STAGE VOICE/INTERVIEW: IAN LIBERTO; He's a Singular Sensation! "A Chorus Line" Comes to the Fox May 12-24
BY: COLIN MURPHY - SENIOR WRITER
The national tour of the new production of "A Chorus Line" will hit the boards at the Fabulous Fox May 12-24 giving a new generation of St. Louisans the opportunity to experience the "singular sensation" that, well over three decades ago, shattered every Broadway record.
Opening in 1975, the original production still retains the title of longest-running American musical (15-years) and took home the Pulitzer Prize for Drama, nine Tony Awards, including Best Musical, Score and Book, and the New York Drama Critics Circle Award.
"A Chorus Line" returned to Broadway to wild applause in October 2006 for 759 regular performances before dimming its lights to take the show on the road. Originally conceived, choreographed and directed by Michael Bennett, the new production remains true to the orignial and proves yet again that a classic never goes out of style.
Indeed, the simple story of a group of dancers baring their souls as they fight for a chance to perform on "The Great White Way" still packs houses across the country.
The Vital VOICE recently caught up with out dancer/actor/singer Ian Liberto, who plays the closeted, quick witted Bobby in "A Chorus LIne." We chatted it up with the former Chicago native and Millikin University graduate about the tour, the musical's historic gay characters and kicking it up Rockette style.
Colin Murphy: So how is the tour going?
Ian Liberto: The tour is going fantastic. We're playing my hometown Chicago right now so I'm having a great time.
CM: As a performer I imagine there's something quite special about being a part of such an iconic and modern classic. "A Chorus Line" was the longest running show on Broadway...
IL: Oh yeah, definitely. At this point it's kind of a right of passage as a dancer and we're all really, really proud to be a part of it.
CM: For those familiar with "A Chorus Line;" how true is this production to the original and are there any changes that anyone will notice?
IL: I don't think there are any changes that anyone will notice. There are little, tiny changes here or there; a couple of pop references that have been tweaked a little bit. At one point Val refers to going to Hollywood and being a replacement for Jill St. John but we changed it to James Bond's next girlfriend just so more people sort of get the reference. But there's only a handful of places in the play that anything like that has happened. All the choreography; most of the costumes; all of the lighting is remaining faithful to the original.
CM: As I'm sure you know, "A Chorus Line" means a lot to gay men of a certain generation. I'm 38 and remember seeing it in St. Louis when I was 12 or 13 and just coming to terms with my sexuality and remember being riveted and strangely empowered by the gay storyline threaded throughout the musical. Have you heard a lot of that from people and when did you first discover "A Chorus Line?"
IL: I have heard that a lot from people and it was a really important show. It was probably the first time that a mainstream Broadway show had openly homosexual characters in it who were not there for comic relief; and it really broke ground as far as that goes.
I discovered "A Chorus Line" I guess when I was in Junior High when I saw the movie and you know, back then, I thought that the movie was amazing and it opened my eyes to the world of dance and I watched it all the time. And then, of course, I grew up and I learned more about musical theater and I've been a part of the original and I go back and watch the movie and I think it's atrocious. But it served its purpose for me when I was younger for getting me interested in musical theater.
I guess I was too young to realize that I was gay at that point when I saw the movie. It wasn't until later that I started associating myself with the characters of Bobby and Greg and Paul later in life. But I saw the movie when I was like 10, I think. I used to watch it all the time; I was just so enamored with it.
CM: That and the movie "Fame," right?
IL: I loved "Fame."
CM: Tell our readers about your character, Bobby.
IL: Bobby Mills---he doesn't say that he is gay in the show---I think it's up for interpretation. I think that he's kind of an ambiguous character. He is very sarcastic and very witty and very strange and I think he is very uncomfortable with himself because he is trying to break into Hollywood in a time of American culture where you cannot be openly homosexual and be a movie star. He grew up with Rock Hudson and Tab Hunter and I think because of that he has a lot of problems dealing with who he is and also I think his parents were not very accepting of who he is. So I think he covers that up with his humor and sarcasm. He has the famous line, "To commit suicide in Buffalo is redundant." He's the witty, sort of class-clown of the group.
CM: Your generation certainly had it easier than Bobby's did---I read that you came out in High School your senior year?
IL: Yes
CM: So in playing this role are you aware or do you sometimes think about how far the gay community has come since that generation?
IL: You know---I'm not that old---I'm only 26 and I've noticed a huge difference between the kids who are in high school now versus when I was in high school. I was the only gay person in my high school; I was that token guy. It's so different today; people are coming out and realizing who they are on the inside so much earlier and I am a little bit aware of that in the show. But I shy away from overplaying it too much because I know my directors don't want Bobby to be an overtly homosexual character. So I try and walk that fine line of being ambiguous and I want the audience to say, "there's something about him---I can't tell is he or isn't he?" And my relationship with Sheila---who is next to me---some people in the audience don't know if we're just best friends or we're a couple. So that ambiguity is what I'm really trying to play.
CM: The story of this group of dancers desperately trying to make it---trying to make it into that proverbial Broadway Show---they struggle to find work, they struggle to support themselves...I imagine you can identify with that. Is the story all the more timely given the economy because I hear that it's hit the performing community quite hard?
IL: It sure has. We kind of think to ourselves that we're on the Noah's Ark of show business at the moment because we're on this great tour and we're traveling around. All of our friends in New York are telling us to stay on tour as long as we can because everything in New York is closing and nobody's leaving shows in New York so it's hard to get a job because everyone is staying in the jobs that they already have. Things that are coming to New York have been canceled and there's a line that Richie has at the end of the play, "The only chorus line you can depend on in this business is the one in unemployment." And that is so true because there are so many performers in New York and they are all so talented and there's only about 15-percent of them that are actually working in Broadway shows. It's a hard life---especially now---but we're all very fortunate to be where we are. But you know; it doesn't last forever. We're going to be just like everybody else six months from now when the tour is done and we're gonna be back right at the starting point.
CM: Do you have any advice for a young man or woman---say, like yourself from the Midwest---who might be thinking of hitting the boards?
IL: I would say that nothing is impossible---I didn't start dancing until I was 17. I'm a firm believer of you get out of life what you put into it and if you put enough hard work and determination into whatever you do, you'll receive results.
CM: One of the most iconic scenes in musical theater is the finale of "A Chorus Line" when everyone is in the glittery outfits and top hats and doing the Rockette kicks---when you were first doing that on your opening night---was that as fun as I imagine it would be?
IL: It was fun, It was cathartic---I had tears in my eyes. We were playing Denver for our opening city so we were playing a house similar in size to the Fox. It's a thrilling experience being on stage in any show, let alone add to that being in "A Chorus Line"---"the best musical ever." Then add to that a three thousand seat house who know they're at the first performance of the national tour and so they're all on their feet screaming. It was a very emotional night.
You can email Colin Murphy at colin_murphy@sbcglobal.net
Curtain times for the U.S. Bank Broadway Series presentation of "A Chorus LIne" at the Fox (527 N. Grand) are Tuesdays through Fridays at 8 p.m.; Saturdays at 2 & 8 p.m.; Sunday, May 17 at 2 & 7:30 p.m.; and Sunday, May 24 at 2 p.m. There is also a weekday matinee on Thursday, May 19 at 1 p.m. Tickets are available at the Fox Theatre box office and through MetroTix. For more information check out www.fabulousfox.com
