‘Chorus Line’ stands out Grand’s production admirable for ensemble work

“A Chorus Line,” which opened in Ellsworth last Friday on the 25th anniversary of the Broadway opening, is one of the most ambitious musicals The Grand Auditorium has mounted in recent years. This has nothing to do with complicated sets because “A Chorus Line” can be as simple as an empty stage with a few mirrors. It also has little to do with costumes, since the actors wear either street clothes or leotards through most of the play. (The final all-out show number requires identical gold suits and top hats for more than 20 dancers, a feat heroically accomplished by a team of costume constructors.)

The challenge of “A Chorus Line” is that every performer must be able to sing and act and dance with equal skill and sometimes all at once. It’s not enough to say, if you can dance, you can do this show. Or if you can act, you can do it. It’s the combination that counts. And that doesn’t even begin to account for the complexity of the material, the stories that delve into the most private secrets of these characters’ lives and deliver trauma, drama, insecurity and passion.

Director Doug Meswarb, who also plays Zach the director in the show itself, has an amazing gift for taking a group of community performers and unearthing the particular gift of each person. Meswarb brings his own stabilizing and avuncular talent to the show, but he clearly has persuasively romanced the best he can find from cast members. Even if the actors are not convincing in the many ethnic roles in this musical, or if they can’t find the beat in the music, Meswarb makes them look as if they belong on the stage anyway. This is true for nearly every actor in this show.

Meswarb shares this credit with choreographer Kelly Holyoke. She accomplishes an impressive feat getting these dancers, many of whom have trained with her at River City Dance Center and Robinson Ballet – but many of whom have not, to move in synch. She keeps it simple when it must be, but she honors the profession, too.

Holyoke also steps forward in this production as a singer-dancer-actor in her own right. She plays Cassie, the show’s most central and complicated female character, a seasoned dancer struggling to survive in a cutthroat business that wants to toss her off. There’s no question that Holyoke’s metier is dance, and her return to the stage in such a large dancing part is, in itself, reason enough to cheer. Holyoke does a laudable job her first time out in a dramatic role and, particularly as a dancer, she becomes the clear star of the show.

There are other standout performers, too. Nancy Buckingham, as the mouthy Sheila, is fantastically wry. She pairs up with Emily Little (Bebe) and Meghan Frederick (Maggie) for an affecting rendition of “At the Ballet.” Ashley Emerson, as the surgically improved Val, is sassy and pert. And Annie Hewlett, as the off-key Kristine, is one of the delights of the evening.

While there are no outstanding voices and, except for Holyoke, no blazing dancers in this show, it achieves the heart of what creator Michael Bennett had hoped for when he opened “A Chorus Line” on Broadway in 1975 (and went on to win nine Tony Awards and the Pulitzer Prize, and accrued more than 6,000 performances on Broadway). This is an ensemble work, and this cast accomplishes that goal evenly. Music director Robert Bahr leads a hotshot band of fine musicians in an often under-rated score by Marvin Hamlisch with lyrics by Edward Kleban. But the volume all too often overpowers the soloists. That may well be the acoustic reality of the cavernous Grand, but it’s a frustrating experience for the audience.

“A Chorus Line” will be presented, without intermission, 7 p.m. Nov. 2 and 3, and 2 p.m. Nov. 4 at The Grand Auditorium in Ellsworth. For information, call 667-9500.