CASTING, Loose Russian Adaption of A CHORUS LINE a Hit

"Casting"," currently running at the Mossoviet, is about a group of dancers who come together to audition for parts in a musical. The show, a loosely based adaptation of "A Chorus Line," has gotten excellent reviews, in large part thanks to Yury Yeryomin's idea to invite choreographer, director and dancer Alla Sigalova to perform in the show, according to a review by John Freedman of the Moscow Times.

Yeryomin reinvented the dancers, the director/choreographer, and her helpers to fit the reality of contemporary Russian life. According to Freeman, the result is "absolutely delightful." He adds, "'Casting' is moving, inspiring, funny, subtle and, I suspect, the ‘hit of the season.'"

Siglova, who plays the role of director/choreographer Anna Pavlovna, has great stage presence along with the rest of the cast of 20.

According to Freedman, "All the dancing hopefuls come from different backgrounds and have different motivations for wanting to perform in this production that Anna Pavlovna is staging in the provinces. They are asked to tell a little about themselves and to show what they are capable of as dancers."

One tiny, 43-year-old actress (Olesya Kashitsyna) has been forced into children's roles all her professional life and is craving for a part in a grown-up show. A male stripper (Roman Kirillov), born in the war-torn region of Nagorno-Karabakh of Armenian and Uzbek parents, feels he doesn't fit into Russian society and dances as a way to express himself.

Aside from the finale, which features the cast dressed in blazing red by costume designer Viktoria Sevryukova, the show's big highlight comes halfway through when Anna's former lover Mikhail (Alexei Ovechkin) explodes into rehearsals. This leads to a dance of "despair, anger, lost love and appeasement."

"Casting" plays Saturday and April 22 at 7 p.m. at the Mossoviet Theater, 16 Bolshaya Sadovaya Ulitsa. Metro Mayakovskaya. Tel. 699-2035, www.mossovet.theatre.ru. Running time: 2 hours, 55 minutes.

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Photo Credit: Yelena Lapina / Mossoviet Theater