Must-do while in L.A.: Hiking in Runyon Canyon. So I’ve been told to spray hair spray on my bum to keep the leotard in place. One of the producers made me a “Got Oxygen?” T-shirt.Ĭostume secret: I have an abnormally long torso and my leotard rides up. We stand there for 20-minute intervals while other people talk, and we’re supposed to be still and interactive. Most difficult scene: It’s standing on the line for as long as we do. Must-sees while in L.A.: That weird guitar guy who roller-skates on Venice Beach.Ĭharacter: Cassie, a has-been dancer looking to make it big again. Usually we have 45 minutes before the show starts, so what’s most important is to keep warming up during that period - along with putting each other down in the dressing room. I think that keeps the show fresh.įavorite warm-up exercise: My favorite stretch is when we lie on our backs and put our legs over our heads to stretch our Achilles. On tour, we experience completely different things.
I feel sorry for the sound guy.īest part of touring: We do the same thing every single night - but it’s different from being in a sit-down production. I spend five to 10 minutes every day making my crotch look like a crotch, so you don’t see a box sticking out. In that spirit, we asked five cast members to reveal something about themselves and to gently dish on the current revival at the Ahmanson.Ĭharacter: Mike, an Italian American dancer who was teased as a boy.Ĭostume secret: The guys get to wear the battery packs in their crotches. “A Chorus Line” celebrates the individuals behind the generic head shots. WHERE: Segerstrom Hall, Orange County Performing Artscenter, 600 Town Center Drive, Costa Mesa It’s like doing a whole other show,” said one cast member.Īnother shot back, “Oh, I’m never there on time.” The performers burst into laughter as they all piled into the car. They’re required to spend at least an hour before curtain time warming up - a routine developed by choreographer Baayork Lee, who starred in the original Broadway production. “I look at this show as surgery - nothing is general and everything is specific.”īy 4 p.m., the cast members headed back to their limousine. “It’s brutal, and the timing has to be specific,” he said. It sounds crazy, but I can feel the audience responding to us.”Ĭlyde Alves, who plays Mike, an Italian American dancer from the Bronx, compares the show’s grueling opening dance number to being shot out of a cannon.
“The show is about wanting to land the part. “What I’m really excited about is performing in L.A.,” said Ian Liberto, who plays Bobby, a sarcastic and snippy gay dancer. Aldredge and Robin Wagner, respectively, have been lovingly replicated. This production, which originated from Bob Avian’s 2006 Broadway revival, faithfully re-creates the 1975 staging and choreography, down to the smallest step-kick moves. Some of the cast members asked for the artist’s business card.Īfter settling in for lunch at the Bergamot Cafe, the actors talked about the Tony- and Pulitzer Prize-winning show that will consume their lives for the next year. “This is definitely the way I want to go,” said Snelson. But the real surprise here was Maria Munroe’s “eturns” - a set of crystalline spheres made from cremated human remains. The cast also got to play with gallery owner Laurie Frank’s dog, Daddy, which once belonged to painter Ed Moses.
“Emily, do the Sheila pose!” said one of the cast members. “After a while, it works certain muscles. The actress demonstrated by placing her right hand on her hip and then shifting her torso into a haughty pose. “Some of us are actually becoming our characters,” said Emily Fletcher, who plays the imperious dancer-tigress Sheila. The destination? Bergamot Station in Santa Monica.įor a few blissful, work-free hours, five singular sensations (from a principal cast of 18) raced through the art gallery complex while chatting about their lives, careers and the privilege of performing in Michael Bennett’s mother of all musical juggernauts. So it was with great enthusiasm that the performers leaped at a recent invitation to spend an afternoon of leisure away from the theater. Multiply that by eight (as in performances a week), and then stretch that over 13 months and 29 cities for the national tour - with a few days off here and there, if you’re lucky. If you don’t believe us, just consider the punishing routine these young dancers are enduring.įor each show, the principal cast performs two intermissionless hours of high-kicking dance numbers interspersed with 13 soul-searching songs. “I hope I get it.” That line may express the hopes of the characters in “A Chorus Line,” but the performers in the touring production at the Ahmanson Theatre already have it.
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