This Friday, the Theatre Arts department opens the doors to the Dorothy Jemison Day Theater with its first spring production, A Chorus Line. ASFA students will see a Friday performance during a FOCUS schedule. The production will continue all weekend with its final performance on Sunday.
A Chorus Line is a musical that tells the story of a group of performers who audition for a Broadway production. Theatre junior Ka’Lise Benson elaborates, “From their backgrounds, how they started dance…the passion and love that keep you motivated. …It’s a fun and entertaining way to have a lens into the performing arts world.”
Favor Buchi, another junior in the Theatre Arts department, also sheds a little light on the musical, commenting, “This is a very dance-heavy show, which is different than anything the Theatre department has ever done, so I think it took a lot of hard work and dedication.”
She continues, “The director is asking [the characters] about our lives and who we are as people and why we started dancing. When [A Chorus Line] was written on Broadway for the first time, they based all the characters off of the people’s actual life stories. We’re portraying humans, not really characters.”
In the production, Favor Buchi plays Maggie Winslow, who is characterized as a sweet woman who grew up in a broken home.
Benson portrays dancer Kristine Urich. Benson says about the character, “She’s young, bubbly, and full of energy. She’s still trying to figure the industry out.” The character is married to Al Deluca, who is played by Theatre sophomore Jack Fokkens.
The cast and the rest of the department prepared for months to put on such a large production. According to Buchi, “[The Theatre department] had an audition process in August to see where [students] were vocally. We had another audition process in November after our fall shows were over. Then we got straight into rehearsals in January, and we’ve had rehearsals [until] seven o’clock every single day since… which was definitely challenging.”
“We spend our specialty period blocking choreography, fitting costumes, running cues…" Benson elaborates. "Music rehearsals and acting are key parts of telling the story.”
Benson describes a bit about what she’s excited for the audience to see, what the truly special parts of the performance are. “I'm excited for everyone to see the signature choreography, as well as all the wild personalities. It’s a show that’s full of so much passion, scares, romance… all of it,” she explains. “ I love this show, and I’m grateful to be a part of it. With every production, there are challenges, but it’s all more experience and growth.”
Buchi also has her precious moments of the show, commenting, “I’m so excited for people to see the hard work we put in. A lot of [the cast] weren’t dancers before this, and to see the dedication and commitment to this is really fun.
"Also just to see what [the theater department] brought to it. A Chorus Line is a very iconic show in the musical theater canon, and to see how ASFA is choosing to put it on is [more] interesting than what I’ve seen before.”
Without a doubt, the student body has seen the amount of effort the production team of A Chorus Line has put into the show, and the premiere in the DJD will be cathartic. The cast hopes the audience is truly gripped by the show and enjoys their time. They’ll see everyone from the stage this Friday!
Comments