the cheesiest romantic dialogue that you will ever hear. While his dancing may not have been up to the standards of the rest of the cast, we never felt that he was out-of-step or misplaced in these moments.

All and all it was a pleasure to see the show on Broadway and I’m glad I did. I would not recommend anyone see this productions (and it closes on Sunday the 17th) unless they are a die hard Broadway fan and haven’t see this show. Again, the character actors in the cast are excellent, the choreography and dancing are superb, but the relevance of this particular story line has worn thin. There are plenty of other stories around that show us what it is like to become a Broadway star – something we all ascribe to. That magic still exists, but there are more powerful places to find it.