What "A Chorus Line" Looks Like in Puerto Rico: a Puerto Rican Cast and New Choreography

"There is a boom in musical theater" in Puerto Rico. That is the view of choreographer Danny Lugo, who was part of the production of "Chicago" presented in early 2026 in Caguas and is now working on the choreography for "A Chorus Line", which runs Oct. 2–11 at the Centro de Bellas Artes de Santurce.

For Lugo, Puerto Rico has not only the talent to revive classic Broadway musicals like "Wicked" or "Aida," two shows he would love to see staged here.

His dream is "a story about Puerto Rico", in the way that Lin-Manuel Miranda composed the music and lyrics for "In the Heights" (2008) or "Hamilton" (2015).

"There are several really interesting musicals I would love to see happen here, but I'm also interested in seeing musicals that are uniquely from here developed, meaning stories about Puerto Rico," Lugo said in an interview with Platea.

The Puerto Rican flavor inside "A Chorus Line"

A Broadway classic. When "A Chorus Line" opened in New York in 1975, it redefined what a typical Broadway show was. It was no longer a linear story with one or two main protagonists. It was now multiple stories presented as a series of monologues, which needed neither lavish costumes nor elaborate sets to connect with audiences.

• The musical by James Kirkwood, Jr. and Nicholas Dante introduced the yearlong workshop (workshop) process for developing a show, which is now common on Broadway.

• Under the supervision of the musical's choreographer, Michael Bennett, a group of dancers was interviewed about their stories and the struggles of making it onstage in New York, and that is what eventually became the 17 characters who bring "A Chorus Line" to life.

"'A Chorus Line' is the most important production, it's the one that opened the door for many musicals. It is also one of the most awarded musicals in the world, including a Pulitzer," the musical's producer, Raymond Gerena, told Platea. Gerena was part of the show more than three decades ago at the Boston Theater Company, when he was just 19 or 20 years old.

• It was the first Broadway musical with more than 6,000 performances, one of the longest-running shows, and it won nine Tony Awards.

“'A Chorus Line' is a remarkably complete piece because you have to have what they call on Broadway the 'triple threat': you have to be able to sing, dance and act perfectly”.

🇵🇷 The Puerto Rican touch. This is a Spanish-language version that stays faithful to the original but updates some situations from the 1970s to 2026, and for the first time in 50 years the character of Larry is played by a woman (Tita Guerrero), who is also a choreographer and served as assistant choreographer.

"We have the opportunity to reframe the Puerto Rican characters in the story and this time portray them with the narrative that we feel best represents us," stage director Ismanuel Rodríguez told Platea.

Other changes include how the subject of homosexuality is handled, the costumes and the stage projection, Rodríguez said. The production also adds new choreography that "respects the essence of Bennett," but "I did make my adjustments, I put my own little touches on it," Lugo said.

"The piece is still relevant because we are all chasing a dream, we all want to achieve something," Gerena said. "That is the magic of a good, well-written text: it never goes out of style. No matter how many years pass, it stays current."

An all-Puerto Rican cast. The production features more than 50 Puerto Rican talents, "including actors, musicians, technicians and production crew," Gerena said. It has stage direction by Ismanuel Rodríguez, vocal direction by Pedro José, and orchestral direction by maestro Rubén Amador.

Rounding out the cast, alongside Rosas and Guerrero, who lead the demanding dance auditions in "A Chorus Line," are Ricardo E. Arribas, Nydia Resto Arroyo, Ana Trigo, Jazael Rodríguez, Ivana Méndez Pabón, Josué Jomar Torres, Vin Ramos, Héctor A. Beltrán, Christian Medina, Zuleyka Pagán, Natalia Mejía Lugo, Allison Trinta, Amanda Rodríguez, Nicole Angelis, Sonya Hernández, Javier Iván and Ignacio Torres.

• These 17 actors play the dancers competing for one of eight spots in a Broadway show.

Ivana Méndez Pabón, daughter of Marian Pabón, plays Cassie, the same character her mother played in the production of the musical that was staged in Puerto Rico 20 years ago. "I just hope I can hold on to at least 10% of what she did. That would make me happy," said Méndez Pabón.

"The talents audiences will encounter in 'A Chorus Line' are new faces, but they are not inexperienced. Quite the opposite. They have an impressive musical theater background, including shows on Broadway… and they have worked with different musical theater companies outside of Puerto Rico," said Gerena.

Dedicated to two greats. The production is dedicated to Puerto Rican actresses Marian Pabón and Sara Jarque for their careers in theater and for being two "irreplaceable" artists, each with "a personality, a strength and a very particular way of commanding the stage," and for their ability to move audiences, Gerena said in the dedication.

The challenge of staging a musical

Lugo said this kind of production is far more complex than other musical shows he has worked on with artists such as Luis Fonsi, Yolandita Monge or Wisin & Yandel.

For that reason, he had to study the original version thoroughly: "meaning, what Michael Bennett did, study it completely, know it completely. And from there, bring it to our version."

"And it's complicated… You have to dance, you have to sing, you have to act, you have to maintain characters, you have to hold positions. Many things simultaneously. The precision of the ensemble, of all these bodies together, is essential," the choreographer said.

Rodríguez, for his part, said "the challenge is not wanting to move Broadway to Puerto Rico," given that New York operates under different conditions, including a flow of millions of visitors and shows that run for months.

"It's not that we can't reach that level. It's simply that we may not have that flow of people. I don't see it so much as a challenge. I see it as a great opportunity to show that on this Caribbean island of barely 3 million peoplewe have the level and the capacity to adapt this and any musical," he said.

Lugo saw himself reflected in the musical's characters because he, too, was a dancer auditioning for different shows, though now he finds himself on the other side of the production.

"People can learn what a dancer goes through to land a show… I was also a dancer looking for an opportunity," he said.

"We need people to support it," Lugo said about the importance of audience support for Puerto Rican theater. "Every musical number, every performance will leave them speechless," Gerena said, for his part.

This content was translated with the assistance of Artificial Intelligence (AI).