17 September 2006

A Chorus Line took Broadway by storm again tonight at an invitation only gypsy run-through. The performance, the show's first on Broadway since "The End of The Line" on April 28, 1990, was a chance for family and friends of the cast and production team to see the show before its first public preview tomorrow night. And it provided the New Broadway Cast with their first experience of a New York audience.

Not many shows invite a round of applause before they begin but this show received two: one when the house lights were dimmed and the other when the cast of shadows took their places on the stage. And once the music and dancing began the applause was even greater. Each musical number, along with Paul's monologue, was greeted with exuberant applause and by the finale the cast must have felt caught up in the excitement of the audience.

Playing to a full house at the Schoenfeld, its new home on Broadway, A Chorus Line brings back the magic of theater for those old enough to remember the original run and it introduces that magic to a whole new generation of theater-goers. Those closing notes of the score, echoing along Shubert Alley for more than sixteen years, were replaced by the opening notes of the practice piano as the dancers went through their paces. And they were welcomed as a parched piece of land welcomes a rainstorm. This was not only a performance it was a reunion and a celebration.

Without reviewing the show (I'll leave that for the professional critics and internet posters), I think it is safe to say that based upon the reception the show received tonight the Schoenfeld will have a tenant for a long time.

Playing to an audience that included the producer, composer, director and choreographer of this new production, the cast and crew put on quite a show. It was obvious that the audience consisted of old-timers who knew the show intimately, and first-timers who were drawn in by the magic of this work. The old-timers lauged at the jokes, sometimes even before they happened, and the newcomers gasped when Diana was told to go "back in line". And it seemd that everyone there was having a great time.

Without giving anything away I will say that the show is the same but it's different. Director Bob Avian and Choreographer Baayork Lee treat the text and score with a sense of respect but without merely recreating the production of Michael Bennett and company from 1975. And it works, proving that A Chorus Line is a show for the ages.