“And a 5, 6, 7, 8!”
The singular sensation that is A Chorus Line is finally here! With music by Marvin Hamlisch, lyrics by Edward Kleban, and book by James Kirkwood Jr. and Nicholas Dante, this is One Mainstage that you absolutely won’t want to miss. A Chorus Line gives audiences a glimpse into the professional world of Broadway auditions. It was one of the longest running shows on Broadway because fans love how it exposes some of the behind-the-scenes trials and tribulations that go into making performances look “effortless.” It takes them on a journey they don’t normally get to see and celebrates the hard work performers go through before the production even begins.
Let’s take a look at some behind-the-scene interviews with the show’s director and choreographer, cast, and technical members!
To start, we interviewed the show’s director and choreographer, Sarah Wilcoxon, about how it was like working with our theatre and dance students and her ambitious endeavor to create entirely new choreography for a project of this size. She said, “Working with student cast and crew is my favorite because we all get to learn together. Professional jobs are fun, but more focused on product. In an educational setting it feels like we have a bit more permission to focus on process- what we’ll learn and how we’ll grow through the course of our time together. It’s such a free space to explore new ideas and ways of working. I really enjoy it.”
When it came to her work as a choreographer, she shared that “Resetting original work was a huge part of my early days as a choreographer, and it’s really how I think I learned to compose a dance. But, to speak to the point above about everyone learning and growing in process– I want to learn and grow as well. At this point, I’m looking for new challenges, and re-setting someone else’s work doesn’t fit into the “new challenge for me” category. The task of making my own choreography that fits with verbal text about choreography was a new and exciting/terrifying challenge. I was very challenged through the process as a choreographer, BUT I also want to make sure everyone knows it’s not just my choreography on the stage. MT alum Rachel Haselhorst served as Associate Choreographer on the project, so you’ll see her work on stage alongside mine. Also, beyond just enjoying the challenge, my way into any work is through the physicality. I was a choreographer before director, so I have come to understand the story and the characters through movement first and words second. Making my own choreography definitely supports my directing practice more than setting someone else’s would have.”
One thing we strive for here at Missouri State is challenging our students with new and exciting work, so it is so exciting to hear when faculty are going above and beyond to do so for the students and even themselves!
Next, we interviewed student Dillon Savage, who plays the audition director in the show, Zach. Dillon described Zach as “someone that won’t take no for an answer. He is very intense, very precise, and quite demanding; the type that wouldn’t shy away from making a scene publicly just to make a point.” He also stated that, “Zach keeps a lot of distance, both emotionally and physically, between himself and the other characters. Zach is especially tied to Cassie as they have a romantic past that did not end well.”
When asked why people should come see the show, he said, “Audiences should come see A Chorus Line to see a show about the human experience- about what it means to be a performer, an actor, a dancer. Through the struggles, triumphs, and tears, A Chorus Line makes you see the performer inside yourself, no matter who you are or where you come from.”
Finally, we spoke to the production’s lighting designer, Lillian Hilmes, about her incredibly design and how she got the inspiration for it. She said, “Inspiration really comes from everywhere. Basically, anything I experience in my time designing a show I would consider inspiration. As for how I communicate this inspiration to others, a lot of that is images I find online (or occasionally make myself)! I will search a few key words in Pinterest and find the images that speak to the color, light quality, and textures I am looking for in my design. For ACL, I also made a word cloud of themes that popped out to me during my reading of the show. I based a lot of my image search terms on that; however, I would say my biggest visual influence for this show is classic, pre-LED, Broadway lighting. I’ve imposed on myself some similar technological limitations in terms of all incandescent backlight. There’s just a certain kind of warmth and softness that comes from non-LEDs that I think really gives the feel of a classic Broadway production that I’m imagining.”
When asked what it was like designing for a show of this grandeur, they very openly stated, “A little scary, to be honest! This is the biggest show I’ve worked on at MSU and the first large dance piece I have lit. Right now, I feel prepared for the weeks ahead of me, just jumping into such a large project was the scary part. I’m excited to see how everything turns out once we hit the stage!”
It sounds like this is going to be quite a feat for Lillian to reimage the nostalgia associated and familiar with the classic Broadway feel we all know and love!
A Chorus Line opens with performances at 7:30pm on April 7, 8, and 9 and closes with a 2:30pm matinee on April 10. All performances will be held in Craig Hall’s Coger Theatre, and you can PURCHASE YOUR TICKETS HERE or click the caption for A Chorus Line‘s logo below!
