[NEohioPAL]ABJ Review: "A Chorus Line" light.

Fri Jun 27 01:24:36 PDT 2003

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The Beacon Journal

Cast not quite up to 'A Chorus Line'
Porthouse production members dance well, but fall short when it comes to 
vocal aspect
By Kerry Clawson
Beacon Journal Staff Writer

The backstage musical has been popular fare with American audiences for 
decades, including the current Broadway hit The Producers and earlier shows such as 
42nd Street, Kiss Me Kate and A Chorus Line.

The latter, a 1976 Tony Award-winning musical, opens  the summer season at 
Porthouse Theatre on the grounds of Blossom Music Center.  A Chorus Line 
features  a young, 26 member cast composed of mainly college students and recent 
graduates , most from Ketnt State University and Baldwin-Wallace College.  That's 
a very believable age for dancing hopefuls trying out for a Broadway chorus - 
the premise for the show's story.

Past professional tours of A Chorus Line that have come to Northeast Ohio 
have been praised as dazzling, joyous and moving.  Unfortunatelyk Porthouse's 
production, directed by Victoria Bussert, is not dazzling.  It lacks a certain 
slickness and panache needed to earn that adjective.

Part of the problem is finding excellent dancers who can make complicated 
steps look easy while singing fabulously.  Such double threats are rare.

Mary Ann Black, a former Braodway dancer in A Chorus Line, has choreographed 
the show, and this cast is made up of dancers first, singers second.  But the 
production also requires skillful vocals, with the difficult score leaving 
little margin for error.   In too many instances, the cast doesn't deliver.

Vocals ranged from inexact to downright ragged, esprcially in the messy 
Montage Part 3: Mother, where several melody lines are sung at once and none can be 
deciphered.  In other numbers, soloists were off-key.

Jessica Cope, who turned out to be one f the strongest singers, couldn't be 
heard in her lower range as Diana in Nothing.  Kelly Meneer looks the part of 
sexpot Val and can certainly dance, but her voice cracked and she clearly 
couldn't hang on to her final high note in her provocative Dance: Ten; Looks: 
Three.

Porthouse's A Chorus Line is energetic, but not joyous.  Sunday's opening act 
felt hesitant, as if the cast were holding back. Yet some of this productions 
finest emotional moments occur later in the second act when the dancers bare 
their souls about their hunger for their craft.

This show is a tribute to the backbone of the Broadway musical - all those 
chorus members who live from audiiton to audition.  High Points include Lauren 
Marshall's desperation as featured dancer Cassie, tring to get back into the 
game in The Music and the Mirror.  Gary Walker also is heart-wrenching as Paul, 
telling hsi lonely story of how he got into dancing.

The funniest member of the ensemble is Equity actor Matt Lillo, who plays the 
extremely effeminate, witty, weird Bobby.

Equity actor Bob Simon, who has acted professionally across the United States 
and in Europe is right on the mark as the damanding choreographer who puts 
the auditioners through their paces.  He paces around the back of the theater, 
barking instructions into his microphone.

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<HTML>The Beacon Journal 
 
Cast not quite up to 'A Chor=
us Line' 
Porthouse production memb=
ers dance well, but fall short when it comes to vocal aspect 
By Kerry Clawson 
Beacon Journal Staff Writer 
 
The backstage musical ha=
s been popular fare with American audiences for decades, including the curre=
nt Broadway hit The Producers and earlier shows such as 42nd Street, Kiss Me=
 Kate and A Chorus Line. 
 
The latter, a 1976 Tony Award-winning musical, opens  the summer season=
 at Porthouse Theatre on the grounds of Blossom Music Center.  A Chorus=
 Line features  a young, 26 member cast composed of mainly college stud=
ents and recent graduates , most from Ketnt State University and Baldwin-Wal=
lace College.  That's a very believable age for dancing hopefuls trying=
 out for a Broadway chorus - the premise for the show's story. 
 
Past professional tours of A Chorus Line that have come to Northeast Ohio ha=
ve been praised as dazzling, joyous and moving.  Unfortunatelyk Porthou=
se's production, directed by Victoria Bussert, is not dazzling.  It lac=
ks a certain slickness and panache needed to earn that adjective. 
 
Part of the problem is finding excellent dancers who can make complicated st=
eps look easy while singing fabulously.  Such double threats are rare.<=
BR>
 
Mary Ann Black, a former Braodway dancer in A Chorus Line, has choreographed=
 the show, and this cast is made up of dancers first, singers second. =20=
But the production also requires skillful vocals, with the difficult score l=
eaving little margin for error.   In too many instances, the cast=20=
doesn't deliver. 
 
Vocals ranged from inexact to downright ragged, esprcially in the messy Mont=
age Part 3: Mother, where several melody lines are sung at once and none can=
 be deciphered.  In other numbers, soloists were off-key. 
 
Jessica Cope, who turned out to be one f the strongest singers, couldn't be=20=
heard in her lower range as Diana in Nothing.  Kelly Meneer looks the p=
art of sexpot Val and can certainly dance, but her voice cracked and she cle=
arly couldn't hang on to her final high note in her provocative Dance: Ten;=20=
Looks: Three. 
 
Porthouse's A Chorus Line is energetic, but not joyous.  Sunday's openi=
ng act felt hesitant, as if the cast were holding back. Yet some of this pro=
ductions finest emotional moments occur later in the second act when the dan=
cers bare their souls about their hunger for their craft. 
 
This show is a tribute to the backbone of the Broadway musical - all those c=
horus members who live from audiiton to audition.  High Points include=20=
Lauren Marshall's desperation as featured dancer Cassie, tring to get back i=
nto the game in The Music and the Mirror.  Gary Walker also is heart-wr=
enching as Paul, telling hsi lonely story of how he got into dancing. 
 
The funniest member of the ensemble is Equity actor Matt Lillo, who plays th=
e extremely effeminate, witty, weird Bobby. 
 
Equity actor Bob Simon, who has acted professionally across the United State=
s and in Europe is right on the mark as the damanding choreographer who puts=
 the auditioners through their paces.  He paces around the back of the=20=
theater, barking instructions into his microphone.</HTML>

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