This thrilling backstage moment from A Chorus Line brought Stratford Festival performers to tears
It's "one singular sensation," and now you can experience it yourself with 360-degree video
Whatever the show, whatever the part, when you're performing in a musical the top three moments of every production are always the same.
"I'd say the three most exciting days are the first day we meet," explains Genny Sermonia, a musical theatre vet who plays Connie Wong in Stratford Festival's A Chorus Line. And opening night, of course, is a night to remember.
"Then sitzprobe," says Sermonia, "because there's this excitement of the show finally happening. Like, oh! Wow! We're doing this!"
This is the point in the story where you might be Googling the phrase "What the hell is a sitzprobe?" Are the performers allowed to eat solid food 12 hours prior? Is a doctor present? Will anyone be wearing gloves?
Yes, no and maybe? (Gloves make jazz hands so much jazzier.)
Literally translated from the German, sitzprobe just means "seated rehearsal," but it's also the first time a musical's cast and orchestra perform together after spending weeks perfecting their parts in isolation.
"It's one of those days you'll never forget, for sure," says Sermonia, who's returning to Stratford this year (she danced in West Side Story in 2009).
"It becomes this magical, beautiful marriage between both groups because we're all excited to hear how we fit together," she explains, and when A Chorus Line held their very own sitzprobe a few weeks back, they invited CBC Arts' cameras into the rehearsal hall where we captured this exclusive backstage moment in 360 degrees.
From the very first note of the Marvin Hamlisch score, the magic begins."The opening number hit me hard," Sermonia admits.
"A couple of people brought in boxes of tissue because we just knew that the music was going to hit us with so much emotion," she says — so maybe watch for that. When the music blares, tears appear on cue. "When you see the show," which runs to October 30 at Stratford's Festival Theatre, "you'll understand why because it starts off so intense."
A classic showbiz tale with a razzle dazzling '70s soundtrack, A Chorus Line follows a room of Broadway hopefuls through the trials of an audition as each dancer's struggle gets a moment in the spotlight. There's no dancing during a sitzprobe, though, it's more like a read-through — or sing-through, in this case — but there's still plenty of choreo. Just keep an eye on the musicians, the percussionist especially.
"He's literally running from the bongos to the maracas and at one point he has a kazoo in his mouth. He's sweating just as much as us through the entire show," laughs Sermonia. "It's awesome."
"Even though it's always a different cast and a different orchestra, there's always that same feeling of excitement," says Sermonia. Feel it for yourself, and try this CBC Arts interactive experience.
A Chorus Line. Featuring Dayna Tietzen, Juan Chloran. Music by Marvin Hamlisch. Lyrics by Edward Kleban. Book by James Kirkwood and Nicholas Dante. Directed by Donna Feore. Presented by the Stratford Festival. To Oct 30. Festival Theatre, Stratford, Ont. www.stratfordfestival.ca