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A Chorus Line by Starlight Musical Theatre 
Fantastic dancing and choreography highlight this production of Michael Bennett's A Chorus Line, the huge Broadway hit that garnered nine Tony Awards, a Pulitzer Prize, and ran on Broadway for fifteen years. The at times humorous, at times touching look at the lives of struggling actors vying against incredible competition for bit parts in a Broadway show contains great drama, comedy, music, and especially dancing.
After getting off to a bit of a late start due to what has become an increasingly long introduction by the Starlight Lady (this one clocked in at a full ten minutes), the ensemble immediately started showing off their dancing prowess with the I Hope I Get It number, featuring anxious dancers trying to make the first big cut in the tension-filled audition session. Once the big cuts are made, the rest of the show introduces us to the sixteen who are left competing for the eight available slots. The usually anonymous members of the ensemble become, in A Chorus Line, the stars of the show, and we get a glimpse into the lives, motivations, and anxieties that virtually all actors feel when trying to land a part. True to life, the sixteen who make the initial cut are all great dancers, yet a mixed bag when it comes to singing and acting. However, a few stood out in all three aspects. As Val, Melissa Strom lit up the stage with a hilarious and enthusiastic Dance: Ten, Looks: Three, where she describes how a few slight adjustments from a plastic surgeon dramatically improved her "Looks" ratings and led to far more success in acting as well as other diversions. Jenny R. Bates, as elder statesperson Sheila (who is nearly thirty years old!), gave the strongest vocal performance of the evening with her At the Ballet song and entertained throughout with her humorously droll references to her more mature standing in society compared to the young whippersnappers surrounding her on stage. On Friday night, understudy Joyelle Cabato filled in nicely for Pippa DeLaunay in the role of Maggie, turning in one of the finest vocal performances of the show while joining Jenny in performing At the Ballet. Chris J. Plonka as Al and C.F. Delaney as Kristine performed the cute duet Sing!, where Kristine strains to explain that she can't carry a tune to save her life while her husband Al keeps finishing off her lines with his much more capable voice. And Caryn Hall is amusing at the tall, hopelessly ditzy, but talented chorus girl. Unfortunately, few of the more dramatic moments of the play came off all that well. Spencer Smith, as Paul, has the most poignant scene of the play when he describes how his parents came to discover that he was gay, but his monologue included so many long, dramatic pauses, exasperated while planes kept buzzing the theatre, that it threatened to diminish the tension of the story rather than enhance it. Leads John Hoshko and Jennifer Austin, as former lovers Zach and Cassie, are both excellent dancers with Jennifer especially strutting her stuff in The Music and the Mirror, but at times Jennifer almost seemed to be overacting just a tad whereas John's voice was so completely devoid of emotion, even when arguing with his ex-lover, that he might have been actually underacting the part, despite the fact that Director Zach is supposed to be detached through most of the show. But terrific dancing by all, choreographed and directed by San Diego's famed Jack Tygett, made it pretty easy to ignore any singing or acting rough spots. The big, extravagant finale was definitely One Singular Sensation, with the entire cast moving and singing as one whole to the toe-tapping tune. Rob Hopper San Diego Playbill ~ Cast ~
Zach: John Hoshko Cassie: Jennifer Austin Sheila: Jenny R. Bates Al: Chris J. Plonka Bebe: Stephanie Saunders Bobby: Joseph Shumate Connie: Christine Timmons Diana: Alysa Zanden Greg: R. Douglas Smith Judy: Caryn Hall Larry: Philip Golden Maggie: Pippa DeLaunay Kristine: C.F. Delaney Mark: Kyle Vaughn Mike: Aaron Pomeroy Paul: Spencer Smith Richie: Charl Brown Val: Melissa Strom Butch: Aurelio "Rocky" DeHaro Frank: Joaquin Gamboa Lisa: Melissa Cowles Lois: Michelle Millum Roy: Sam Cavanaugh Suzie: Deborah Gorman Tom: Raymond Laudato Tricia: Kristen Howarth Vicki: Joyelle Cabato Director and Choreographer: Jack Tygett and Joyce Schumaker Musical Director and Conductor: Parmer Fuller Costume Designer: Kathy Auckland Lighting Designer: Eric Lotze Sound Designer: Steve Stopper Stage Manager: J. Richard Morrison Set Designer: The Set Company Assistant Musical Director: Dan Greenbush Assistant Choreographer: David Brannen |