It shouldn’t be a shocker that the Phamaly Theatre Company is mounting “A Chorus Line,” the multi-Tony Award-winning 1975 musical about a group of hopefuls auditioning in front of an imperious director for a place in the company of a Broadway show. It runs through Aug. 25.
Denver’s storied theater company, launched by and made up of people with disabilities, has taken on musicals that test various assumptions — of able-bodied theatergoers, certainly, but also those with disabilities — about what’s possible, what’s surprising, what’s taboo. (For “Cabaret,” that came with lubricious energy. For “Chicago,” a winking roguery.)
What better way, then, to celebrate its 35th year than with a show that is very much about an art form that has often been (not always) the purview of the ablest of physiques: dance.
“We definitely wanted something that would cause a bit of a stir, something that would get back to that rebellious nature that Phamaly originally had,” said Ben Raanan, artistic director since 2021. He had been in search of that certain something when, listening to his Broadway playlist in the car, the anthemic “What I Did for Love” came on. “I went, ‘Oh, well, that’s what we’re doing,’” he recalled recently over coffee.
“The essence of ‘A Chorus Line’ is what Cassie says, which is, ‘What are you talking about? We’re all special. We’re all different, and that’s what makes us beautiful.’ But for the longest time, ‘Chorus Line’ has been sort of gatekept, to be honest. Like, ‘Yes, we’re all special. We’re all interesting. We’re all amazing, Unless you don’t have a stick-thin body.” Unless one isn’t traditionally, well, a dancer.
But “A Chorus Line” has an aching, even joyful universality that exceeds its own seeming limitations. From its opening number to the finale — from the cacophony of “I Hope I Get It,” to Cassie’s solo “The Music and the Mirror” to the top-hatted, high-kicking “One”— director-choreographer Michael Bennet and Bob Avian’s creation (with music by Marvin Hamlisch, lyrics by Edward Kleban and book by James Kirkwood Jr. and Nicholas Dante) resonates beyond its tap shoes and pointe slippers, its leotards and trunks.
“Give me a job and you instantly get me involved,” sings Cassie, the dancer director Zach insists is just too good for a company role. “If you give me a job, then the rest of the crap will get solved. Put me to work.”
Those sentiments “are the stuff of workers everywhere, from aging dancers to coal miners to print journalists,” I noted while reviewing the Arvada Center’s terrific 2021 production. And the lyrics that signal a shift from overheated to quietly existential in the show’s opening number ask plaintively “Who am I anyway? Am I my resume?” Is there a better, utterly relatable lament in the American workplace?
So, who’s got the plum assignment as choreographer for this “Step, kick, kick, leap, kick, touch … again!” extravaganza? After all, the musical was conceived by one. “We’ve got six,” Raanan replied and smiled. “Which has been beautiful. I decided, of course, in the most complicated show ever, let’s make an experiment.”
The artists are Jari Majewski Price, founder of Feel the Beat, an organization committed to making music accessible to those who are deaf, hard of hearing or have other disabilities; Teri Wagner, executive director of the integrated dance company Spoke N Motion Dance!, which provided opportunities for people with and without disabilities; Latisha Hardy, owner of the titularly named Colorado Springs dance company and studio focused on Afro-Latino dance, along with Ashley Coffee; Claire Hayes; Ashlyn Volk; and Savannah Svoboda, artistic director of Full Expression, A Dance Collective!
Although Price, often Phamaly’s go-to musical partner, choreographed the opener and the finale, Raanan saw an opportunity to do something even more organic, which allowed the artists the time to get to know and consider the bodies of the performers.
“You get to create for them, rather than creating and then fitting them in,” he said. In addition to this more intimate approach, the spreading of the pieces also allowed Phamaly to use choreographers with completely different backgrounds. “The commonality between them is each of their studios is focused on decolonizing dance,” Raanan said.
That diversity is reflected in the ensemble, too. “It was very important during casting that we try as hard as we can to get a broad spectrum of people coming in and people that you wouldn’t expect to be doing dance,” he said. ”We are representing all types of disabilities. We’ve got an actor with dystonia. We’ve got actors with knee braces, seizures, cerebral palsy, deaf, blind, a wheelchair user.”
The musical has no shortage of songs about determination, even obstinacy. “What I Did for Love”? It’s the reason why this theater exists,” Raanan said.
“I talked to the cast the first day and told them, ‘It makes no sense for us to do this show. Didn’t make sense for us to do theater in general. If we were all just disabled folks who didn’t care, we could just, you know, be doing our nine-to-five and taking care of our bodies at night. But no, we decide to push ourselves to this level because we have to, you know, and that’s what Cassie and Co are constantly saying. I had to do this. I have to do this. There is no alternative.’ ”
What the choreographers say
Phamaly’s “A Chorus Line” choreographers shared some thoughts about working with the company and what the experience taught them about dance.
Teri Wagner, “At the Ballet”: “As a dancer myself, one who uses a wheelchair, the biggest challenge I faced was how to teach dance to standing dancers. As you probably know, most dance is taught by example. Being a dancer/choreographer who uses a wheelchair, teaching other dancers who use wheelchairs how to dance is something very familiar to me. Having all physically able-bodied dancers for this piece, that was different. When I went to the first rehearsal, I was introduced to Jari Price, who was assigned to be my assistant. She became “my legs.” As I explained what I wanted, she was able to demonstrate for me. With her help, I was able to create exactly what I saw in my head. It turned out beautifully.”
Claire Hayes, “Dance: Ten, Looks: Three”: “I was really excited to work closely with the wonderful Annie Sand as Val because she is a talented performer and can communicate what makes her feel comfortable and uncomfortable. I knew that for this piece to work, Annie would need to feel extremely confident in herself. Something that guest choreographers can often do when working with Phamaly actors is to create simple choreography instead of starting with the challenge. I’ve learned that the opposite process is more practical and more rewarding. We had a very challenging approach and quickly learned that she didn’t have enough space to breathe and sing her best. From there, we adjusted the choreography to be just as visually dynamic but less physically intense.
Savannah Svoboda, “I Can Do That”: “As a choreographer, it is our job to ensure everyone in the room is set up for success, and that solution often doesn’t happen until you are in the creative process with the cast. You can plan as much as you want but the movement needs to be catered to the needs and energies in the room. Having the tap number to choreograph and being brand new to Phamaly, I initially didn’t have all the puzzle pieces I needed to create, but after working with the cast and seeing the skills and talents in the room, the solution became very clear to me. Even though some of our actors have never studied tap before, I knew there were other movements we could incorporate so that the message of tap was still getting across and everyone was met where they could thrive.”
Ashley Coffee, assignment director to Latisha Hardy, “The Montage”: “Every time we left a rehearsal, we were amazed by the attitude and motivation the cast expressed taking on the choreography. They were always up for the challenge and able to adapt. Walking into that space makes you appreciate dance on a completely different level — not only for what it brings to my life but being able to see what it brings to everyone’s life no matter how they interpret the movement. That is simply the beauty of dance, and how it is always evolving in a flow of change.”
Ashlyn Volk, choreography intern: “One challenge I faced along with the dancers was finding grace and patience with ourselves. This experience opened a completely new view for me. For example, while describing in-depth details of choreography for the blind actors, I was learning the choreography for the first time along with them. So, we all worked together to figure out the steps and continuously reminded each other of the progress we made each rehearsal.”
Lisa Kennedy is a Denver-area freelance writer specializing in theater and film.
IF YOU GO
“A Chorus Line”: Conceived by, originally directed by and choreographed by Michael Bennett. Book by James Kirkwood and Nicholas Dante. Music by Marvin Hamlisch. Lyrics by Edward Kleban. Co-choreography by Bob Avian. Directed by Ben Raanan. Music direction by Donna Debreceni. Featuring Shanae Adams, Lily Blessing, Junelle Gabrielle Flores, Sophie Henry, River Hetzel, Katelyn Kendrick and Phillip Lomeo, Casey Myers, Markus Rodriguez, Annie Sand, Mel Schaffer, Trenton Schindele, Jessica Swanson, Juliet Villa and Linda Wirth. At the Kilstrom Theatre in the Helen Bonfils Theatre Complex, 15th and Curtis streets. Through Aug. 25, For tickets and info: phamaly.org
