A Show About the Show

 A Chorus Line, on tour in a new production, is being billed as “The Best Musical. Ever.” Of course, determining the “best” anything is a subjective matter, but A Chorus Line does have all those performances — and dollars — racked up over its long life to prove it does resonate with people in a very specific way. The plot, about seventeen dancers fighting for just eight slots in the chorus line of a new show, is really about dreams and the individuality of people who get bottom billing in the show — and maybe in life. The underdog is the unofficial American mascot, and as the seventeen dancers reveal their true selves to the director in an effort to prove how much they want a part in this production, the audience sees them as we see ourselves: helpless, hopeful, wanting more out of life than they have, but grateful for what they get. Underdogs all, on stage and in the seats. A Chorus Line is performed at 8 p.m. Tuesday through Friday, 2 and 8 p.m. Saturday, and 2 and 7:30 p.m. Sunday (May 12 through 24; no 7:30 p.m. show on Sunday, May 24) at the Fox Theatre (527 North Grand Boulevard; 314-534-1111 or www.fabulousfox.com). Tickets are $23 to $64.
Tuesdays-Sundays. Starts: May 12. Continues through May 24, 2009