The annual USC spring musical is back after a three-year hiatus with director Tim Dang and choreographer Cedric Dodd’s strikingly fresh take on A Chorus Line, a talent showcase for a couple dozen Trojan triple-threats on their way to the top.

The first musical to explore the intimate stories of Broadway’s chorus boys and girls, 1975’s A Chorus Line* forever changed the face of musical theater by revealing the hopes, fears, challenges, and dreams of a dozen and a half young dancers in dialog and song, in addition to dealing with issues of race and sexuality alongside big, flashy production numbers choreographed by the legendary Michael Bennett.

USC sophomore Trevor Williams stands in for Bennett as Zach, the imperious director-choreographer of an unnamed Broadway-bound show who must now whittle down seventeen finalists to a mere four boys and four girls.

To do so, Zach has decided to probe deeper than usual to find out what makes these young performers tick.

Those about to have their deepest secrets revealed are:

• Mike (Brandon Borkowsky), who tagged along to his older sister’s dance class and discovered to his delight that “I Can Do That.”

• Maggie (Brianna Pember), Bebe (Kenzie Gross) and Sheila (Allison Belinkoff), whose lives changed “At The Ballet.”

• Zach’s ex Cassie (Nia Otchere-Sarfo), who finds herself back on square one after a promising Broadway start.

 • Married couple Al (Armand Akbari) and Kristine (Ava Noble), both of whom can dance up a storm, but only one of whom can “Sing.”

• Val (Tori Coleman), who reveals how she found the perfect solution to being rated “Dance Ten, Looks Three.”

 • Puerto Rican Paul (Eric Renna), who began his stage career as a teenage drag queen on 42nd Street.

• Diana (Mikaela Celeste), who took a high school acting class and felt absolutely “Nothing”

Completing the list of finalists are Richie (Munachimso), who might have become a kindergarten teacher had dance not given him a new life path; Chinatown’s very own Connie (Joy Jaensubhakij), strip club employee-turned-hoofer Don (Matthew McCoy); Sidney Kenneth Beckenstein, whose life began when he became “Gregory Gardner” (Jordan Rice); Bobby (Conrad Rocha), who like Paul and Gregory grew up “different”;  Judy (Greta Cox), whose very first audience (of one) was her dad; and last but not least, baby of the group Mark (Bruno Koskoff).

Since A Chorus Line’s Broadway debut, most major productions (including the 2006 Broadway revival) have tended to be virtual carbon copies of the 1975 original, with choreographer after choreographer restaging Bennett’s iconic dance steps, and costume designers sticking close to, if not outright copying Theoni V. Aldredge’s original confections (Cassie’s red dress, Paul’s sweatshirt, etc.).

Not so at USC, where costume designer Emma Kremer (Class of ’22) gives every single character an entirely new look that still suits each of them to a T, and provides the grand finale “One” with abundant pizzazz without the lamé.

Far more revolutionary is seeing the same kind of re-imagining take place where dance is concerned, and though purists may kick and holler, choreographer Dodd’s re-envisioning of a classic is nothing short of sensational.

Dodd has Jersey boy Mike favoring break-dance moves over tap, “At The Ballet” becomes a full-cast performance of exquisite grace and flair, and “Nothing” gets transformed into a major production number recreating the acting classes that had Diana feeling zilch.

As for the iconic “The Music And The Mirror,” Dodd has Cassie mixing jazz and ballet moves to stunning effect.

Along the way, director Dang elicits one splendid performance after another, aided vocally by Abdul Hamid Royal’s expert musical direction.

Borkowsky’s Mike is a spunky, street-smart delight with snappy b-boy moves; Akbari’s Al and Noble’s Kristine are equally adorable, the former showing off gorgeous pipes, the latter, deliberately, hilariously, doing just the opposite; Celeste is equal parts tender and tough as Diana; Coleman makes for a sassy, sexy Val; and Otchere-Sarfo not only proves herself a superb dancer, she’s heartbreakingly real in her scenes opposite Williams’s tough but compassionate Zach.

A bold and cheeky Rocha, a soulful piped Munachimso, and a deliciously ditzy Cox add up to a fabulous “And…”, and “At The Ballet” serves as a vocal/character showcase for Belinkoff’s bold and brassy Sheila, Gross’s sweetly self-deprecating Bebe, and Pember’s girl-next-door Maggie.

Jaensubhakij’s fireball Connie, McCoy’s cocky ladies’ man Don, Rice’s wisecracking Gregory, and Koskoff’s quirky, engaging Mike are all quite wonderful as well, and Luke Qualls’ dance prowess makes him an ideal choice to play choreographer’s assistant Larry.

“Cut dancers” Talha Barberousse, Roy Gantz, Mackenzie Jaimes, Shaheen Z Kapambwe, Jenna Ross, Dylan Smith, and Greg Ward may not last beyond the audition stage, but they are stars in their own right, and their dance moves “in character” each and every one.

Last but not least, Renna not only sings and dances every bit as memorably as his castmates, he makes Paul’s devastating twelve-minute monolog the heart-stopping show stopper it’s meant to be.

In addition to costume designer Kremer, scenic designer Jesus Hurtado, sound designer Alexix Attalla, and lighting designer M. Miller Sommers deserve their own major snaps.

Damaris Eddy is stage manager. Hayden Price is assistant director/pit singer.

It’s been an achingly long thirty-five months since Sunday In The Park With George played the Bing, but for the cast and crew of this extraordinary spring musical, and for the audiences who get to cheer them, A Chorus Line makes it well worth the wait.

*Book by James Kirkwood and Nicholas Dante. Music by Marvin Hamlisch. Lyrics by Edward Kleban.

Bing Theatre, 3500 Watts Way, Los Angeles.
https://dramaticarts.usc.edu/a-chorus-line/

–Steven Stanley
April 2, 2022
Photos: Craig Schwartz

Tags: Bing Theatre, Ed Kleban, James Kirkwood, Los Angeles Theater Review, Marvin Hamlisch, Michael Bennett, Nicholas Dante, USC School Of Dramatic Arts