There is no denying the sheer delight in viewing a cast in multi-colored leotards and muscle shirts dancing against a mirrored paneled stage set in 1975. Add emotional monologues, flashy choreography, and catchy tunes, and you get the longest-running and nine-time Tony Award-winning musical, “A Chorus Line,” currently reviving itself at the Ahmanson Theatre. Indeed, one need not be an avid Broadway veteran or an aspiring performer to leave the theatre humming Hamlisch and Kleban tunes from “I Hope I Get It” to the memorable Busby Berkeley finale, “One,” complete with gold costumes, flashing lights, and rockette kicks.

Written by James Kirkwood and Nicholas Dante, “A Chorus Line” tells the tale of seventeen highly trained and more importantly, committed performers who are vying to make it as one of the eight chorus members of a new Broadway musical. The characters range from a girl who always dreamed of being a ballerina to a Puerto Rican boy who discovers his homosexuality. Through the course of a little over two hours (minus an intermission), the audience, acting as both spectator and judge, discover these diverse individuals’ pitfalls and their endless passion for the stage.

Perhaps I am a bit biased given the fact that my mother relentlessly played the “A Chorus Line” soundtrack to me as a child; this Broadway smash is indeed one of my favorites. That is why after seeing the show for the first time in New York City a few months back, I found myself unfortunately disappointed in the underwhelming vocal prowess of the Broadway cast, and therefore, awaited with unnerving anticipation at its Center Theatre Group revival, re-staged by the original Connie of “A Chorus Line,” Baayork Lee.

Once more I was disenchanted by Cassie’s big number, “The Music and the Mirror,” followed by the traditional and unfortunately lengthy mirror dance. While she fit the part aesthetically as the tall blonde and appeared to dedicate herself to the dance with sharp movements and a painted smile on her face, like so many Cassies before her, Nikki Snelson just did not woe me vocally. Perhaps too much energy was spent dancing with precision instead of producing resonant tone.

A highlight of the evening came with Natalie Hall’s spunky Kristin Chenoweth-esque celebration of plastic surgery, primarily in the front and derrière in “Dance: Ten; Looks: Three.” Another performer to take note of—Paul’s (Kevin Santos) effusive monologue about his ashamed past and loyal family moved the audience to tears.

Altogether, the ensemble of seventeen kicked, belted, and whirled their way into the hearts of the Los Angeles opening night audience, as was evident by their tumultuous applaud from the moment they stepped out to say “I Hope I Get It” to their final “One.” Indeed, what can be better than the raw presentation of a throng of working artists standing in front of those iconic upstage mirrors and spilling their hearts out for the sake of performance? Truly, the Center Theatre Group revived and re-inspired the magic of “A Chorus Line.”

By Danielle Jacoby

Photo Credit: Paul Kolnik

Where: Ahmanson Theatre, 135 N. Grand Ave., Los Angeles

When: 8 p.m. Tuesdays through Fridays, 2 p.m. and 8 p.m. Saturdays, 1 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. Sundays. Ends July 6

Price: $30 to $100

Contact: (213) 628-2772, www.CenterTheatreGroup.org

Cast:

Mike………………………..Clyde Alves
Roy…………………………Venny Carranza
Larry…………………….….John Carroll
Sheila……………………….Emily Fletcher
Judy…………………………Stephanie Gibson
Zach………………………...Michael Gruber
Val………………………….Natalie Hall
Don…………………………Derek Hanson
Maggie……………………..Hollie Howard
Mark………………………..Jay Armstrong Johnson
Vicki………………………..Julie Kotarides
Greg………………………...Denis Lambert
Kristine……………………..Jessica Latshaw
Bobby…………………….....Ian Liberto
Tricia…………………….….Stephanie Martignetti
Lois…………………….…...Sterling Masters
Bebe…………………….…..Pilar Millhollen
Al……………………….…..Colt Prattes
Diana……………………….Gabrielle Ruiz
Tom………………………...Clifton Samuels
Paul………………………....Kevin Santos
Cassie…………………….…Nikki Snelson
Frank…………………….….Brandon Tyler
Richie…………………….…Anthony Wayne
Butch…………………….….J.R. Whittington
Connie……………………....Jessica Wu

Director: Bob Avian
Original Choreographer & Director: Michael Bennett
Choreography Re-Staged: Baayork Lee
Music & Lyrics: Marvin Hamlisch & Edward Kleban
Scenic Design: Robin Ragner
Costume Design: Theoni V. Aldredge
Lighting Design: Tharon Musser
Sound Design: Acme Sound Partners
Music Supervision: Patrick Vaccariello
Music Direction: John O’Neill
Orchestrations: Jonathan Tunick, Bill Byers & Hershy Kay
Vocal Arrangements: Don Pippin