Review: A CHORUS LINE at The Hawthorne Players At The Florissant Civic Center Theatre

The Hawthorne Players, a community theater group in North St. Louis County, opened the second show of their 75th Season Friday night with their production of A CHORUS LINE. A CHORUS LINE opened on Broadway in 1975 and swept nearly every award for which it was nominated, won the Pulitzer Prize, and at the time became the longest-running production on Broadway with over 6,100 performances.

This production, directed by Mark Lull, is a nod to the original staging and his vision effectively tells the emotional stories of dancers auditioning for a role in the chorus of a show. Kimberly Klick attempts to recreate Michael Bennett and Bob Avian's choreography from the 1975 production on a small civic center stage. Her choreography is reminiscent enough to satisfy even the biggest of A CHORUS LINE fan. Lull, Klick and the cast do an admirable job with the material and this production is surprisingly delightful for a community theater production.

For any production of A CHORUS LINE to be effective there are a handful of non-negotiables that must be delivered; a company that can harmonize and sell the substantial parts of the score when the music swells, an actor who disappears in to the role of Paul so the audience feels his tragic pain, a voice that can deliver a goosebump inducing vocal on "What I Did for Love," and enough dance skill across the cast to sell the closing number.

Each actor in the cast has at least a serviceable voice to deliver on their solo numbers, but when this cast sings collectively, they provide a robust and pleasing sound that absolutely meets the first of the required non-negotiables. Aaron Kamphoefner's (Paul) monologue about his troubled childhood is effective in conveying the character's pain and allows for enough audience sympathy to make "What I Did for Love" the effective 11-o'Clock number. Mia Millican's (Diana Morales) huge voice is tailored for "What I Did for Love" and when the key is modulated and the entire company joins in the emotional connection between the characters and the audience nearly reaches the goosebump and tear-inducing climax. Finally, this performance is capped off with a rousing finale with choreography that pays homage to the original production.

The actors do a convincing job conveying their stories with acting choices that are credible and believable. What makes the book of A CHORUS LINE brilliant is that the audience connects with each of the dancers portrayed including those who may not initially seem warm or likeable. By the end of an effective production of this show, the audience is rooting for all the auditioning characters to win the job and feels the joy and disappointment for each because their stories have induced a personal connection, and this production gets that mostly right.

For any production of A CHORUS LINE to be perfect there are two critical characters, Paul and Diana, that the audience must develop significant feelings of empathy for by connecting with them emotionally. Kamphoefner's acting choices and monologue are effective enough to create an empathic audience. On the other hand, in this production, Diana isn't played as victim of her experiences, but rather a character who is angry. During her first number, "Nothing," the actor conveys that she is angry at her acting teacher Mr. Karp versus conveying a feeling that she is a victim of an unlikeable educator. This angry and more aggressive portrayal extends into her tennis-shoed tap number that loses some of the humor in that moment when Diana labors to make her tennis shoes tap. This vision of that character does not allow the audience to be fully charmed by the character or engender the requisite empathy required to bring the audience full circle in the "What I Did for Love" moment. This may have been a directorial decision or an acting choice, and Millican's portrayal as such was effective, but playing Diana less sympathetic is different than the character is written and softens the emotional climax of the show.

Overall, the Hawthorne Player's A CHORUS LINE is as enjoyable as any community theater production can be. The cast commits to every moment of the show and tells the stories that tug on the audiences' heart strings. A CHORUS line will continue at The Florissant Civic Center Theater on July 30th, August 5th, 6th and 7th. For tickets or more information visit hawthorneplayers.com.