Theater Review
Revival has few singular sensations

By Misha Berson
Seattle Times theater critic

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The 1975 show "A Chorus Line" introduced a subversive notion into Broadway musical theater: that there could be nobility and satisfaction in being a member of the chorus, rather than a star.

The paradox, however, is that this definitive ensemble musical about a group of hopefuls at a Broadway dance audition gleams brightest when its key characters do exude some star-shine. To make us care about their fates during a physically (and mentally) grueling audition, and admire what got them this far, requires that extra something.

The 5th Avenue Theatre's new production of "A Chorus Line" has all the standard elements of the long-running, Pulitzer Prize-winning musical in place. But it doesn't have enough of that individual charisma.

Theater review "A Chorus Line," through Feb. 16 at 5th Ave. Theatre, 1308 Fifth Ave., Seattle. $15-$58. 206-292-ARTS.

Director Stephen Terrell, a former hoofer who worked with the late director-originator Michael Bennett early in his own career, hews closely to the design and thrust of the original "Chorus Line."

The many dance sequences, choreographed by Terrell and Tim Johnson (who also performs in the show), respect Bennett's template without slavishly re-creating it, step for step.

The pit band under W. Brent Sawyer's baton also does its part, delivering a Marvin Hamlisch and Edward Kleban score that's not just catchy as all get-out, but graced with killer arrangements.

So what makes this revival (one of several here over the past decade) serviceable, yet not entirely captivating? There's the book, by James Kirkwood, which has an encounter-group soapiness that hasn't aged as well as other aspects of the piece.

But it's the uneven quality of the "gypsies" at this audition that's the real issue. All or most should be triple threats: expert dancers, who are also strong singers and engaging actors.

There are a few aboard who fill the order, and at the top of the line is Jane Lanier. A flame-haired stage veteran who earned a Tony Award nomination for her work in "Jerome Robbins' Broadway," Lanier was also a sparkplug in the Broadway hit "Fosse."

Here she makes a compelling Cassie, the maturing dancer who has reached for stardom, failed to catch it, and yearns just to get back into the chorus — despite the protestations of her former lover Zach (Doug Tompos), the Bennett-like director conducting the audition. In her big solo number, "The Music and the Mirror," Lanier gives radiant expression to Cassie's sheer delight in movement.

Taryn Darr, a snazzy local performer, also has a good turn. She sparkles as Val, the unblinking realist who belts out the dishy "Dance: Ten, Looks: Three" — surely the best musical case ever made for the joys of plastic surgery.

And veteran actress Tracy Powell has the statuesque bearing and been-there, done-that brassiness to bring off the role of Sheila, the tough cookie who crumbles a little to reveal a painful childhood in the lovely trio tune, "At the Ballet."

Otherwise, though, the main performers don't pop out as they should when they bare their souls to Zach's relentless prodding. This is particularly evident with Maya R.S. Perkins, who as Diana doesn't exhibit a singing voice or stage presence potent enough to hit home the wry story-song "Nothing," or the stirring anthem, "What I Did for Love."

And when all the choristers reassemble for "One," the sleek parody-homage to regimental Broadway flash that is the show's exultant finale, the ensemble dancing just isn't as slick or tight as it should be.

One can admire the pluck of these young performers, and their eagerness to please. But in "A Chorus Line" the chorus is truly the star, and it needs to deliver — especially on the Broadway-sized stage of the 5th Avenue.

Misha Berson: mberson@seattletimes.com.

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