‘A Chorus Line’

The Paper Mill Playhouse in Millburn hosts the current national tour of this classic for 48 performances.

By: Stuart Duncan
   By now, the story of how A Chorus Line was developed is familiar. Director/choreographer Michael Bennett had the concept of building a musical from the life stories of chorus dancers — "gypsies" as they are known.
   After the 11 p.m. final curtains, he assembled a few dozen at his apartment in New York and spent two full nights swapping "war stories." Writer James Kirkwood translated the conversations into a script, Marvin Hamlisch added the score and Edward Kleban the lyrics. The show opened off-Broadway in mid-April 1975, thereby losing money since the theater was too small, even at a sellout, to match the large company. The show moved at the end of July to Broadway’s Shubert Theatre, where it ran for 15 years.
   What you may not know is that by the off-Broadway opening, the original company collectively had appeared in 72 Broadway shows; 17 national tours and nine bus-and-truck tours — performances totaling 37,095; and they had spent 612 years of dance training and spent an average of $984 weekly on lessons (1970 prices, remember).
   A Chorus Line remains a national institution in its own right. The current national tour of the show appears to have stopped at Millburn’s Paper Mill Playhouse for 48 performances. Like so many tours these days, it has been re-created by a member of the original cast — in this case, Baayork Lee, who played Connie "4-foot-10; 4-foot-10."
   Perhaps it is the natural result of a tour, or just the fact that anyone has seen so many fine dancers in the show over the years, but this outing seemed tired. A few exciting performances, but many lackluster. Moreover, the production has a tendency to overdo the technical — especially the lighting, which becomes distracting.
   You must understand that the show may look simple, but it is not. It focuses on a group of individuals who confide to us personal hopes and fears, but then must necessarily toss aside individual personalities to blend as a whole. "Every kick the same height; no one attracting attention." They are guided, appropriately enough, by Zach, a disembodied voice on a speaker system. Each one is trying to reach a white chalk line across the stage, down front, close to the curtain — the ultimate individual success — a chorus line.
   Among those likely to impress you: Charlene Carr as Maggie; Colleen Hawks as Judy; Britt Freund as Tom; Nadine Isenegger as Val; Kim Shriver as Sheila; Luis Villabon as Paul. Caitlin Carter tries hard as Cassie, but for many of us the vision of Donna McKechnie a quarter of a century ago will remain the ultimate Cassie.
A Chorus Line plays at Paper Mill Playhouse, Brookside Drive, Millburn, through Oct. 14. Performances: Wed.-Sat. 8 p.m.; Sun. 7:30 p.m.; Thurs., Sun. 2 p.m.; Sat. 2:30 p.m. Tickets cost $29-$59. For information, call (973) 376-4343. On the Web: www.papermill.org