Review: A CHORUS LINE at Fargo South High Theatre

Fargo South High Theatre Presents: A Chorus Line

A funny story, when I was a kid I collected movie posters. The local movie theater would often give away posters after a movie ran and I would take what I could get. One of the posters I got was of a movie I had never seen called "A Chorus Line". That poster hung on my wall for a year or two until it was replaced by another, and I never did see the movie...

Set on the bare stage of a Broadway theater, the musical is centered on seventeen Broadway dancers auditioning for spots on a chorus line. A Chorus Line provides a glimpse into the personalities of the performers and the choreographer, as they describe the events that have shaped their lives and their decisions to become dancers.

Because of the crazy year we have had so many schools are doing shows different, with smaller shows, online streaming etc.. Fargo South was no different with A Chorus Line using a cast of only 24. Of course they also had an all-star team behind the scenes including Kevin Kennedy, David Wilhelmi, Sara Lichtblau, Patrick Kasper, Elizabeth Wilhelmi, Miles Barnum, Sandy Thiel and Baylee Miller.

The show is run like a One Act with no intermission, with a run time of just over 90 minutes.

The opening number featuring the entire cast is "I Hope I Get It" and gets to show off some of that great choreography by Patrick Kasper. We also first hear Zach, portrayed by Ian Strand, the director running the auditions . For most of the show Zach is off-stage and walking through the theater while he directs the people auditioning to be one of only 8 that will be selected for the chorus line. Ian does a great job and has some wonderful one on one scenes with Elizabeth Wilhelmi (Cassie) and Davis Jensen (Paul).

The next song is "I Can Do That" and features Mike, portrayed by Blake Murchie, a dancer who learned tap at a young age. Blake dances and sings his way through this number wonderfully and even throws in 3 cartwheels.

Next up we have "And" featuring Bobby, Richie, Val and Judy played by Caleb Ruziska, Ann Smith, Grace Kennedy and Jada Wraalstad respectively. Caleb does a great job telling his story and has some great comedic timing. Ann, Grace and Jada each get a chance to shine in this song. Great job by Jada dancing with a cast on her leg.

Next we have "At The Ballet" featuring Sheila (Emma Rudolph), Bebe (Victoria Houston) and Maggie (Stella Peterson) telling their stories about wanting to be a ballerina when they were younger.

I had a few favorite songs in this show and one of them was "Sing" featuring Kristine (Maddie Robinson) and Al (Michael Brunner). This was a fun song that has Kristine telling her story about not being a good singer, she mostly does this by talking, very fast, with Al finishing her comments in song. The two of them did a wonderful job on this performance.

Next we have the four Montage songs. "Montage Part 1: Hello Twelve" features Mark & Connie portrayed by Sam Kain and Molly Beaton. Mark mostly talks through his part and tells the story of finding his fathers anatomy books as a kid. Connie tells her hilarious story about being short.

"Montage Part 2: Nothing" features Diana portrayed by Emma Lado. This is another favorite performance of mine. Ella puts on one of the best vocal performances in the show during this song.

"Montage Part 3: Mother" features Judy (Jada Wraalstad) and Maggie (Stella Peterson). Another fun performance and I laughed out loud a few times. The line about Judy shaving her sisters head was great.

Another one of the standout songs of the show was Grace Kennedy as Val on "Dance: Ten; Looks: Three". The songs tells the story of Val getting her score sheet on an audition which she received a perfect 10 on her dancing but only a 3 on her looks. She goes on to tell about her decision to get plastic surgery. Grace does an amazing job on this song.

"The Music and the Mirror" is another shining moment featuring Elizabeth Wilhelmi as Cassie. Elizabeth hits some amazing notes during her performance and her scenes with Ian as Zach are beautifully done.

We get to see everyone come together for the big number on "One" and this was another great scene.

The final solo performance goes to Emma Lado as Diana on "What I Did for Love" and she puts on another stellar performance.

The final number is again "One" where we get to see the whole cast is their shiny gold costumes and doing their bows.

There is so much talent in this show and they all came together perfectly to put on a wonderful show! Congratulations to everyone involved in this production!

Be ready for the next production from Fargo South. April 30th and May 1st will be "Check Please".

To post a comment, you must register and login.