The cast of “A Chorus Line” acts out a scene at the Burtness Theatre on Friday night. Photo by Chester Beltowski/The Dakota Student.

UND theatre students performed the longtime Broadway hit “A Chorus Line” at the Burtness Theatre on Nov. 14-16 and then 21-23.

The musical opened on Broadway in 1975 and was the longest running production in Broadway history until it was surpassed by “Cats” in 1997.

“A Chorus Line” follows 16 performers auditioning for a part in the chorus line at a Broadway show. It is set behind-the-scenes at the chorus line tryouts, where the performers are asked by the director, who is mostly unseen, about the “behind-the-scenes” of their lives.

The dancers discuss “first-world problems” with their director. Their problems included: “I can’t sing, I can only dance really well,” “I was too ugly for Broadway so I got plastic surgery and now I’m not,” “I’m too short for Broadway,” “My teacher wanted us to do improv in grade school and I couldn’t” and “What am I going to do when I can’t dance anymore?”

These problems were annoying and the only time that I actually felt sympathy for the dancers was when shy Paul, played by Patrick Kloeckner, performed his heartbreaking monologue. Paul revealed his troubled adolescence and the trauma of his parents discovering him playing the role of a girl in a play and essentially disowning him because of it.

“At the Ballet,” sung by characters Sheila, Bebe and Maggie, addressed problems with their parents’ marriages and problems they had with their parents. These issues were the only ones that seemed to be relatable for most people who aren’t involved with theatre arts.

Each of the UND theatre arts students had their own spotlight performance in the play, and each of them did their individual performance very well. They all did an outstanding job dancing, and I was very surprised at how well everyone could do leg kicks and how synchronized they were.

The students were all amazing singers, and I often felt goosebumps when they sang. When Cassie, played by Jackie O’Neil, had her solo performance, “The Music and the Mirror,” her microphone stopped working, making it hard for the audience to hear her. O’Neil recovered with grace and sang loud enough for the audience members in the back to hear.

I was caught off guard by the character Val, played by Michelle Stahlecker, whose performance titled “Dance: 10, Looks: 3” was about her decision to have plastic surgery.  She sang about her female parts throughout the performance and dropped the F-bomb several times throughout the musical. I heard a group of elderly audience members laugh uncomfortably in response to the expletives.

I give “A Chorus Line” three out of five stars. I felt that the cost ($10 for students and $20 for non-students) was reasonable because the theatre arts students are amazing performers and are absolutely worth it, however, the plot was hard to relate to for someone who has never been involved in theatre.

“A Chorus Line” is not for everyone. I only laughed four times in the entire two hours — with no intermission. Half the time, I felt indifferent about it. The other half I was pretty bored and none of the songs stuck in my head afterward.

Overall, the musical was hard to relate to and less than exceptional, and although I strongly recommend seeing the UND Theatre Arts performers in the future, I do not recommend seeing this specific musical.

Adele Kieger is a staff writer for The Dakota Student. She can be reached at [email protected].