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• A Chorus Line Still Dazzling Audiences

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For ticket information, call the Broadway in Chicago ticket line at 312-902-1400 or go online at http://broadwayinchicago.com.

The recent Broadway revival of Michael Bennett’s A Chorus Line, which some arguably call the best Broadway musical ever, has made its national tour stop at Chicago’s Ford Center for the Performing Arts Oriental Theatre. It is still an incredibly emotional experience with spectacular dance for the first-time viewer or a seasoned theater veteran like myself, who saw the original cast production in New York in spring 1976. The cast, assembled by director Bob Avian, the show’s original Tony Award-winning co-choreographer, is a collection of all top-notch musical professionals and remarkably skilled dancers.

What remains so striking about the simple Chorus Line narrative, a dance audition for nearly 20 hoofers, is how incredibly accurately it captures the passion, love and dedication of common Broadway dancers and the commitment they have to their dream of making it on Broadway. It’s not just star-struck blind optimism, it’s a bittersweet blend of passion and knowledge that every cell of their body knows they must be a dancer, and their lives would not be fulfilled without that realization. Along with this passion is a catalog of heartbreaks, dissatisfying personal identity crises and family problems that come with the realization of this life goal.

The Marvin Hamlisch music may seem a bit dated with its ’70s style and orchestrations, but the lyrics of songs like Diana’s “What I Did for Love,” Sheila, Bebe and Maggie’s trio “At the Ballet” and Cassie’s “The Music and the Mirror” are emotionally spot-on. The humor of the theatrical experience is still strikingly relevant in Diana’s frustrating “Nothing,” about impossible improvisation tasks in acting class, and the sassy Val’s “Dance: Ten; Looks: Three” about her body enhancements.

This incredible revival of this Broadway classic, which features Sebastian La Cause as Zach, the director, and Robyn Hurder as Cassie, the desperate, former chorus dancer, continues its limited three-week engagement at the Ford Center for the Performing Arts Oriental Theatre, located at 151 W. Randolph St. in Chicago’s Loop Theatre District until May 3.