Chorus Line Redux

One singular retardation ...

Back in its heyday, Chorus Line was edgy. It had cast members break out of character and talk candidly to the audience and to the director/choreographer. We hear their insecurities and learn about their lives. This sort of intrusion, confession, and voyeurism seems rather common in today's age of reality television. We find out, gasp!, that some of the dancers are gay, some girls are ditzes, and they all are multiculturally beautiful. Songs like Tits-and-Ass may have been pushing boundaries in 1975 but now-a-days it sounds like a Disney tune. No attempt was made to update the choreography, the dialog, or even the sets. This is a shame and there were huge flaws in casting and staging with this revival. Tits-and-Ass, boob-job gal has a boxy body and she doesn't even wear an outfit to show off her paid-for goods. The 'short girl' who sings about being frustratingly 5 foot 2 is actually around 5'6" and isn't even the shortest cast member. One gal sings about not being beautiful, in a real, not insecure way but she actually is strikingly pretty. The seasoned dancer schlepping for a job in the chorus is suppose to dance a number showcasing her superior talents. The number comes across as herky-jerky gyrations. The mirrored panels were actually Mylar, one of which had a hole kicked into it my the end of the show. The costumes looked like hand-me-downs from a high school jazz dance show. All the gold, sequins, and top hats have now become cliché. fodder for cartoon parodies (see The Simpsons and Family Guy for reference). In fact, the whole show felt like a community college production, not worthy of Broadway show space or the exorbitant ticket prices. No bright lights or mirrors could save this this tarnished, stale show.