A CHORUS LINE
Performed at Luton Library Theatre - April 2005
Every so often, in the unpredictable world of amateur theatre, you are just glad to be able to say you were there.
Genuine hit shows on the local stage are few and far between and miffed souls have often expressed chagrin at missing this or that humdinger. Well they can add another to the list. The Colin Smith Youth Musical Theatre's production of 'A Chorus Line' was so good I went to see it twice! If I am perfectly honest I could have watched it half a dozen times and still not tired of it.
It is a small plus that I love Michael Bennett's musical, numerous wannabees auditioning for the chorus of a Broadway blockbuster, a major plus that this company wrapped it with awesome talent.
From the opening I Hope I Get It to the gloriously glittering One at the close, the 30-strong company stunningly choreographed by Lynda Haxell and Tara Brightman, absolutely captivated.
The sniffy critical side of my nature would have ditched dodgy ballet dancers and slapped Stuart Farrar's directorial wrist for denying us a more tightly focused elimination of chorus hopefuls. But, frankly, it mattered little. Wrapped in the peerless showmanship lighting of David Houghton and supported by Graham Weeks' vigorous band the company constantly surprised. The rehearsal of the show stopping One was rich in theatrical invention and a plethora of principals turned in performances which literally gob-smacked.
Lisa Lapidge's feisty Sheila gave us an evocative At the Ballet, Caroline Needham's wholesome tart a captivating Let Me Dance For You, Katie Brennan a superb Nothing, and Aimee Thompson an accomplished Dance Ten, Looks Three. All these ladies could act to their fingertips and their individual turns underlined the hunger for illusory fame.
And Megan Farrar and Tom Jennings, nerdish newlyweds, combined with exquisite skill in Sing. Mr Jennings' vocal dexterity and timing was a personal highlight in a show simply littered with them.
I could stop there and you would still think the company had earned enough brownie points to fund the next millenium. But add in a sharp turn from Kerrie Bright's tap dancing Trisha, striking support from Caroline Fitch's excellent Maggie, and beautifully sensitive monologues from Luke Storey's neurotic Bobby and Dale Stacey's nervous Paul, and Mr Farrar's 'A Chorus Line' gets preciously close to a rave.
And all is said without mentioning the two nominal leads who give this magnificent musical its linking storyline. Lee Gauntlett was the obsessively driven director Zach who bares the souls of the hungry dancers. Helen Farrar's Cassie his even hungrier ex who failed in her bid for Hollywood stardom. Both turned in finely crafted performances of power and finesse. In a lesser production they would be its undoubted stars.
The highest praise I can give this show is to say that two of the area's most gifted talents were simply part of a glorious team.
Roy Hall