A Chorus Line brings glamour, glitter and pure sweat to the Festival

A Chorus Line

Stratford Festival 2016

Festival Theatre

Written by Michael Bennett

Music by Marvin Hamlisch

Lyrics by Edward Kleban

Directed and choreographed by Donna Feore

Approximate running time: 2 hours and 10 minutes (with no intervals)

May 31 -October 23

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You catch the first glimpse of dancers lining up for their big shot at the gold ring as the chords to the opening I hope I Get It ring through the packed Festival Theatre. Then it starts without warning – thunderous applause and raucous cheers of encouragement greeting the perfectly lined cast of A Chorus Line.

Somewhere behind the curtain director/choreographer Donna Feore must have been wringing her hands in glee, possibly even silently singing I Can Do That to herself under her breath. It took only a few seconds to grasp her brilliantly realized vision of Michael Bennett’s ambiguous/multi-layered musical was about to be a hit at the Stratford Festival.

Forty-one years ago the audacious Bennett, aided by some of Marvin Hamlisch’s most adventurous music and Edward Kleban’s often spicy adult-flavoured (for the times) lyrics, unveiled what was considered by many to be a revolutionary Broadway musical.

With unabashed candor it looked unapologetically at individual dancers looking for yet another shot to continue their physically and emotionally demanding careers, not as stars but simply parts of a highly regimented chorus line.

As the formidable musical director Zach (played with a wonderful mix of authority and compassion by Juan Chioran) and his assistant Larry (Stephen Cota) whittle down the hopefuls to the final female/men pairings, those revealing singular revelations begin through dance and song.

While the final line of dancers will be a tightly knit unit, what is revealed are personalized tales – tinged with comedy and drama – of past dysfunctional family lives, fear of failure, discovering and dealing with one’s sexuality and grasping the reality for one young woman that success in the business more often relies on two particular physical female attributes (natural or bought) than sheer talent. The latter is relayed through the brilliantly funny Dance: Ten Looks: Three, cheekily performed by Julia McLellan’s delightful Val.

Feore proves an accomplished master of uniting the many diverse elements of the work – from lively, oft times soulful presentations of tunes based on characters’ personal realities to energetic, pulsating dance numbers both physically demanding and emotionally draining and those aggressively pursued fantasies transporting these dreamers from scenes of domestic insecurities to wonders of the almost mythological world of ballet and beyond.

Dayna Tietzen captures the angst-ridden veteran Cassie, let down by both time and director/one-time lover Zach. He tells matter-of-factly that she is too good for the chorus, while the youngest dance hopeful Mark (Colton Curtis) coyly details his first wet dream and the 4’10” dynamo Connie (an exuberant Genny Sermonia) bemoans her lack of height.

Tormented heroines fill the stage while a male hoofer eyes the potential of being the screen’s next Troy Donahue. Others are simply exhausted by the prospect of never-ending chorus line tryouts offering meagre security in packages of months or at best years, ultimately fearing their futures.

The paradoxical reality weighs heavy on all the tortured souls – success means trading in their individuality for the glorious, glittery transformation into well-oiled anonymity.

Singling out particular performances for individual praise is an unwelcomed and difficult task for any self-respecting critic or audience member for that matter. There is no top nor bottom to the Stratford company – an almost picture perfect ensemble of singers/dancers trotting out gut-wrenching, crowd-pleasing performances in tireless fashion for more than two hours without break.

It’s been slightly more than four decades since A Chorus Line shocked, startled and delighted audiences in New York and throughout the world. Thanks to Feore, a top-notch cast and technical crew, the Stratford product of 2016 has lost none of the original lustre nor power along the way. The music remains vibrant, dramatic and comedic elements mix comfortably and multi-dimensional characters abound.

Another hugely successful Stratford musical and a classic entry for the still young 2016 festival season that earns ««««« out of five stars.

Geoff  Dale is a Woodstock-based freelance writer.

This review originally appeared online here at The Beat Magazine.

Crazy for You: Audiences will go crazy for Feore and Girshwin

Crazy for You
Stratford Festival
Music and Lyrics by George Gershwin and Ira Gershwin
Book by Ken Ludwig
Co-Conception by Ken Ludwig and Mike Ockrent
Inspired by material by Guy Bolton and John McGowan
Originally produced on Broadway by Roger Horchow and Elizabeth Williams
Directed and choreographed by Donna Feore
April 27 – October 12
Festival Theatre

Approximate running time: 2 hrs. 46 mins, including one interval and unbridled applause

Review by Geoff Dale

STRATFORD – Monday night Colm Feore reigned supreme as the Festival launched its 2014 season, so what be more fitting than to turn the stage over to the marvelously innovative choreographer/director Donna Feore.

She wears the crown well, masterfully offering up a wonderfully tuneful, energetic and boisterous Crazy For You – a classic musical collection of some of George and Ira Gershwin’s most memorable numbers from the Depression era ‘30s.

While the tunes may not be new for many of us, this is an abundantly joyful creation that Feore and her exuberant cast of singers, dancers and musicians can rightfully call their own. As George Gershwin once said, ‘It is always possible to create something original’, and one could easily argue this is precisely what has been done here.

For those living on another planet for the past eight decades or so, a little background on Crazy for You, a tune-filled love story based on Ken Ludwig’s book, Ira Gershwin lyrics and George Gershwin’s music. Based somewhat loosely on the songwriting brothers’ bubbly 1930 hit Girl Crazy, the modern adaptation includes numbers from other productions.

Winner of a Tony for best musical in 1992, it would be kind to suggest that folks don’t flock to the theatres just to see the boy-meets-girl, loses-girl, decides to stage a big show and on and on plot. The storyline may be light in the extreme but it is still fun with a capital F. Besides the music is sublime, the dance numbers brim with physical exuberance and the overall tone bright enough to bring the most jaded of us back to life.

The central characters – a stage-struck New York playboy, Bobby Child (Josh Franklin) is dispatched by his mother Lottie Child (Lally Cadeau) to the little town of Deadrock, Nevada to close down the local theater. Predictably he falls head-over heels in love with the theater owner’s daughter, the headstrong Polly Barker (Natalie Daradich).

Vowing to save the local theatre, he dreams up the idea of staging a money-making show a la Mickey Rooney/Judy Garland style. Along the way he dons the guise of New York impresario Bela Zangler (Tom Rooney) to further pursue the lady and, well, you take it from there.

The result is sheer magic as Feore and cast conjure up delightful scene-after-scene in flawless fashion – providing seemingly endless moments filled with splendid hummable melodies and feel-good lyrics from the Gershwin brothers and bountiful, death-defying choreography numbers that dazzle the eye and get even the most timid audience members tapping their feet in unison.

Franklin, making his Stratford debut, is a sure-footed triple threat as singer, dancer and deft physical comedian while Daradich possesses an impressive set of vocal chords that could both topple those proverbial Walls of Jericho and then sooth the most savage breast a moment late.

With his flamboyant bearded, mustachioed Bela Zangler, modeled on real-life theatrical producer Florenz Ziegfeld, Tom Rooney demonstrates yet again that he amongst the most versatile performers to be found anywhere – a well-rounded singer/dancer/actor who is delightfully funny, especially when his character is three-sheets-to-the-wind.

Paired with Franklin in a musical duet of the dueling Zanglers What Causes That, Rooney is in top form wringing a non-stop barrage of laughs and applause from an audience that often interrupts the action onstage with unsolicited cheers of approval.

Shawn Wright, looking uncannily like veteran British character actor Bernard Fox, is an engagingly silly travel writer Eugene Fodor, matching notes and dance steps with his equally fish-out-of water wife Patricia Fodor. Kayla James, as Zangler’s love-interest, is a sheer delight as Tess.

As Slim, the bass player, Michael McLennan brings down the house with his jazzy little rendition of Slap That Bass, while his cowboy counterparts Steve Ross (Moose), Marcus Nance (Mingo) and Stephen Patterson (Sam) capture both the musical and comic style of the classic Gershwin numbers.

The engaging combo of Robin Hutton (Irene Roth) and Shane Carty (Lank Hawkins) provide proof positive that there are no real villains in this enterprise. Lally Cadeau tosses about snappy one-liners with the precision and timing befitting a female Don Rickles and 28-year Festival veteran Keith Dinicol (Everett Baker) demonstrates his tapping talents, keeping in step with his younger co-stars as Polly’s light-on-his-feet dad.

Hats off to the remarkable Donna Feore and her talented crew, both on and off-stage, for lightening the mood and firmly planting the melodies of those timeless Gershwin songs likeSomeone To Watch Over Me and They Can’t Take That Away From Me in this scribe’s head well in the wee-hours of the morn.

This is Gershwin. This is the Stratford Festival. This is Donna Feore. This is pure entertainment.

Crazy for You taps, sings and jokes its way to five out ***** stars.

This review originally appeared online at Donald's Dish.

Sights and Sounds of Stratford Festival 2013

Sights and sounds of Stratford Festival 2013
Article and photos by Geoff Dale
The Beat theatre critic Geoff Dale was on hand with his camera to catch some of the Monday evening highlights. More productions will open in late June, July and August. Keep reading The Beat for reviews and commentary. - Editor

It was a glorious opening to the Stratford Festival 2013 with a wide array of local, national and international stars from stage and screen milling about, a wide array of beautiful flowers in bloom on display and music of every kind.
Under seasonably mild and sunny conditions, the event drew a good crowd of spectators, Festival insiders and participants, along with those curious folks simply interested in getting a bird’s eye view of the annual opening ceremonies.
The festivities began around 6 p.m. Monday, May 27 with the pipe and band corps signaling the start to this year festivities, followed by the arrival of special red carpet guests and the 7:30 p.m. opening night presentation of Romeo and Juliet.
Actors, musicians, directors and Festival dignitaries were seen chatting with members of the general public, being interviewed by various media outlet representatives and generally enjoying and participating in the moment.
Colm Feore, recently seen on TV’s The Borgias was on hand with his wife Donna, director and choreographer of Fiddler on the Roof.
With several works about to hit the screen, one of the busier actors around Graham Greene was there, as were stars from various productions including Romeo and Juliet and Fiddler on the Roof. 
The prolific American actor of the big screen, television and stage, Brian Dennehy, was also seen in various spots inside and outside of the Festival Theatre.
The two gifted stars of the dynamic production of Mary Stuart (http://www.thebeatmagazine.ca/index.php/theatre-reviews/1662-peacock-and-mckenna-shine-in-mary-stuart), Lucy Peacock and Seana McKenna were also making the rounds.

In addition to the traditional sounds of a pipes and drums band getting the proceedings underway, an intriguing duet from Kitchener, The Vaudevillian, kept things lively, playing a number of eclectic songs on the lower sidewalk below the Festival Theatre.

Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne was also in attendance for the official ceremony.
The ceremony kicked off the 2013 season which was highlighted by the first week of seven debuts of: Romeo and Juliet, Fiddler on the Roof, Measure for Measure  , Mary Stuart, Tommy (which featured an appearance on opening night by Pete Townshend of The Who);  and the Saturday double feature of The Three Musketeers and Blithe Spirit .  This feature also appeared online at The Beat Magazine.

Photos: 1. Donna and Colm Feore were on hand for the event; The musical opening of the Stratford Festival 2013; Flowers were in bloom everywhere;The pipes and drums corps was led by a proud drum major; One of the stars of this year’s Festival is Matthew G Brown; Geraint Wyn Davies is pictured with Donna Feore; The two stars of Mary Stuart, from left Sean McKenna and Lucy Peacock; One of the highlights of opening night was the lively music of the Kitchener based duo – the Vaudevillian; Minstrels from Romeo and Juliet took in the sights and sounds.