A Chorus Line was a great musical. It was full of humor and wit, and yet it was never lacking action and deep, heart-touching moments.

A comedic relief genre, A Chorus Line told the tale of 23 grown men and women who wanted their names on Broadway. I think the gist of the play was that no matter where you come from, or where you go, everyone has a dream, and people will go to great lengths to achieve them. Also present was clearly the theme of love; wherever you go you can never escape love, which was shown by Zach, played by Fred Rion, and Cassie, played by Lili Warren.

Despite its two and a half hour length, the witty remarks and funny scenes by the characters kept us fully entertained.

Everyone in the play did an amazing job, but I found these three people to really stand out and go over and beyond with their characters. These three seemed to be one with their characters, showing their truly remarkable performances in the musical.

Val, played by Autumn Chapman, told to the audience that she was 25, but that was false; she never tells her real age, so the audience had to assume that she was older than thirty. Val was a lady who loved to dance. She tried out for a bunch of plays but she never got roles because of her looks. Disappointed with her looks, she goes and gets cosmetic surgery to enhance some of her physical attributes. Consequently, she begins to receive more roles and people begin to take notice of her. I think this is a great example of our society because, like Val, many people believe that they must have good looks in order to be seen. I personally believe her character is used to make reference to the social norms, and wow, did she do a good job portraying it.

The second, and my personal favorite character, is Bobby, played by our very own Thomas Crowley ’20. What I love most about his character is his personality. The charisma and overall funny personality relieves the mood when things got rough. As an outcast struggling for acceptance, “He could never fit in, so he decided to fit out as much as he could’ said Tom. “I had so much fun being Bobby.  I got to experience so much through him.”

The third, and the one I believe stole the audience’s heart, is none other than Paul, played by our very own Spencer James Dovi ‘20. Wow, Spencer did a great job. Paul, was a man who wanted to escape his past. He talked about when he was a six- and seven-year-old boy, watching musicals with his father.  Seeing these movies made him want to dance. However, he always got laughed at. There were people who asked, “What are you doing?  Don’t you know how to be a boy?” Paul said, “I looked at the mirror and said, you’re 14 and your gay.” He hates school, people would laugh at him because he is gay. He tells the principle, the leader of the whole school, send him to counseling. Everyone who is gay considers themselves freaks.“I quit school so I could learn how to be a man.”  Still loving to dance, he auditions for a dance role, but instead was given the role of a woman. However, he loved it.  The ability to be free, to wear makeup, and do what he wants, makes him feel alive. He hides being gay from his parents until they come to his show early. “All my mother said was to eat well and take care of myself. My dad told them ‘ Take care of my son,’ …That was the first time he called me his son.” He wanted to change himself, to become someone new. It seems to me as if the whole audience could, in a way, feel his pain.  A great actor who could make his audience feel what he was going through. He was clearly the crowd favorite, the one they rooted for.

All in all A Chorus Line was an amazing play.  It really made the audience feel and wonder. Their hard work showed and I feel as if it had paid off.