A Chorus Line dances its way into Lambert’s theatre and heart
“So, it is essentially about different people from different backgrounds all trying to, I guess, make a name for themselves in the dancing business on Broadway,” says Senior Grayson Lichtenthaler, shown here bowing in front of the cast.
A Chorus Line proves itself to be as spectacular as its Lambert predecessors, with show-stopping dancing and heart-wrenching acting. According to Lambert senior Grayson Lichtenthaler, who plays the director, “It’s honestly, totally unbiased, one of the best shows we’ve ever done. It’s super fast-paced and exciting with so many fun dance numbers.” The show features an audition where the dancer isn’t expected to, “‘sing and dance and act [for the director], it’s ‘tell me your story and talk to me and let me know about your personality….” as best described by Cindy Qui, a sophomore and the actress behind Connie Wong.
“Who am I anyway? Am I my resume? That is a picture of a person I don’t know,” the cast sings, hiding their faces behind their resumes.
One factor of the musical that adds to its popularity is the amount of dance that goes into it. “It’s been really fun and I’ve grown a lot as a dancer and as a performer and the cast is really close and it’s just been really cool to do such a dance-heavy show because I’ve never done something just like that before,” says Sarah Kettler, a senior who plays Vicki. The musical strays from its traditional Broadway roots in terms of dancing, as the ensemble plays a bigger role than usual. “I would say that it’s not just a traditional musical,” says Nicki Adler, a senior and featured dancer,” Ms. Carly Berg, our director, is a very contemporary director and she changed a lot of the aspects and there’s a lot more ensemble than the original show.”
The cast is shown here dancing in the opening song ‘I Hope I Get It.”
Another factor that makes the show so beloved is the different stories of the characters. “Each character is different and they each went through a different background and some went through family issues and some went through (money, gender, etc) issues, identity issues that one person can relate to almost any character,” says Adler. This is best pointed out by the emotional monologue of Paul San Marco, where Thomas McFerran, a senior, leaves the crowd on the brink of tears by recalling his character’s past of coming to terms with his homosexuality and manhood. “It really connects with us – high schoolers – on a personal level because everybody on the line of 17 people gets to tell their past and their story and about them. And a lot of us high schoolers get to relate to each and every one of their stories….” says Drew Davison, who plays the role of Bobby Mills.
“[A Chorus Line] resonates with people from all walks of life. It’s about people who want something and haven’t necessarily gotten it in the past and are willing to work hard to get it,” says senior Elena Araoz as she plays Cassie, a dancer who once got out of the chorus line, but finds herself back again.
The cast shows itself to be just as aspiring and inspiring as the 17 hopefuls in A Chorus Line. Lambert senior Elena Araoz and the actress for Cassie says that “I hope to possibly inspire some people, you know, when I was younger, I went into the theatre and I saw a performance of Wicked and I thought ‘that’s what I want to do.’”
Elise Perez, Katie Crabtree, and Annie Lesser all sing the duet “At the Ballet” in their respective roles of Sheila, Bebe, and Maggie.
Whether these students end up inspiring people or not, they’ve all shown the hard work and effort it takes to be a part of the Chorus Line. “There’s this one song,” Qui says, “What I Did For Love, and it kind of just covers all the struggles and what you’ve done and sometimes, you still won’t get what you want in the end, but you still keep pushing through and working hard.”
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