The Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts Presents Pre-Professional Production of A CHORUS LINE
The show is directed and choreographed by Broadway veteran Baayork Lee with music direction by Lauren Langa.
By: Stephi Wild Jun. 16, 2023
The Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts will present this summer’s Pre-Professional Production: A Chorus Line, directed and choreographed by Broadway veteran Baayork Lee with music direction by Lauren Langa. Featuring college-aged students and aspiring actors, the pre-professional programs are one of the many opportunities the arts center offers for artists in the Central Florida area to be a part of full-scale productions.
Over the duration of the 2-month program, the artists will walk through key elements of a Broadway production including character development, blocking, choreography and vocal rehearsals, in addition to tech rehearsals and combining lighting and sound elements. The program will culminate in 5 performances open to the public in Alexis & Jim Pugh Theater.
“Working hand-in-hand with a Broadway icon is a dream come true for any student actor,” said Kathy Ramsberger, President & CEO of the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts. “We’re thrilled to make that a possibility for our incredible young talent in Central Florida. These are the kind of experiences that shape lives, foster growing careers and further our mission of being an inspirational place where people love to be.”
Working with the artists this summer is an incredible team of experienced industry professionals, including Director and Choreographer Baayork Lee who has performed in a dozen original Broadway shows. She created the role of Connie in A Chorus Line while continuing the legacy of Michael Bennett directing companies around the world, most recently Antonio Banderas’s company in Spain. She has directed King and I, South Pacific, Cinderella (R&H), Porgy and Bess, Carmen Jones, Jesus Christ Superstar, Barnum, Gypsy and others. She also directed the 2021 Wicked in Concert for PBS. She has been the recipient for numerous awards for her work, including the Isabelle Stevens Tony Award, Paul Robeson Award from Actors Equity Association, the Asian Woman Warrior Award for Lifetime Achievement from Columbia College and more.
“I am always excited to teach Michael Bennett's and Bob Avian's iconic show to the next generation and witness their artistic growth through the rehearsal process,” said Baayork Lee, Director & Choreographer of A Chorus Line. “My goal is always to impart that A Chorus Line is more than a show, it can be a life-changing experience. The stories are real accounts of dancers’ lives––created by dancers sitting around together and recorded by Michael Bennett. The actors, as well as the audience, will see themselves or someone they know in the stories up on that stage.”
Music Director Lauren Langa has been performing and teaching voice for over 20 years. Each year, her high school students consistently earn spots in the country’s leading top music theater, classical voice and commercial music programs. Additionally, many of her students have been selected as the Dr. Phillips Center’s Applause Awards representatives for The Jimmy Awards®, including Sofia Deler who was named the national winner in 2017. In addition to her high school students, her professional students can be seen on Broadway and in TV and film in projects like The Prom (movie), Jesus Christ Superstar Live on NBC, Kimberly Akimbo (Broadway), A Beautiful Noise (Broadway), Cinderella (Broadway), MJ: The Musical (Broadway), SIX (National Tour) among many others. Lauren specializes not only in voice science and vocal pedagogy, but also in contemporary styles and extended techniques.
The creative team for A Chorus Line is rounded out with Grace Arnold and Harry Francis as Assistant Choreographers along with Joshua Jacobs as Set Designer and Kimberly Murray-Patel as Costume Designer, bringing the production’s visual elements to life.
Tickets will go on sale Friday, June 16, 2023, at 10 a.m. ET. Guests can purchase tickets by visiting DrPhillipsCenter.org.
About Summer Pre-Professional Production: A Chorus Line
College performers, part of Dr. Phillips Center’s Pre-Professional Production, present A Chorus Line, directed by Baayork Lee. An icon of American musical theater, this Tony Award- and Pulitzer Prize-winning “singular sensation” comes from the genius of choreographer Michael Bennett and the legendary composer Marvin Hamlisch.
A Chorus Line illuminates the ambitions of ensemble dancers in the final chorus audition for an upcoming Broadway show. In one powerhouse number after another, the tensions and expectations of these dedicated artists converge in a brilliant mix of song, dance and compelling drama. One of the longest running Broadway musicals of all time, A Chorus Line boasts classic numbers such as “What I Did for Love,” “One,” “I Can Do That,” “At the Ballet,” “The Music and the Mirror” and “I Hope I Get It.
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