On August 10, Phamaly Theatre Company kicked off its 35th season with “A Chorus Line” at the Denver Performing Arts Complex‘s Kilstrom Theatre. After two weeks of rowdy performances, this weekend marks the last chance to see Phamaly Theatre Company’s “A Chorus Line.”
Since 1989, Phamaly has aimed to give people with disabilities representation in stories where they aren’t traditionally represented. “There were a ton of people that came out [to the audition], which was both terrifying and really gratifying,” said Casey Myers, who plays the role of Mike Costa, one of the dancers auditioning for the show. “I had no idea just how big the disabled theater community was in Denver.”
The story of “A Chorus Line” follows 17 characters who are auditioning for a Broadway show where only eight of them will make it into the cast. In between dances, Zach (Trenton Schindele), the director casting the dancers for the musical’s chorus line, demands each person tell him about their lives. Characters take turns sharing stories about their childhoods and the experiences that inspired them to be performers.
Early in the show, after the first wave of cuts has already been made, Myers sings a song called “I Can Do That,” where he explains how he has been tap dancing his whole life. The tap dancing sequence was modified for this production to allow Myers to perform the number while in his wheelchair. Myers wore gloves with metal pieces on them, so the tap sounds came from his hands.
“It just meant so much more to me, being able to say, ‘Uh, hell yeah, I can do that,’” Myers said. “That story of confidence and just doing what you love in the face of adversity despite everyone telling you no, it meant a lot to me.”
Myers had been aware of Phamaly Theatre Company since he was in middle school. A theater instructor at Rocky Mountain Theatre For Kids had told him about the Denver theater company.
Phamaly was founded with the goal to “be a creative home for theater artists with disabilities; to model a disability-affirmative theatrical process; and to upend conventional narratives by transforming individuals, audiences, and the world,” according to the company’s website. The theater troupe was founded by five students from the Boettcher School in Denver with disabilities who wanted to carve their own space out in the theater community.
Director Ben Raanan, originally from Chicago, has been working with Phamaly as the company’s artistic director for just over three years. “I’ve always done disability theater,” Raanan said. “That’s my main focus in my artistic career. I think Phamaly does disability theater on a grander scale than probably anyone else can do.”
Raanan historically has only directed plays, which typically don’t have music or dances, as opposed to musicals with two to ten actors. “A 30-person cast, which is large for a musical but not unheard of, was quite a bit different than what I normally do,” Raanan said. “You get a lot of different needs and accommodations, which sometimes conflict, and so navigating that has been both the biggest challenge and the biggest joy.”
One of the ways Phamaly navigates these situations is by hiring an accessibility manager who coordinates everyone’s needs. The duties of this role start long before actors were cast in the production.
“From the very beginning, we were asked what our needs were and modified even the callback dance to something that would fit everybody and that everybody could do,” Myers said. “We were also told it doesn’t have to be perfect. It doesn’t have to be exact; just do it the way you would do it. The first and foremost priority is everyone’s health and well-being and making sure everyone’s needs are taken care of.”
This creates situations where the creative team needs to find ways to balance the needs of everyone in ways that typical theater creatives don’t have to consider.
“We’ve got two people who have hearing loss and three people who have sensory sensitivity,” Raanan said. “So, it seems silly, but finding the perfect spot on the volume so that half of the actors can actually hear the thing they need to be performing to and having it be loud enough for that, but not loud enough that it will trigger or hurt some of our folks with sensory sensitivities.”
Accessibility was not just limited to the performers for this production of “A Chorus Line.” For the audience, there were live closed captions in addition to visual light cues to give people a warning of high sensory scenes.
“I think so often with this show, people are expecting to see perfect dancing,” Myers said. “Even the character of Zach [the director] wants to see unison dancing from people, but ultimately casts people that are the most unique and willing to accept their individuality and uniqueness.”
Myers urges Denver theatergoers to “support local disabled theater.” The last chance to see “A Chorus Line” at Phamaly Theatre Company is August 25. Tickets can be purchased here.
