A Chorus Line

A Chorus Line
Thursday, August 3, 2006 8pm
Curran Theatre, San Francisco

This was a first for me. I just kicked myself so much when I learned that Wicked had a pre-Broadway run in San Francisco that I've been keeping my eye out for other shows doing their run at this relatively close city. So, since I'm off for the summer, I decided to hop in my car and drive up to the Curran to check out A Chorus Line before it heads to Broadway. I'm so glad that I did. It was a thoroughly wonderful experience. I got to the city quite early, so I parked my car and hung out at a Starbucks and then just sat in a hotel for a while and watched the people. That can be the most entertaining thing.
The show itself was just beautiful. There were some little things that were distracting. I wanted the "I Can Do That" number to be more impressive, there were a few singers that weren't quite up to par with the rest of the cast, and the lead, Charlotte D'Ambroise ran a hair sharp during her big solo song and dance. Other than that it was a great show. Most of the cast stepped right into these huge parts with no problem.
This revival is really a second run of the original, from what I can tell. There's no major re-vamping of the show like they usually do when they're bringing back a musical. Hopefully this production will have a good long run and afford people to see this landmark theatrical production on stage, as it was originally envisioned.
The movie that they made of this show is just not worth the $3.99 it would cost to rent it. Maybe if you have Netflix you could throw it on your list, but I wouldn't bother. Especially if you have any plans to see this production. The movie will ruin the experience for you.