Rob Ruggiero's 50th Anniversary homage to "A Chorus Line" preserves its singular sensation-ness

Less is more as the groundbreaking musical, "A Chorus Line" graces the Goodspeed theater stage for the first time, now in an extended run through November 2 .

Director Rob Ruggiero keeps the stage as bare as creator Michael Bennett's stark rehearsal room with mirrors, in the musical's debut in 1975. The story line's dancers auditioning for a Broadway show are dressed in vintage rehearsal tights and tops, suggesting the tryout could be occurring anytime between the Seventies and now.

In addition, since the Goodspeed stage had to be extended out to accommodate the long "line" of seventeen actors who appear together for much of the performance, the live orchestra has disappeared. This is not to say, however, that live musicians are gone. They've just been moved from their usual spot in the pit, to the Members Lounge at the top of the Goodspeed's grand staircase. Marvin Hamlisch's timeless score projects into the theater without a hitch in sound quality.

Continuing to trade less fuss for more impact in this 50th Anniversary staging of the classic musical, Zach (Clifton Samuels) - the seasoned choreographer in charge of choosing which dancers stay and which dancers go - remains off stage most of the time. His voice still booms as he is hidden among the rear orchestra aisles, shouting instructions to step right or left, back or front, before he launches questions that have more to do with the auditioners' private pasts than dance pizazz.

Also, in a stroke of genius, Ruggiero has dropped the intermission. The on-stage action plays out nonstop, in real time. In that way, nothing interferes with the emotions that build in the single two-hour dance session as the final contenders, one by one, share their unadorned stories about longing to dance, struggling with rejection, and dealing with unknown fates that could end their careers.

Early on, distracted auditioner Sheila (Scarlett Walker) annoys Zack, who accuses her of not taking the try-out seriously. She counters with the revealing admission that, though growing up feeling unloved by her father, she became committed to becoming a dancer because, even through her conflicted childhood, everything was beautiful "At the Ballet." Next, a nervous Kristine (Haley Bjorn) - who does a remarkable job of playing a dancer who cannot carry a tune - laments about being tone-deaf, while her husband Al (Alex Drost) automatically finishes her erratic phrasing in their light-hearted duet "Sing!"

The disclosures turn more serious as Zack continues digging into the remaining dancers' psyches. Mark (Patrick Higgins), the youngest auditioner, hesitates before working up the courage to tell an embarrassing story about the onset of puberty. Tiny Connie (Emma X, O'Loughlin) follows, erupting with the tribulations of being short. The dancers then start to find common ground when the company joins together to sing about their experiences as awkward adolescents in "Hello Twelve, Hello Thirteen, Hello Love."

Diana (Mikaela Secada) next steps into the spotlight to sing about the letdown of an insufferable high school acting class, where she felt "Nothing." Her frustration leads the way to Val's (Beatrice Howell) comedic take on how she turned a history of failed auditions around to steady work by resorting to cosmetic surgery, in a memorable "Dance: Ten; Looks : Three " song and dance.

When it's time for the auditioners to take a break, Cassie (Karli Dinardo) finds herself alone in the practice room with Zach who has returned to the stage. Turns out, the two share a professional and romantic history. Their past issues, highlighted by Zach insisting she is too good a dancer to settle for chorus line work, remain unsettled.

Cassie walks off, but not before manifesting her inner conflicts in a solo dance that demonstrates Zach's assessment of her talent is right on, even though lack of work has put her in a position to settle for less.

Zach then calls Paul San Marco (Diego Guevara) who had started to panic when questioned earlier. In this private setting Paul's long monologue, as eloquent as it is emotional, details his youth, teens, and early career in a drag act that cut him off from his family.

As the auditioners are called back for Zach's verdict, Diana, the dancer who had felt nothing in her high school acting class, leads the company in a moving chorus of "What I Did For Love," their earlier narratives still resonating among themselves and the audience.

The timelessness of the half-century old "A Chorus Line" remains in how seventeen strangers show up for a chance at a stage gig and - no matter who will be invited to stay or go - recast themselves. In the Goodspeed Musicalsl 50th Anniversary production of the seven, Tony Award winning play, each earns a key role. Though not necessarily a part in the dance chorus, every actor onstage becomes part of a musical sort of Greek chorus that, through song, dance and spoken word, convey the single, sensational stories of the uncelebrated talent behind celebrities.. And all take a fitting , glittering bow in the finale.

“A Chorus Line” runs through Nov. 2 at the Goodspeed Opera House, 6 Main St., East Haddam. Performances are Wednesdays at 2 and 7:30 p.m. (with no 7:30 p.m. performance on Oct. 29). Thursdays at 7:30 p.m., Fridays at 8 p.m., Saturdays at 3 and 8 p.m. and Sundays at 2 and 6:30 p.m., with added Thursday matinee at 2 p.m. on Oct. 23. $35-$101. goodspeed.org