‘Chorus Line’ brings a generational twist
Show pairs up veteran dancers, young director
Who can sing “I Hope I Get It” with more fervor than performers who’ve been auditioning for decades?
That’s the point of view taken by a new production of “A Chorus Line” that Theater RED and Milwaukee Opera Theatre will stage Sunday and Monday at Cardinal Stritch University. That’s unusual scheduling for musical theater, but those were the only two days that worked for this show’s cast of more two dozen performers, including notable local veterans Angela Iannone, Bill Jackson, Karen Estrada, Diane Lane and C. Michael Wright.
This production grows out of Theater RED producing director Marcee Doherty-Elst’s dream of staging “A Chorus Line” in which the auditioning dancers are 40 and older. In another twist, in this production they’re pitted against a hotshot young director (Joe Picchetti), who coaxes them to spill their guts.
Stage director Jill Anna Ponasik sees this as opportunity to think about generational divides. “What’s it like when the person in charge is younger than you,” she said.
While it’s billed as a concert staging, Ponasik said this “Chorus Line” has more dancing than she first thought it would, thanks to the desire of the performers and the choreographic skills of cast member James Zager.
To Ponasik, “A Chorus Line” resonates beyond the story of dancers trying to land a job. “It’s about being an artist and about pursuing a dream over a long period of time,” she said.