Catlin Gabel Theatre will produce a live performance of 'A Chorus Line'!

By Benjamin Chan-Kai, ‘25

This spring, Catlin Gabel’s very own theater group, which comprises a cast of 31 actors, will be producing “A Chorus Line,” a 1975 musical with music by Marvin Hamlisch lyrics by Edward Kleban. The exhilarating show is 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, and describes the events that have shaped their lives and their decisions to become dancers. But only a select few can make the final cut.

This show is unique because there is no star performer, but everyone in the cast is playing a specific and unique role that tells a different story.

Elizabeth Gibbs, the director and producer of this show, says, “We all are excited to finally be performing live, again!”

Gibbs also states, “Our students had a lot of trouble last year during quarantine because it didn’t allow live performances, and our compromise zoom play was difficult.”

For a lot of the actors, this after-school activity has provided them with new experiences and opened up friendships. Freshman Maria Ward Davis said that “This production allowed me to socialize with other grades, get out of my comfort zone and perform.”

“It’s been enjoyable to get creative in a way to interact with my peers,” says freshman Zzy Heitner. “Trying to figure out how we can improve our show has been very fun.”

While theaters might seem like all fun, it has been a lot of work for those performing and behind the scenes. “Everyone is coming with different experience levels, and it’s been difficult to work around these challenges,” Davis says.

Mia Bane states “The biggest challenge on this show was the big cast. There were not a lot of costume changes, but the finale number requires a pretty unique set of costumes.”

Behind the scenes, the stage crew made of only 9 students has been working tirelessly to ensure everything runs smoothly.

But with all the hard work “seeing it all come together is really rewarding for me and my peers” says Heitner.

The show is screening on March 4-5 at 7 p.m. and March 6 at 2 p.m.

The cast is:

Reese Hart (as Zach), Darby Palmer (as Lori), Hannah Langer (as Val), Maria Ward Davis (as Sheila), Riddhi Mahajan (as Bebe), Teresa Walsh (as Maggie), Mia Archila (as Connie), Caroline Mauro (as Kristine), Audrey Hebert (as Judy), Malcolm Grant (as Mike), Dylan Beckett (as Paul), Soren Cowell-shah (as Richie), Marcus Ho as Don), Kate Andrews (as Mark), Scooch Herbst (as Al), Jordan Devlin (as Greg), and Margot Camp (playing Bobby).

The Ensemble includes Torin Hough, Keola Edelen Hare, Nadya Poisac-Nguyen, Jack Beckerman, Ollie Tannahill, Stella Alvarez, Megan Cover, Violet Bouwes-van Nood, Amanda Phillips, Oliver Chally, Micah Pouch, and George Pritchard.

If you are excited about drama, you can join their next show by emailing Elizabeth Gibbs at gibbse@catlin.edu.