Page 20 THE VILLADOM TIMES III • October 17, 2012 ‘A Chorus Line’ highlights anonymous performers by Dennis Seuling “A Chorus Line” differs from most musicals in that it shows the drama, anticipation, and personal stories of the dancers and singers who audition for the chorus of a Broadway show. The revival of this 1975 Tony and Pulitzer Prize-winning show is the first of Paper Mill Playhouse’s 20122013 season, and will remain on view through Oct. 28. With a bare stage as its setting, “A Chorus Line” chronicles the rigorous auditions for a show. The finalists are assembled and will be whittled down to the lucky eight: four male and four female. These are not starring roles, yet all those present desperately covet them. As part of the process, director Zach (Martin Harvey) demands that they each tell a little about themselves, a procedure that reveals the wide variety of backstories. Some performers are very young, and others pushing the age envelope for this kind of work. Most are on the way up. Some are in a career lull. They are from all over the country. They are the sophisticated, the naive, the wide-eyed, and the seasoned. Many have never worked on Broadway, while others are Broadway vets. All have one goal in common. One of the dangers of revivals is that they can feel stale and uninspired. Not so with this “A Chorus Line.” Under the guidance of Mitzi Hamilton, who restaged the original direction and choreography by Michael Bennett, the show sparkles with outstanding performances, sharp dance numbers, and a balance of humor and drama. The original show grew out of long interviews with dancer/singers that Bennett taped and adapted. The show doesn’t have the fairy-tale locations of a “South Pacific,” the period setting of a “My Fair Lady,” or the Damon Runyonesque characters of a “Guys and Dolls.” What it does have is an in-depth exploration of the trials, heartaches, and dedication of talented individuals compelled to perform. The musical numbers by Marvin Hamlisch and Edward Kleban are instrumental in telling their stories. In “At the Ballet,” Sheila (Rachelle Rak), Bebe (Nikka Graff Lanzarone), and Maggie (Karley Willocks) sing of how as kids they were inspired to dance by attending professional performances. Kristine (Amanda Rose) laments in tone-deaf notes that singing is not her forte in “Sing!” Val (Ashley Arcemont), in “Dance: Ten; Looks: Three,” recounts having danced circles around other girls in auditions only to be an also-ran until she looked around, assessed who was being hired, and got some physical enhancements. Diana (Gabrielle Ruiz), a kid from the Bronx, pours her heart out in “Nothing,” about being constantly demeaned by a With high-kicking exuberance, the cast of the Paper Mill Playhouse’s production of ‘A Chorus Line’ performs the rousing finale. drama teacher in the High School of Performing Arts because she couldn’t get into his improvisational exercises. Cassie (Jessica Lee Goldyn) was once on the verge of stardom, but it never materialized, yet director Zach thinks she is too good for the chorus. Her solo, “The Music and the Mirror,” illustrates that she definitely is special, yet all she wants is to work. Paul (J. Manuel Santos), in a moving monologue, tells about his difficulty in finding himself while secretly working in a drag show and being discovered by his shocked parents. Perhaps the best known number of the show, “What I Did for Love,” illustrates the performers’ shared experience of dedicating themselves to a life of studying and working as dancers. The big musical number they are rehearsing, “One,” is staged twice: once in rehearsal and again in the finale with the cast in glittering gold costumes and top hats, surrounded by a double set of framed bulbs and backed by huge mirrors that seem to double their numbers. Performed without an intermission, “A Chorus Line” still packs a wallop, not merely as a kind of confessional of the folks who are often taken for granted in Broadway musicals, but as solid entertainment. Hamilton (the inspiration for the original Val) knows how to pace the show and is true to Bennett’s original concept. Rather than attempt to update or tamper or improve, Hamilton has had enough faith to stick with what worked brilliantly the first time around – and the show still works. “A Chorus Line,” which will run through Oct. 28, will be performed eight times a week, Wednesday through Sunday. Tickets range from $26 to $96 and may be purchased by calling (973) 376-4343, stopping by the Paper Mill Playhouse box office at 22 Brookside Drive in Millburn, or visiting online at www.papermill.org.