Nice Preview For "A Chorus Line" At Magic Circle

Left: Pepper Von.


It's s-o-o-o-o-o difficult these days of retrenchment and disorientation to get The Sacramento Bee to pay any attention at all to local community musical theater. Brent Null must have donated a kidney, or something, to get this excellent coverage for Magic Circle!

And the Sacramento Bee did a special feature on Pepper Von too! Brent must have donated two kidneys! Or, being the clever guy he is, issued promissory notes for the organs, to be redeemed in the year 2200:

During the development and first productions, a different group of eight was chosen each night. Before the play opened on Broadway, however, Bennett had been convinced that the same dancers had to "win" each night, said Brent Null, who directs this show.

Adhering closely to the time period and dance styles of the original, Null has returned to the last-minute, different- every-night final decision. "I wanted that … essence of truth that you see in their faces when they are chosen or not," he said.

There is natural drama in the characters' tales. Paul (Nicky Garcia in a monologue that nearly brings tears to the eyes) tells of being groped by strangers in movie theaters as a child; Val (spunky Laura Lothian) sings "Dance: Ten; Looks: Three," about how her physical appearance hindered her career until she purchased certain "enhancements"; and Sheila (Sarah Henshaw) reveals how she sought respite in dance while being forced to live out her mother's dream to be a ballerina in "At the Ballet."

Cassie (Christi Axelson) has had an intimate relationship with director Zach (the solid Steve Gold), has gone on to featured roles, but now 30, she finds herself back, asking for a job in the chorus.

And for Pepper:

Roseville's Magic Circle Theatre chose the obvious – and absolutely right – person to choreograph "A Chorus Line," the musical that follows dancers trying out for a Broadway production while offering a metaphor for life's successes and disappointments.

The choice was Pepper Von, who has lived all the parts in this storied musical. He's been through the "interviews from hell." He's won roles and lost a few – including one in "A Chorus Line" in New York – and he has directed shows.

Like Michael Bennett, who conceived, choreographed and directed the original production – which opened on Broadway on July 25, 1975, and ran for 15 years – Von has created his own shows from scratch, too. (His latest – "Let's Go!" – is to open Aug. 1 at Garbeau's Dinner Theater.)

Brent Null, who is directing the Magic Circle production (which opened Friday and plays weekends through July 26), said it was crucial to have Von as his choreographer.

"Most community theaters tend to steer away from a show like this that is heavy with dancing because it's so hard to find the right cast," he said in a telephone interview last week. "When Bob and Ro (Robert and Rosemarie Gerould, executive producer and artistic director, respectively, of the theater) approached it, they realized what was needed.

"If we chose a known quantity like Pepper, we felt that we would be able to secure the kind of dancers that were necessary. We were able to get the cast that we needed, and a lot of that is having Pepper involved."

Null said about 50 dancers auditioned for the 17 main roles, many because of Von's association with the show.

"They want to work with Pepper," Null said.

...For Von, that meant maintaining the authenticity of the '70s-style choreography while "stretching the dancers to take it to the edge. The show is such a representation of a specific period in movement arts that people 'know' what it's supposed to look like. I like stepping out of the box and challenging their preconceptions."

Among his innovations is the introduction of movement and conversation among the characters in the background as one of their own is featured in front. "It just creates more of a visual energy in the chorus," he said.