A CHORUS LINE (Left to Right): John Trapani (Zach), Chris Horan (Mark), Meghan Shulz (Val), Liz Cascarelli (Kristine), Jeremy Gable (Mike) and Tom Blair (Larry). Photo credit: Robin Goodfellow Web Designs.
King of Prussia Players’ production of A CHORUS LINE, directed by Cassandra Morabito, is an enjoyable evening of classic Broadway fare, with some shining stars from the local community theatre scene—a success for the theater company now finishing it’s 55th season.
A CHORUS LINE is an intimate look at the lives of dancers, their trials and tribulations, and the single drive that motivates them all. The setting is a casting call in 1975; Morabito’s direction honored the original script and score, placing the casting director Zach, aptly played by John Trapani, right in the audience. Through the stories of each of the characters, we get a sneak peek at what goes on at a dance audition, the competition, the tears, the pain, and we learn what brought each of these unique individuals to the stage.
It is the cast of characters that makes this show the sixth-longest-running musical on Broadway and the winner of nine Tony awards and a Pulitzer. Yes, the music is melodic and catchy, the is dancing snazzy, but it’s the stories of the young starlets that draw us in, and we root for each and every one of them. This cast honored those sentimental stories with excitement and energy.
King of Prussia Players presents A CHORUS LINE. Photo credit: Robin Goodfellow Web Designs.
Standouts in an overall excellent cast include Tara Dromgoole as Cassie, the director’s former lover. Dromgoole dazzles us with her dance solo, “The Music and the Mirror”. We love and hate Sheila, the vet with the huge attitude, masterfully played by Christine Winans. Achilles Inverso’s tear-jerker monologue as Paul completely wins us over, as does the incredibly adept Jeremy Gable’s hoofing in the hit “I Can Do That”. Lorraine Delgado-Amador sang a passionate rendition of the beautiful ballad, “What I Did For Love”, and Meghan Schulz tickled us with a sexy explanation of how she got where she is with the skillful help of a cosmetic surgeon in “Dance: Ten; Looks: Three”. Notable supporting cast members include Jerry McGrier as Richie (great comic timing) and the adorable tone-deaf Elizabeth Cascarelli as Kristine. One talent i truly stood out: Tom Blair as Larry the choreographer. No stranger to dance and the stage, Blair was the backbone of this production, choreographing most of the numbers. Honoring the original production but with his own professional style, Blair’s Larry was purely authentic.
A combination of comedy, smash dance numbers, sentimental stories and melodious singing make this show a no-brainer for any theatre-lover. Go and see why it truly is One Singular Sensation!
A CHORUS LINE
Music by Marvin Hamlisch
Lyrics by Edward Kleban
Book by James Kirkwood and Nicholas Dante
Directed by Cassandra Morabito
King of Prussia Players
Upper Merion Area Middle School
450 Keebler Rd.
King of Prussia, PA
November 2–10, 2012
610-277-9505
kofpplayers.org
2 comments
Congratulations to all the cast and crew of A Chorus Line!!!!!!
Great Show! Thank you for an evening of joy!