Theater Thursday - According to the Chorus

We were given complimentary tickets to According to the Chorus for review purposes. Any and all opinions expressed here are our own.

What: According to the Chorus

Where: 59E59 Theatre

             59 E. 59 Street

             New York, NY

Who: Recommended for Ages 12 and Up

When: Through April 15, 2023

According to the Chorus is the story of a group of  Broadway chorus girls and their dressers. In the tiny quick change dressing room in the basement of a theater, tempers flair, a hierarchy emerges, and performers and their dressers clash. Although we are always hearing about how well the cast of this show, that show, or the other show gets along, and when they don't nobody wants to talk about it, in reality clearly that is not always the case. It can be assumed that the playwright Arlene Hutton knows what she is talking about since she spent 10 years in the wardrobe department of SNL and worked as a dresser for several big Broadway musicals as well. The fact that Arlene Hutton is not even her real name and that she felt she had to use a pen name to publish this play is even more telling and makes it even more obvious that she knows what she is talking about. 

The story is interesting and well-acted. The characters are not always likable, however, especially the young chorus girls. They are quite disrespectful to their dressers who are not only their elders and their co-workers but they have been around a lot longer than these girls and probably will stay around a lot longer than them too. It sadly and unfortunately relates very well to today's world when so many young people (and older folks too) are not respectful to their elders, their co-workers, or anyone. 

The show is not appropriate for young children, even though there is a very cute dog in it, due to both the subject matter and the fact that a bunch of young women walk around half-dressed throughout much of the play. If you are not a young child and you are an animal lover, you will enjoy the dog. If you are a theater lover in general, you may enjoy the opportunity to see what the logistics of working in a quick change room in Broadway theater are like. On the whole, though, the show and its characters are both fascinating enough to keep one's interest for the duration of the play and thus, it is worth seeing.

And that's our view. For more information about According to the Chorus or to purchase tickets, visit https://59e59.org/shows/show-detail/according-to-the-chorus/

Tune in Sunday for this week's Sunday Scoop.

Photo credits: 

All According to the Chorus production photos by Hunter Canning