A CHORUS LINE

January 20, 2010
by
1 min read

by Dick Kerekes
A true theatre classic is now on stage at the Times Union Center in Jacksonville until January 24. A Chorus Line with nine Tony awards and a Pulitzer Prize, opened in l975 and played 6,137 performances. In the “The New York Times Book of Broadway” it was selected as one of the twenty-five productions that defined the century!
This new style musical in l975, as conceived and choreographed by Michael Bennett, with book by James Kirkwood and music by Marvin Hamlish, was heralded as tremendous and terrific. The story line is about how to get into a Broadway musical chorus. Each year hundreds of young energetic talented performers make their way to New York to try to dance and sing their way into show business. Some make it, but many more don’t. A Chorus Line is a look at how the audition process works. It has been embellished as ZDach, the director, asks each of the hopefuls about their aspirations and insecurities. This is a musical so naturally some express themselves in songs like, “I Can Do That,” “I Hope I Get It,” “Nothing” and “What I Did For Love”.
The wonderful staging with all that great dancing, dazzling lights, especially in the unique mirror scenes, is still there and still as impressive as ever.
A Chorus Line has come full circle, and been done everywhere including high schools, colleges, community theatre and even made into a 1985 movie with Michael Douglas as the director.
For many in the opening night audience, seeing it was like visiting an old friend and reliving the heart of the show. For many, who have become musical theatre fans in more recent times, it is a chance to see an excellent carbon copy of the original and enhance your musical theatre history by experiencing one of the great ones.
The final number of the show, “One,” is spectacular, with the entire 30 actors dressed in gold attire and dancing to precision. It was and is still an awesome sight.
This is an adult show because of language and I would not recommend it for younger children. The show runs 2 hours, 15 minutes without an intermission.

Folio is your guide to entertainment and culture around and near Jacksonville, Florida. We cover events, concerts, restaurants, theatre, sports, art, happenings, and all things about living and visiting Jax. Folio serves more than two million readers across Jacksonville and Northeast Florida, including St. Augustine, The Beaches, and Fernandina.

Current Issue

SUBMIT EVENTS

Submit Events

Advertisements

Welcome to Rockville 2025
SingOutLoadFestival_TheAmp_2025
omaha-steaks-banners

Date

Title

Current Month

Follow FOLIO!

Previous Story

GHOSTS

Next Story

The Jock 1-21-10

Latest from On Stage

Beat It to MJ THE MUSICAL Downtown

The audience is socializing as patrons trickle in.  The auditorium lights are on.  Then you realize actors are trickling onto the stage.  If you’re not watching for them to be starting something, you might not notice.  Suddenly, someone comes on and announces, “Five minutes ’til Michael,” and you realize you’re

Carole King is BEAUTIFUL at the Alhambra

BEAUTIFUL: THE CAROLE KING MUSICAL focuses on thirteen (1958-1971) years in a longer career, and it showcases not only Carole the singer/songwriter, but her first major writing partner, a second writing duo who were competitors and friends, as well as some of the numerous artists that actually recorded their varied

LES MISERABLES is a Tapestry of Sight and Sound

If you love opera, you’ll love LES MISERABLES.  If you don’t love opera, you’ll love LES MISERABLES.  The original story was written in the 1800’s by author and artist Victor Hugo, then adapted in 1980 into a French sung-through musical by Michel Schönberg and Alain Boublil.  Five years later, it was

April Theater, Dance and Film

April 1-6 “Les Miserables” Jacksonville Center for the Performing Arts fscjartistseries.org April 3 “A Year With Frog and Toad” Thrasher-Horne Center thcenter.org April 3-11 “Beautiful: The Carole King Story” Alhambra Theatre & Dining alhambrajax.com April 3-13 “Oklahoma!” Artist Connection Theatre artistconnectiontheatre.org April 4 “The Great Gatsby:

In the Midst

Words by Ambar Ramirez “My motto is for the community, by the community. And that is a representation of who you share and forge spaces with, and in the midst is a true representation of community experiences built on the life experiences of true creatives that eat, breathe, live
July 5th Cleanup
GoUp

Don't Miss

The Avett Brothers

November 15 The Avett Brothers St. Augustine Amphitheatre (904) 471-1965

Paula Poundstone

Paula Poundstone “Twitter is the postcards in my head.” It’s