B-Town Players come up short in 'Chorus Line'

In sequence with many independent productions done at the John Waldron Arts Center, 122 S. Walnut St., the most current production from the B-Town Players, "A Chorus Line" is likely to find full house audiences standing well before the finale has ended. Such was the case Wednesday night for Michael Bennet's tour-de-force musical about out-of-work dancers who "have to get this show".\nDirector and alumna Ajna Austin's Bloomington directorial debut attempts to be the spectacle that was the talk of Broadway for more than 6,000 performances. But this effort is made with a company and crew that, while talented, is not ready for the undertaking of such a difficult piece.\nAustin probably saw and was touched by creator/choreographer Bennet's original production. But rather than trying to play homage to that version, the B-Town Player's production of the Marvin Hamlisch, Edward Kleban, James Kirkwood and Nicholas Dante musical tries to become the original. By making that move, the production presents itself as being almost too difficult to perform properly (as is especially evident from senior Nick Pupillo's choreography), even with some heartfelt and whirlwind performances from the entire company.\nAs audience members arrived in the theatre to take their seats, cast members fought their way through to the audition happening in the same theatre, leaving the spectators to be voyeurs at this life or death audition. Dancers began warming up and talking, creating a familiar atmosphere, but the distraction of the mirrors kept audience members' attention away from the performers and, unfortunately, on themselves.\nAlthough the mirrors are necessary to the show in many ways (especially for Cassie's song "The Music and the Mirror"), the Waldron is not a leveled off proscenium stage where spotlighting can take place easily. This accounts for a direct reflection of not only the audience, but also of the bright spotlight coming from a dead center, mid-height angle.\nTechnical problems for both the actors and technicians continued throughout the performance as various cast members were hard to hear (from the front row), were out of light, lost a hat or two and seemed to know all too well the songs and dances they were supposedly doing for the first time. \nFrom a technical perspective, costumes looked anywhere from 1975 to 2001 depending on the particular actor, the triangular black flats/mirrors were often turned the wrong way, giving away the secret of the finale as well as looking unprofessional. The spotlight also failed to come on at specific moments so that certain performers were singing in complete blackness.\nIn performance this musical is a bear, for it requires an ensemble of 24 triple threats -- not easily found especially in Bloomington. For this, director Austin found most of her people in the famed Singing Hoosiers, most of whom are musical theatre majors.\nThe role of Cassie, arguably the lead female role, must be the best actor/singer/dancer in the group. Undeniably, senior Lauren Fagone is the best dancer -- though her dance break in "The Music and the Mirror" mostly featured her ballet abilities -- but her singing and acting showed a lack of training.\nA fresh performance came from senior Angel Cabral as Diana Morales, whose rendition of "Nothing" was connected and deeply felt. Freshman Zachary Frank as Larry, the show's dance captain, was incredible to view, as his dancing (as it should be) was flawless.\nSophomore James Neff as Zach, the fictional show's director/choreographer was ruthless and compassionate at the same time, creating a Zach that spoke with eloquence and humanity while being at times rash and uncompromising. It was by far the most stirring performance.\nSupporting performers sophomore Amy Birnbaum, senior Cynthia Tomm, senior Brendt Reil, junior Maria Campos, senior Joe Komara and senior Chris Klink, who all had major roles, gave the performances of their careers thus far. This shows the world that this was the piece for them to do at this time. Their humor, singing and dancing all came through nicely, making them fun to watch and listen to.\n"A Chorus Line" is the hopes and dreams of every Broadway dancer, and perhaps of many in the B-town Players production. As the characters realize near the end of the show that it could all end tomorrow, they understand it is all about "What I did for love." This show was created with that same love and audiences will most likely adore it. But for those who know this musical and hope for a certain standard of performance, this production just doesn't make the cut.