A Chorus Line is an interesting premise for a musical. People have paid way too much to see that show over the years. I saw a touring production of the show a few years back at the Marcus Center. The distance and empty space struck me more than anything. So often A Chorus Line gets performed on a huge stage that robs an audition drama of its immediacy. This week Milwaukee Opera Theatre presents an audition drama in the intimacy of Carroll University’s Studio Theatre as it presents Alicia Berneche and Timothy Rebers’ Thank You, Next.
The show takes place outside an audition room for an opera festival. Voice types and personalities are thrown together under the stress of the drama taking place beyond the stage. An audition drama of this sort in a studio theater environment has the potential for great emotional intensity. Featured in the show are Tanya Kruse Ruck, Heidi Boyd, Niffer Clarke, Natalie Ford, Jennifer Hansen, Kristin DiNinno, Diane Lane, Edson Melendez, David Flores, and Henry Parker Hammond.
Thank You, Next (a reality opera) runs June 1 and 2 at Carroll University Studio Theatre on 238 N. East Ave. in Waukesha. Admission is free. Reservations can be made by contacting Milwaukee Opera Theatre’s Jill Anna Ponasik at jillannaponasik@gmail.com.
