Hello and welcome to HTAC’s production of A Chorus Line. To keep with the theme of community in A Chorus Line, I asked our entire production staff, pit, and cast to tell me what this show means to them and why they think it is important we tell this story.
Theatre is important because it unites a diverse group of people under a roof of creativity and inclusivity. We wouldn’t have each other if we didn’t take the time to get to know each other while doing theatre. In today’s day and age, we judge everyone and their whole character on social media based on these small snapshots we have of them, when in reality, there is so much more to us all. When you get to know people you realize that without the ballet, people like Sheila, Bebe, and Maggie wouldn’t be able to escape to a place where everything is beautiful.
Rehearsals are taxing and we see through A Chorus Line how much heart, soul, blood, sweat, and tears goes into a production to create something magical on stage. Performers sacrifice so much to throw themselves fully into a show. If you listen to the words to the song “What I Did For Love,” you realize why we are all okay with making this sacrifice. Simply put, we love this. We love performing. We love directing. We love stage managing and all other aspects of producing a show. We love storytelling. Coming together to tell this story makes us all feel loved and feel whole. We can never regret what led us to where we are now because we did it for love. We know that it is easy to sometimes feel small in this world but we must remember that we are all special. When you find yourself doubting your own ability or self worth, take a moment to examine how your experiences have shaped and impacted who you are today and this will unite us all.
Finally, I wanted to thank my grandmother, who took me to see A Chorus Line many moons ago. Even though I was only a young, first level, musical nerd at the time, the moment I heard Diana start to sing “What I Did For Love,” I fell in love with this show and musical theatre in general. This show and its story have remained a huge part of my life all the way to college. During the middle of my freshman year, I remember asking some upperclassmen in HTAC if they thought we could ever do A Chorus Line and I am so proud of this cast for being so hard working and proving that we absolutely can.
