Edison High School is presenting "A Chorus Line," the second longest running musical in the history of Broadway, on April 3, 4, and 5 at 7:30 p.m. Ticket prices are $8 for adults and $6 for students and senior citizens.
What makes "A Chorus Line" special is that it is one of the few musicals to ever win the Pulitzer Prize for drama. It was also the recipient of nine Tony awards, including best musical in 1976.
The musical is set in 1975 in a Broadway Theatre. It is about the hopes, fears, and raw emotions of performers during the audition process. The show opens with 31 dancers auditioning and then only 17 of them make the first cut. As the musical progresses, the audience learns more about the lives of these characters and what makes each of them unique. In fact, the playwright, Michael Bennett, based these characters on real Broadway dancers. The director, Zach, only needs eight people for his chorus line, four males and four females. The audience is filled with anticipation up until the very end of the musical to find out which characters make it through the final cut.
2002 Cappie Winner, Zach Heller, is playing the part of the Assistant Director, Larry, with hopes to reclaim his title of best male dancer once again this year. Not only is the talented dancer performing in the production, but he is also choreographing the entire show. Funny girl, Deniz Soyer, 2002 Cappie nominee for comic actress in a musical, returns to the stage using her charm and wit to make audiences laugh themselves to tears again in the hilarious role, Kristine, the horrible singing dancer. Newcomer, Collette Yuri, will be playing the role of Cassie, who was a big Broadway star until she decided to try a chance at movies and failed. Now Cassie is now returning to the stage auditioning for a minor part on the chorus line, despite the fact that she is overqualified for the role. The gifted Collette Yuri has been dancing for 12 years and her biggest accomplishment up to date is performing in "The Nutcracker" at the Kennedy Center.
This is just the tip of the iceberg of the superb talent pool director Brad Rickel has been working with for the past month. Come see "A Chorus Line" and find out what the rest of this exceptional theatre company has to offer.