‘Chorus Line’ Is Slightly Askew

“A Chorus Line” is a paradox. On one hand, it’s almost impossible to come up with 18 principal performers who are extraordinarily talented enough to meet this 1975 musical’s demands for dancing, singing and acting, and to quickly coach them toward a flawless execution of the late Michael Bennett’s detailed staging.

On the other, even without a first-rate cast, the material is so strong that it works on its own.

This paradox cuts both ways for director-choreographer Sam Viverito, who has re-created Bennett’s staging for the Theater League production that launched that touring organization’s residency at Long Beach’s Terrace Theater over the weekend. Though Viverito has put together a company that, for the most part, moves well and captures the story’s sense of urgency, he has ended up with a handful of clinkers--a couple of voices that can’t find their pitches, a dance here or a monologue there that doesn’t hit all of its marks.

What’s more, the show hadn’t quite jelled by Saturday’s opening--it would catch fire for a while, then go cold, and so on, in a herky-jerky manner, and on several occasions, the orchestra was badly out of sync with what was occurring onstage.

Yet again and again, the old magic kicked in--dance numbers sent electrical currents crackling through the auditorium, and the monologues, in which Broadway chorus dancers reveal their deepest hopes and fears, elicited sighs of recognition.

Drawing from his own life as well as from chat sessions with working dancers, Bennett and his collaborators set out to create a show that would pay tribute to the unsung lives of chorus dancers who toil in the background of Broadway musicals.

As realistically as possible, he re-created a dance audition at which participants not only had to display their performing skills but also, through pointed questions put to them by the director-choreographer, reveal something of themselves.

The result is so powerfully effective because it is so universal--for, like these dancers, every one of us is auditioning, every day, for love, recognition and respect.

Unfortunately for Viverito, he is presenting these essentially intimate stories in large theaters, which compels him and the performers to make every gesture big, big, big to reach the back of the auditorium. This breaks the show’s spell, reminding us that--no, this isn’t an actual audition we’ve somehow wandered into--it’s all just pretend.

Working with this fully professional cast, he does, however, come a bit closer than he did with a mixed cast in his June staging for Civic Light Opera of South Bay Cities. (This production moves to Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza starting Tuesday.)

A number of key players return from that production, including Michael Albert Simms as Paul, the dancer who has built a proud life and career out of an uncertain, marginalized youth. Simms excels by holding back, by keeping it real, and when he delivers his emotional monologue toward the show’s end--hands in pockets, face shyly downcast--he causes many eyes to well with tears, as his do.

Also back are Laura Soltis as the sultry Sheila and Kelli Fish as the perky Val--two engaging yet heart-rending examples of what dancers must give up of themselves in order to become the shapely, sexy objects that ignite desire in viewers’ hearts and sell tickets.

In the humorous “Sing!” number, Lora Anderson and Tony Spinosa are a winning pair as Kristine and Al, the nervous, tone-deaf wife and overly helpful husband who are facing the audition together.

As Mike, Matt Zarley swaggers entertainingly through the childhood story of a boy in the girls’ world of dance class in “I Can Do That,” and Marcia Francisco brings a contagious energy to Diana, though her singing voice, while sweet, lacks power in the important “Nothing” and “What I Did for Love” numbers.

In the hard-to-cast role of powerhouse dancer Cassie, Susan Carr George brings a dynamic voice to the linchpin “The Music and the Mirror” number, but her dancing, while proficient, just doesn’t snap or crackle.

Still, this is one powerful piece of theater. Like the characters they portray, these performers put themselves on the line--and come across as everyday heroes.

* “A Chorus Line,” Fred Kavli Theatre, Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza, 2100 Thousand Oaks Blvd., Thousand Oaks. Tuesday-Friday, 8 p.m.; Saturday, 2 and 8 p.m.; Sunday, 2 and 7 p.m.; Sept. 28-29, 8 p.m. Ends Sept. 29. $29.50-$38.50. (805) 583-8700 or (213) 480-3232. Running time: 2 hours, 5 minutes.

Paul Hadobas: Zack

Chris Holly: Larry

Susan Carr George: Cassie

Laura Soltis: Sheila

Kelli Fish: Val

Marcia Francisco: Diana

Michael Albert Simms: Paul

Lora Anderson: Kristine

Tony Spinosa: Al

Matt Zarley: Mike

A Theater League production. Conceived and originally directed and choreographed by Michael Bennett; co-choreographed by Bob Avian. Book by James Kirkwood & Nicholas Dante. Music by Marvin Hamlisch. Lyrics by Edward Kleban. Director-choreographer: Sam Viverito. Musical director: Lloyd Cooper. Lights: Kim Killingsworth. Stage manager: Robert R. Read.