One Singular Sensation

Another week, another show...

In what is turning out to be one of our busiest "Social Seasons" in a few years, my beloved sister had booked tickets for me, Madam Arcati, John-John, her and her hubbie History Boy to go to the "home of dance" Sadler's Wells Theatre for the Nikolai Foster revival/revamp of an old favourite show A Chorus Line on Friday evening. In the event, she and HB tested positive for COVID, so we went as a trio...

As explained by Daz Gale at All That Dazzles:

Just one year shy of its 50th anniversary, A Chorus Line debuted in 1975, initially holding the record for the longest-running Broadway musical ever, and remaining as the seventh longest-running one to this day. West End audiences got their first chance to experience it in 1976 with revivals on both sides of the Atlantic in the decades since, as well as a movie adaptation in 1985. This production was first seen at Curve Leicester in 2021 and now embarks on a tour around the UK, including a summer season at London’s Sadler’s Wells. As the title suggests, it focuses on 17 Broadway dancers auditioning to be part of a chorus line for a new show. As the choreographer interrogates them, we learn what made each of them want to become a dancer, getting a glimpse into each individual's lives and personalities.

We did go and see the glitzy West End version [directed by the show's original co-choreographer, with Michael Bennett, Bob Avian] back in 2013, but this production has many subtle differences, not least the all-new sparkling choreography by Ellen Kane. There's also an odd gimmick in this production, whereby a hand-held camera focuses on close ups of the dancers’ faces as they struggle through the audition, projected on a big screen at the back of the stage. A bit unnecessary, we thought.

It didn't distract, of course, from the sheer intensity and breathtaking artistry of this marvellous cast of dancers, as they are made to expose uncomfortable details about their (often sad, lonely or abusive) upbringings, their triumphs and tragedies, and thus this singular assortment of oddballs starts to gel as a cohesive troupe.

As the man in charge "Zack", Adam Cooper - [the original 1995 "Swan/Stranger" in Matthew Bourne's Swan Lake which we went to see in its 2005 season] - was convincingly cold-hearted, dealing as he is with his own demons as an ageing workaholic dancer-turned-coach who never sustained the dizzy successes of his youth, and it is he who holds the whole thing together. However, it's the desperate wannabee-chorines - all seventeen of them - whose stories [ostensibly originally based upon real-life testimonies] that really create this show!

From Redmand Rance's energetic turn as "Mark" (I Can Do That), to the brilliant trio of streetwise-but-unwanted-child "Sylvia" (Amy Thornton), demeaned "Bebe" (Lydia Bannister) and put-upon "Maggie" (Kate Parr) on the beautiful At The Ballet, to the gorgeous Archie Durrant as the naive "Mark Anthony" (whose amusing story was of how he convinced himself, from his beloved medical textbook, that his first wet dream was gonorrhoea(!)), to Toby Seddon’s weirdo "Bobby" who used to break into people’s houses to rearrange their stuff, Joshua Lay and Katie Lee as married couple "Al" and "Kristine" (the latter's inability to hit a note being the subject of their number Sing!), to Manuel Pacific's heartbreaking backstory as the perpetually-abused-child-turned-drag-queen Paul San Marco - every one was a gem.

There were a few standout numbers, of course - in particular the utterly faboo Chloe Saunders as "Val", whose Dance: Ten; Looks: Three was [and always has been] one of my favourite numbers in the whole show. I was singing "Tits and ass / Bought myself a fancy pair / Tightened up the derriere" all last week! Carly Mercedes Dyer as "Cassie", the former star turn fallen on hard times (and also the ex of "Zack", which makes for much awkwardness), despite a few wobbles, did a convincing rendition of The Music and the Mirror, and Jocasta Almgill as "Diana Morales" [again - she also did the faboo Nothing earlier in the show] was pitch-perfect on the show's torch-song What I Did For Love

It was, however, the dénouement, the final ensemble number One (Singular Sensation) for which we were all waiting - and it was indeed spectacular! Opening with a very clever visual trick - as the see-through drop-curtain descended over an almost empty stage, with "Zack" reminiscing about his heyday, he plucked what we thought was a painted gold top hat from the screen, plonked it on his head, and turned to face the suddenly illuminated chorus line players - all sparkling in gold from top-to-toe.

As the song builds and builds, Miss Kane's choreography was an eye-popping swirl of perfectly-coordinated dancers, high-kicks, hat-raising, "Fosse-esque" hand-flicks - all accompanied by fireworks and a cascade of (gold, of course) glittery ticker-tape!

Utterly magnificent.

A Chorus Line official 2024 trailer

We loved every minute!

A Chorus Line is at Sadler’s Wells until 25th August 2024.

[all photography by Marc Brenner; click to embiggen]