Review: 'A Chorus Line' by Landmark Community Theatre

Dedicated to all dancers, and those that wish they could dance

Thomaston, CT - Landmark Community Theatre put together an excellent production of A CHORUS LINE that played to an appreciative audience.

The iconic musical A CHORUS LINE was conceived and originally directed and choreographed by Michael Bennett, with a book by James Kirkwood and Nicholas Dante, and memorable music by the late Marvin Hamlisch with lyrics by Edward Kleban. Bob Avian co-choreographed the original production. I did not realize that the original Broadway production was produced by The New York Shakespeare Festival with Joseph Papp as producer. It remains the seventh longest- running show on Broadway of all time.

Roxie Quinn directed and choreographed this wonderful cast and it shows. Ms. Quinn began her CT career on the stage of the Thomaston Opera House and has compiled a long list of credits as director, choreographer and performer, many of which I have reviewed.

The long scenes flow effortlessly and every dance move is carefully chosen. The cast members arrived with varying degrees of dancing experience I am told, but it was difficult to pick out which dancers had to work the hardest to keep up with the choreography thanks to Ms. Quinn’s expertise and patience. Since the dancing plays such an integral role in the action, the director ensured that every step was in line, unless the script called for it to be otherwise.

Of course I knew most of the various musical numbers in the score and I must have seen the film starring Michael Douglas at some point, but this marked the first time I had seen the stage musical. It tells the story of 17 dancers in the process of auditioning for spots in a Broadway musical chorus line. At the behest of a stern director named Zach, the musical provides a glimpse into the disparate personalities of the dancers and the choreographer as they describe the experiences that have shaped their lives and how they came to become dancers.

“A CHORUS LINE brings you into the joys and sorrows that we performers go through every time we put ourselves into an audition line, but in the end I hope you see the love we have for what we do.” - Director Roxie Quinn

In her bio, the director/choreographer thanks her cast “for their hard work and dedication on this very challenging show. I am so proud of how far all of you have come.” I was impressed with each and every member of the cast, even those who stepped up to play the thankless roles of the “cut dancers.” Some of the performers were new faces for me, but they clearly deserved to be a part of this impressive cast.

“How many boys, how many girls…” - “I Hope I Get It,” a most memorable opening number

It was a highlight of the show to watch John Ozerhoski play the role of Zach, the successful director running the unusual auditions. Mr. Ozerhoski returns to the stage for only a couple of scenes after an almost five year hiatus; the rest of the two hours he delivers his lines from the back of the house or from an aisle. While most of the audience could only hear these parts of his performance, I was able to appreciate every minute from my vantage point and he was always marvelously in character. Welcome back, Johnny O.

The “boys” included Tyler Caisse (Link Larkin in HAIRSPRAY) as the aggressive Mike who easily leads “I Can Do That” and Liam Dempsey who was great in the role of Greg, a sassy Jewish gay man. William George convincingly played the role of the Al DeLuca, the husband of Kristine, played charmingly by Lucia Greene in her Landmark debut.

Robbie James did well with the role of Bobby, Sheila’s best friend and Theron Johnson III (THE FULL MONTY at the Warner) got to wear his jeans to the audition as Don. Robert Melendez sang very well, as he always does, as the enthusiastic Richie. Charles Pelletier, a spectacular young dancer/singer/actor (Billy in BILLY ELLIOT,) played the youngest dancer Mark. Zachary Taylor tugged at the heart strings during his monologue as Paul, a gay Puerto Rican who dropped out of high school.

Malie L. Grassmere (always Snoopy in A CHARLIE BROWN CHRISTMAS at the Warner) took on the role of Zach’s assistant renamed Laura. And yes, she can dance as well as the auditioning dancers. Bonnie Gregson was simply adorable as Connie Wong, a petite Chinese-American who appears ageless. Jennifer Langrock (GREASE as Patty Simcox) did very well as the statuesque and quirky Judy.

Janina Rosa (Velma in CHICAGO) gave another impressive performance as Diana Morales; this young woman can do it all. It was interesting for me to see which character performs which of the classic songs; I loved Ms. Rosa’s rendition of “Nothing” and “What I Did for Love.”

Jasmine Alexanderia returned to the Opera House to play the sassy, older dancer Sheila and she stood out in the role. Erica Blasko (Oz in WE WILL ROCK YOU) portrayed the sweet Maggie who is part of “At the Ballet;” Jackie DeMaio (Sally Bowles in CABARET) rounded out the trio in the role of Bebe.

Caitlin Dawn Beaudry took on her dream role of Cassie and danced beautifully her way through “The Music and The Mirror” in her bright red leotard. Ms. Beaudry recently choreographed NEWSIES at the Warner with Sharon Houk. Brittany Mulcahy was a standout in the role of the foul-mouthed Val, who has had some work done in order to improve her chances at auditions.

And I will certainly give loads of credit to the talented “Cut Dancers.” They were played by Laura Busk (WE WILL ROCK YOU,) Jordan Cyr (in his Landmark debut,) Sarah Ford (in her Landmark debut,) Noah LaPlante (in the headband,) and the wonderful Kennedy Morris, now 16 years of age and studying at NWCC.

Molly Farrell-Savage, in her Landmark debut, dressed the dancers pretty classically for the decade, including the dancer in his jeans. Kudos to Alex Dunn on his careful lighting design that added to the various scenes. Sound designer Frank Beaudry worked next to my seat in the last row to ensure that every line was heard. (I enjoyed this note in his program bio: “If you can hear the performers, he’s done his job. If something doesn’t sound right, he hears it and he’s working on it.”) David Nichols, often serving as a pit singer or crew member, designed the large mirrors that sat at the back of the otherwise bare stage. Mr. Dunn told me that they were not fully functional for opening night, but I didn’t mind that they reflected the cast throughout the two-hour performance presented in the traditional manner without intermission.

Jeffrey P. Dunn leads the Landmark production team as Executive Producer. Music director John Dressel led the eleven-piece orchestra on another level of the building as well as playing keyboard two, yet I would never have guessed that the musicians were not somewhere in the same room as the audience. It all sounded great.

During the ride home, the part of the montage “Hello Twelve” appropriately played on the Sirius radio channel ‘On Broadway’ as I began to put together my review in my head. It reminded me of just how long some of the musical numbers actually were and how demanding they were for the cast members. Kudos to one and all.

Nancy Sasso Janis has been writing theatre reviews since 2012 as a way to support local theatre venues. She posts reviews of well over 100 productions each year. In 2016, she became a member of the Connecticut Critics Circle. She continues to contribute theatre news, previews, and audition notices to local Patch sites. Reviews of all levels of theatrical productions are posted on Naugatuck Patch and the Patch sites closest to the venue. Follow the reviewer on her Facebook pages Nancy Sasso Janis: Theatre Reviewer and on Twitter @nancysjanis417 Check out the NEW CCC Facebook page.