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On the day of our first read-through, I asked the cast to talk about why they wanted to be in A Chorus Line. Roy Rains, who plays Zach, may have put it best. He said that he saw it as a chance for us, as performers, to tell our story. On the surface, A Chorus Line appears to be a show about dance. It is really a show about dancers as they go through the grueling process of auditioning for a Broadway show. It is a glimpse inside a world that outsiders rarely see. The auditioners begin by holding up their head shots and resumes, a description of the person they want the director to see. But this audition is different. As the audition continues, the dancers tell their stories, peeling away the layers until we finally see the people behind the pictures.

 

What makes A Chorus Line special is that these stories, with all of the hope and the heartbreak, are real. They come from recordings made in 1974 at a workshop for Broadway dancers. Interestingly, eight of the dancers involved in that workshop went on to appear in the original cast of the 1975 Broadway production.

 

A Chorus Line is also a snapshot of the time period in which it was born, reflecting 1975 attitudes about growing up, sexuality and self-discovery.

 

What makes the Randall's production of A Chorus Line even more meaningful to me is what our cast brings to it. During the rehearsal process, we took some time to listen to each other's personal stories about how we got started performing and what drives us to continue. It quickly became clear that, even though this isn't Broadway, the passion this cast feels for performing is just as strong. 

 

I would like to express deepest thanks to our Music Director Michael Wing and our Choreographer, Debbie Downward for weeks spent planning and teaching an insane amount of music and dance combinations. We also have a couple of wonderful additions in our Dance Captains Jon Shaffer and Payne! Smith. Thank you also to Toni Holley and crew for our costumes and to our sound and lighting teams for creating and executing the hundreds of cues that are part of this show.

 

Finally, thank you to Robin Downward and the Randall Theatre for the opportunity to tell this incredible story with this amazing group of performers. They truly are " one singular sensation"!