'A Chorus Line' review – you'll fall head over heels in love with this singular sensation of a dance musical

Read our review of A Chorus Line, starring Adam Cooper and Carly Mercedes Dyer, now in performances at Sadler's Wells to 25 August.

No other musical so passionately captures a dancer’s body-and-soul commitment like Michael Bennett’s 1975 Pulitzer-winner A Chorus Line. Based on taped interviews with real-life Broadway hoofers, it has an unusual raw authenticity, and Nikolai Foster’s Leicester Curve revival – now, appropriately, doing a sizzling summer run at London’s leading dance house – brilliantly honours that while also providing smart updates and a spectacular finale.

The backstage show follows 17 hopefuls who have reached the final stage of a big audition: only eight will be cast. (“Four boys and four girls.” “Need any women?” quips the fabulously quick-witted Sheila.) However, imperious director/choreographer Zach doesn’t just ask them to perform, but to reveal themselves.

That they do, in a barrage of personal stories variously funny (one kid mistook his first wet dream for gonorrhoea) and wrenching. There are thematic echoes galore, from the casual cruelty of parents to concerns around body image, racial identity and sexuality. James Kirkwood and Nicholas Dante’s beautifully constructed book demonstrates that we’re not as alone in such experiences as we might fear.

Marvin Hamlisch and Ed Kleban’s songs range from intricate montages to sublime solos. The opener’s battle cry of “5, 6, 7, 8!” and desperate plea, “God I hope I get it”, immediately establishes the stakes, but it’s “At the Ballet” which provides the musical’s heart as three dancers recall how the arts became a sanctuary for them, and then a place to soar – a message still just as profound and stirring.

Of course, vital too is Bennett’s electrifying choreography, co-created with Bob Avian, and given a sympathetic refresh here by Ellen Kane. It remains propulsive and rhythmic, crisp kicks, leaps and back bends punching every accent, but Kane adds an effective earthiness and ups the sinuous sexuality so that we connect even more with the performers’ physical effort and expressiveness.

Fuelling this collective triumph, Amy Thornton is a perfectly slinky Sheila, Ashley-Jordon Packer sets the pace as Larry, Joshua Lay and Katie Lee’s married couple are an adorable double act, Redmand Rance packs Mike’s solo with flips and whizzing pirouettes, Lydia Bannister and Kate Parr provide gorgeous vocals, and Manuel Pacific reduces the audience to tears with Paul’s shattering monologue.

Jocasta Almgill nails Diana’s bittersweet song about escaping a bullying drama teacher, while Carly Mercedes Dyer brings grit and agonising disillusionment to Cassie, who failed to crack Hollywood. There’s a prickly complexity to her dynamic with Zach, her former lover as well as her director.

That relationship has been thoughtfully re-evaluated post-#MeToo, as has Val’s riotous song about the benefits of plastic surgery. Without losing its comic zest, Chloe Saunders directs her ire at Zach: if it wasn’t for male gatekeepers like him, she would have gotten the job without “a dash of silicone”.

That fantastic exchange is facilitated by the decision to have Zach on stage more, and Adam Cooper (a former Royal Ballet principal) digs into the psyche of a man who, as a former dancer himself, perhaps resents these energetic youngsters. There’s an extraordinary moment when Cooper reaches for a sparkly top hat and sketches a few steps, accompanied by a recording of Bennett’s voice.

Howard Hudson’s lights also dance magnificently, constantly transforming Grace Smart’s mirror-backed set. The only misstep is a needless handheld camera, which disrupts our connection with the performers. But all is forgiven when Foster unleashes his razzmatazz singular sensation of a climax.

The genius of the show, however, is that we now understand the gruelling work behind every graceful move, the individual stories of each identically dressed chorus member, and the jeopardy of this tenuous career which could be ended in a second by injury. Why persevere? Because they love it – just as audiences will fall head over heels for this smash-hit production.

A Chorus Line is at Sadler's Wells through 25 August. Book A Chorus Line tickets on London Theatre.

Photo credit: A Chorus Line (Photos by Marc Brenner)