Ever since its original 1975 Broadway opening, “A Chorus Line” has been widely celebrated, both for its taxing dance numbers and its racy topics—which range from first sexual experiences to STDs to swearing. Starting March 15, these themes and dance moves will make their way to the Staples auditorium.
The dancing rehearsal schedule itself attests to the show’s uniqueness. To successfully tackle the moves, Players rehearse until around 6 p.m. every weekday and from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. every Sunday.
“People have been working insanely hard on this show and putting their entire heart and soul into it,” said co-dance captain Danielle Frost ’13, who added that she feels the hard work shown at rehearsals will pay off.
Such dedication, according to Frost, has allowed Players to tackle trickier dance moves, such as the double turn—challenging choreography that was, in fact, used in the original production of “A Chorus Line.”
Assisting Players throughout the rehearsal process is Bradley Jones, both a Staples alum and a previous member of the Broadway cast of “A Chorus Line.”
“We’re so lucky to have [Jones] teaching us the original choreography,” said co-dance captain Annie Cooperstone ’13. “It takes a lot of effort and time to understand and perfect.”
While Cooperstone said that the rehearsal process has been intense, she feels positive that every member of the cast would say that it is worth it.
Will Haskell ’14 said his personal improvements themselves have exemplified how the hard work has paid off.
“For non-dancers like myself, it was a struggle to learn the material,” Haskell said.
However, Haskell said that attending the rehearsals every day for long hours was exactly what he needed to finally master the steps.
“Danielle and Annie—the dance captains—have worked tirelessly to drill these steps into our heads,” Haskell said. “I could not have learned all the dances without the constant, long and tiresome rehearsals.”
Along with the rehearsal schedule, the mature topics discussed in the show but Players has found ways to tackle these difficult topics.
Frost added that through meticulous character development, the cast has grown to understand why his or her character discusses such topics, and can go about handling them in a mature way.
Haskell’s character, particularly, discusses several awkward topics. For example, his character fears that he has gonorrhea and asks his priest for advice.
“There have been some awkward moments, and I’m still a little nervous about performing in front of my grandma and her friends,” Haskell said.
Despite this, Haskell agrees with Frost in saying the cast acts very adult about the shows topics and are now entirely over the potential awkwardness.
David Roth, the director of Players, said that castmembers of the production have worked extremely hard—both to master the choreography and tackle the themes—and is excited to share this piece with the community.
As Roth put it, “It features wonderful music, edgy stories and some of the best and most complicated dancing that the Staples stage has seen.”
