Category: Theatre

A Chorus Line has won nine Tony Awards and a Pulitzer Prize for Drama, is set at a high-stakes audition for a Broadway show. It is intimate and personal, staged against a bare stage where seventeen actors are interviewed by a director searching for four men and four women to be a part of a powerhouse dancing chorus for his latest show. Conceived in 1975 by writer, director, and choreographer Michael Bennett with music by Marvin Hamlisch, lyrics by Edward Kleban, and book by James Kirkwood Jr. and Nicholas Dante, the musical was famously workshopped using the real-life stories of real members of the chorus to breathe life into the characters of “A Chorus Line.”

Many of them get the chance to do monologues or perform based on real stories and the overall effect is incredible. Almost stripped of the usual grandiose staging typical of many musicals, we are left with the bare bones of a play and somehow, when executed well, it resonates stronger than ever as we get to see the interiority of many of these performers.

Theater Group Asia’s staging of A Chorus Line is a magnificent production, fueled by a cast of extremely committed performers who lay themselves bare, for us to experience their strengths and weaknesses, both their guardedness and their vulnerabilities. During a recent press event, a cast member described the show’s appeal as universal, suggesting that one does not need to be a performer to relate to the narrative. Anyone who has ever desired to be a part of something can connect to these stories, in some shape or form.

Under the direction and choreography of Emmy award winner Karla Puno Garcia, she material is revitalized; she pays homage to the movements of the original production while injecting her own spin on things. By playing to her casts’ unique strength, Garcia creates a show that really gets down and dirty with all the hopes and fears of its performers. The opening number, “I Hope I Get It” is a huge dance number with the cast trying to learn the steps, each one adding their own personal flourishes based on their personality and skill. Some are better, some are lagging. We see the nerves; we see the determination. On stage, it’s absolute joy to watch these movements occupy the stage with the mirror right behind them creating a feeling of an even larger number of dancers than what is already on stage. The show, from its opening number, already sets you in the mood for things to come.

What is truly remarkable about this piece is that it’s an audition for a chorus – for members of an ensemble that have to blend in and work as a unit so as to not steal focus from the star of whatever show they are going to be on – but the play itself, the interview that the director holds for each one brings to light each person’s individuality. The director, Zach, is searching for a team player but he needs to know who they are, as a unique person, to see if they fit together as a whole. By the end of the show, we get to see one big number where, despite having witnessed each actor’s personal story, they all blend in together, with no one outshining anyone else. They sing one of the show’s popular songs, ‘One,’ and it becomes a showstopper like no other.

The cast is incredible. Conrad Ricamora plays Zach, the director. Despite not having a song of his own, he propels the narrative forward, asking questions and breaking down each actors’ walls to try and get to see who they are inside. Ricamora is rarely on stage, instead goes down to the audience, reaches even up to the balcony seats. He’s acting primarily through his voice and it’s a commanding one. A powerful one. We can hear his frustrations and his interest. We can feel it when he cares and when he is calling out BS. It’s an incredible performance even when he is out of sight, his presence is always felt.

There are so many great performances here but I’d like to call out the standouts. One song, “At the Ballet,” performed by Sheila (Mikaela Regis), Bebe (Michaela Marfori), and Maggie (Iya Villanueva), an early favourite. Marfori and Villanueva possess powerful, evocative voices, while Regis is acting through the piece and the way they harmonize together creates a strong imprint at the beginning. As Diana Morales, Christina Glur sings some of my favourite songs from the musical: “Nothing” and “What I Did For Love” and I’m so in love with the original Broadway cast recording but Glur makes these songs her own, finding ways to emphasize particular words in a song that adds layers and tension, which makes her Morales such a grounding force for the production. Universe Ramos, as Paul San Marco, delivers strong monologue that leaves him alone on stage, sharing a beautiful, intimate, and very personal story. All alone on that stage, he fills it up with his character’s story and it’s a high point of the show.

What would constitute a lead in this show is Cassie, played by Lissa De Guzman. De Guzman is a powerhouse. She sings “Music and the Mirror,” which allows her to showcase her singing, acting, and dancing skills. There are so much presence and confidence that we cannot stop looking at her. She’s in full control of her body and her instrument that you can fully connect with Cassie’s struggle. What a truly exceptional performance.

Theater Group Asia’s production of A Chorus Line is a fully realised show. The lighting design by Cha See is nothing short of exquisite, the use of mirrors is exciting – on some numbers, it moves around on stage as if it were dancing too and helps tell the story of that number – and a strong orchestra, led by musical director Farley Asuncion. 

The play was written in 1976, so there are certain aspects of it which don’t land just as well. The first act concludes with “Hello Twelve, Hello Thirteen, Hello Love,” a number about their different experiences reaching puberty. It is a hilarious song (featuring a great vocal moment from Rapah Manalo), though it didn’t seem to hit the audience as it did me. But I knew the songs by heart, and I knew the things that they were talking about (having grown up just a decade after the musical’s release). Another song that isn’t as strong as it was back in the 80s is “Dance Ten, Looks Three,” a song about one actor’s need for cosmetic surgery to stay competitive. Performed with a lot of personality by Brie Chappell, the song isn’t as shocking or surprising in 2026 with everyone so accustomed to cosmetic surgery. That song used to raise eyebrows and elicit gasps but now all it manages is a couple of chuckles, considering how well Chappell performed it.

But despite the show’s dated language and colloquialisms, it still is a lovely letter to everyone who has a dream, who faces challenges day-in and day-out to make that dream come true. Karla Puno Garcia’s direction brings this to the forefront, and the cast takes it home.

I’m definitely watching this again.

My Rating: 4.5 Stars

Theater Group Asia’s A Chorus Line is a masterclass in ensemble storytelling that proves some dreams never go out of style. The production runs until March 29, 2026, at the Samsung Performing Arts Theater. Secure your seats at TicketWorld and see why this Pulitzer Prize winner remains a “singular sensation.”