A Chorus Line review: 'dazzling' musical remains 'exciting' 50 years on

This singular sensation has returned to London and is as popular as ever

A Chorus Line at Sadler's Wells
The terrific ensemble cast delivers pure 'jazz-hands joy'
(Image credit: © Marc Brenner)

The original 1975 production of "A Chorus Line" – about jobbing dancers auditioning for parts in a musical – was the longest-running hit in Broadway history until Cats stole its crown in 1997, said Fiona Mountford in The i Paper

This "thrilling" revival, which originated at Leicester's Curve and which will be touring the UK following its London run, proves that the show still has the power to entrance and mesmerise. Based on its original creator Michael Bennett's interviews with real-life dancers, "A Chorus Line" is structured around the tales of "difficult home lives, sexual confusion and body insecurity" that are drawn out of the auditioning dancers by a brutally old-fashioned director. But all this is really just a frame for a glorious feast of singing and dancing – performed here with consummate energy, commitment and skill by a crack cast. 

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