BLACKLISTED - My own Chorus Line Review

You know what's disappointing? Going down your list of favorite blogs first thing in the morning at work one day and reading all that your friends have to say (hey that rhymed), cross-linking to your mutual friends via their blogs...and suddenly noticing that on two of your friends blogs, the link to YOUR blog has been removed. Hmm, you say to yourself, that's odd. Then you realize why. You realize it's STILL ABOUT THE DAMN REVIEW.

Look, I'm sorry it got everyone's tail feathers all ruffled, but I'm not sorry for what I did, because in my stupid little meaningless (apparently) opinion, I didn't do anything wrong. But I'm being punished for it, all for the sake of "anonymity." The thing is, I'm stubborn. Yes, I'm upset that my friends are still punishing me for this, but yet I still refuse to apologize for posting the review. I am sorry that feelings got hurt, but I will not apologize for posting a review by a local (and sorry to say, mediocre) critic on my blog. And you know what else makes me a terrible horrible person? I get so angry when I think about the pettiness of this stupid little thing that I can't even talk about it with said friends who are angry with me. It kinda hurts my feelings that I've been removed from their blog lists (but at least I'm on the list of people Ken and Ariel would do, that's cool)...but I guess that makes it a double standard doesn't it? Why should my feelings be hurt? All they did was remove my link from their blog. Okay, fair enough, I get it. I just still think it sucks that I've been blacklisted because some crazy psycho MIGHT happen by my blog and then MIGHT read all my links and then MIGHT make a connection and go out and point and laugh at my friends. I know it seems like lately I'm just folding my arms and blowing great big raspberries at the world, but you know what? I'm really not. I'm just venting. My friends know that I love them and I guess that's why I"m so confused. It's like they really thought I was being purely malicious about the whole thing.

You know what? I liked A Chorus Line. I liked it a lot, actually. I agreed with just about everything (with a few disagreements) the review said. I wasn't a huge fan of the blocking or the direction of certain lines/scenes by certain actors, and the choreography was odd in places (mainly the "Don't pop the head Cassie" parts...she didn't pop her head, not her fault, just apparently wasn't choreographed). However, I found the actors to be, on the whole, incredible. If I had to list three favorites they would be the characters of Zach, Paul, and Diana.

My little queer Tyler did an amazing job as Paul. Queen John needs to realize that there is not only one way to play a standard Broadway role, and that it is the actor's perogative to find the nuance in his character (while staying true to the story of course). Tyler gave Paul a realism that I haven't seen in other Pauls. Usually the actor plays Paul as extremely intense, and that can be kind of a beating for an audience member. Tyler made Paul a shy dancer who has been trained by himself to hide his homosexuality, and he did it with body language and inflection, rather than overacting and forced intensity. His lines were delivered simply and realistically, I believed every word he said, and he had my eyes glued to him during the entire monologue. Tyler is gorgeous, and he made Paul by far the most endearing character in the show.

A newcomer I've never met before was playing the role of Zach, the director holding the auditions. He looks a lot like Rob Thomas, and was by far the best actor in the show. It's really challenging to sit in the audience at a table with a microphone and still be believable while delivering lines, but I was enchanted by every line he said. He really was amazing, and I don't usually expect to see acting of this calibre by such a young person on the DCT stage. When he rushed onstage to comfort Paul when he finally reached his breaking point, I was in tears. He really made the audience want to hear whatever comforting words he was saying to Paul.

I've worked with Rachel before in a show, and seeing her play Diana in this production was like seeing a person I've never met before. Once a timid, self-conscious actress, the actress I saw onstage this time was brassy, loud and confident. I'm always wary of actors using accents for shows, because as the show progresses, they often lose the accent or it changes in some bizarre way. Not this girl. Her no-holds-barred Brooklyn accent was consistent throughout the show, even in her songs. She showed an incredible range, vocally, as well from the funny and belty "Nothing" to the pure, even tone she used while singing "What I Did For Love." Brava, mia bella. I'm proud of you!

I had other favorites as well, Justin never ceases to amaze me when I see him in performances, and I'm so happy to see that he's getting more and more featured roles. His tap solo in "I Can Do That" was so good, I was on the edge of my seat trying to watch his feet! Justin, I LOVE YOU, and I'm going to miss seeing you onstage when I move. I treasure my favorite memory of doing Show Boat with you, which was on the last performance, when I was in the wings waiting to do my bow and I saw your face and just bawled. I admire and respect you more than you know.

Dustin was awesome as Larry, Zach's assistant and choreographer. I just met this guy when Michael was doing Cabaret, and I had no idea this kid had so much in him. He really stood out as a dancer among the cast, with one of the best overall techniques of the cast.

Other notable performances, in my opinion, were the actors playing Kristine, Al, Sheila, Mark and Don. Does that make up the whole cast?? hahaha...Seriously, it was a very strong ensemble.

If there were any weaknesses that stood out to me, it wasn't the cast's fault. I never really got the feeling that the show was in the 70's for some reason. But maybe that's a good thing, it makes the show more timeless. Also, when I watched the movie for the first time, I really felt a sense of "Noooooooo!!!!" when Zach was about to make his final cut. I had grown so attached to each of the characters, I didn't want them to split up, ever. I didn't quite feel this until very late in this production. As it should, "What I did for Love" brought about this feeling, finally. What a strong ensemble vocal sound. It really blew me away. Lastly, I felt that, overall, the cast was very young. It's really hard to buy the story of Zach and Cassie when they both look like they can't even drink legally yet. Again, they can't help that, that was a director's choice.

So there, does that sound like someone who wants to purposely hurt members of the cast? I don't think it does. I loved the show. I wouldn't have given it a C at all.

Besides, it's definitely a lot better than the clusterfuck of a show I'm involved in right now. You know what? I would LOVE Queen John to come do a review of it. I would laugh. my. ass. off.