STAGE REVIEW : ‘Chorus Line’ Lacks Kick on ‘Farewell’ Tour : Production at the Performing Arts Center emulates the original but seems to just go through the motions.

The closing of “A Chorus Line” at New York’s Shubert Theater last April, after a record 6,136 performances, was covered by the media as if it were the death of a hallowed institution.

According to the many reports, people cried, people sighed, people said the singular sensation of this most-popular of American musicals would live on in memory--and certainly on stages, from the largest revival houses to the dinkiest community theaters.

All that sentiment was expected. The remarkably durable show had outlasted every other Broadway musical, enough of a prod for wistfulness and celebration. Whether warranted or not, “A Chorus Line” had become a legend.

To further that legend (and exploit it) a national “farewell” tour of “A Chorus Line” is making its way along a 50-city route. The tour reached the Orange County Performing Arts Center on Tuesday, where it will stay through Sunday.

It would be nice to tell local fans that this production is the one they’ve been waiting for, but that’s not the case. This competent offering--solid but without surprises, busy but hardly rarefied--is calculated to please, and it does on a very basic level.

But it doesn’t give a lift or connect us tightly to the arch characters--the elements that “A Chorus Line” is famous for. There’s a remoteness. And with this show, that just won’t do.

Even the grabber, show-stopper moments that have long propelled this musical are low in voltage.

Laurie Gamache as Cassie (she was also the last Cassie on Broadway) dances expertly in her big solo--a narcissistic, yearning spin in front of a bank of mirrors as choreographed by the show’s creator, the late Michael Bennett--but it should also pump us up, even link us to her and her need to perform. At the Center, it’s just a decent dance.

Later, Donna Pompei’s Diana offers a muscular version of “What I Did for Love” that, while technically sound, only touches on the song’s emotional impact as an anthem for following your heart. At the Center, it’s just a decent rendition of a good song.

The number carries the play’s message about dreams and sacrifice that runs throughout the almost-plotless plot. Is it necessary to describe it? Just in case: “A Chorus Line” follows a group of dancers as they audition for a Broadway show. The barking director (Randy Clements) wants to know more about them than just their moves, and they begin to reveal secrets. It’s an unabashed and sentimental tribute to anonymous theatrical “Gypsies.”

Under Baayork Lee’s direction (she played Connie in the first “A Chorus Line”), the production closely follows the original that opened in 1975 at the Shakespeare Festival’s Newman Theater before quickly moving to Broadway. She’s retained much of Bennett’s staging, including his choreography, and has used the original simple scenery (a far wall of mirrors), lighting and costumes.

The cast likewise looks to the past for inspiration. These aren’t poor performances, just predictable. Val (Julie Graves) sticks out her chest and bum perkily in “Dance: Ten; Looks: Three,” Mike (Mark S. Hoebee) provides fast-stepping and enthusiastic singing in “I Can Do That” and Porfirio brings pathos to Paul’s troubled revelations about his homosexuality.

At the trademark finale, when those who didn’t make the final cut join with those who did for a final kick or two in gold lame, there’s a precision and symmetry that’s comforting but vaguely boring. It’s the feeling that comes from good mechanics, when nothing unexpected is going to happen, where nothing’s going to surprise.

‘A CHORUS LINE’

A production of the musical conceived by Michael Bennett, with choreography by Bennett and Bob Avian, music by Marvin Hamlisch, lyrics by Edward Kleban and book by James Kirkwood and Nicholas Dante. Directed by Baayork Lee. With Buddy Balou, Philip Michael Baskerville, Gail Benedict, Melinda Cartwright, Kevin Chinn, Randy Clements, Dennis Daniels, Morris Freed, Laurie Gamache, Michael Gorman, Julie Graves, Darrell Hankey, Mark S. Hoebee, Dana Leigh Jackson, Bradley Jones, Pamela Khoury, Frank Kliegel, Paula Leggett, Michelle Michaels, Robyn Peterman, Donna Pompei, Porfirio, John Salvatore, John Scott and Anna Simonelli. Scenery by Robin Wagner. Costumes by Theoni V. Aldredge. Lighting by Richard Winkler. Plays Tuesday through Sunday at 8 p.m., with 2 p.m. shows Saturday and Sunday at 600 Town Center Drive, Costa Mesa. Tickets: $19 to $42. (714) 556-2787.