Spotlight: Peter C. Shields '09 and Nick A. Noyer '09

Peter C. Shields ’09 and Nick A. Noyer ’09 are co-directors and producers of Harvard’s first production of the famous Broadway play “A Chorus Line”—which will run from Oct. 27-Nov. 4 at the Aggasiz Theater. The pair first chose to direct and produce a theatrical production together their freshman year, while they were performing in “Chicago.”

Shields: We learned a lot from that process and we wanted to be able to change things, do whatever we wanted to do. We wanted basically to have creative control. We actually both have very different approaches to performance. I have always been in acting...and Nick has had kind of a different experience. But it kind of works for this show very nicely.

Noyer: I primarily focus on dance and musical theater. And so my knowledge in that and Peter’s knowledge in acting come together to fulfill this show that requires both.

Shields and Noyer chose “A Chorus Line,” a famous, award-winning play, as their directorial debut partly because of their shared love of the show and partly because they were inspired by the Broadway revival that opened on Sept. 18. Instead of totally reinterpreting an old favorite, they chose to keep the show close to the original.

Shields: We want to keep it classic.

Noyer: [Ours is] just like the [Broadway] revival that was done this year. It’s set in the ’70s. We understand such issues that they faced then, such as plastic surgery, which was very new at the time and now has become slightly more commonplace, but still is, you know, a little bit taboo.

Shields: Where as it was shocking in the ’70s it might now be a little bit comic.

Noyer: It helps enhance…

Shields: The culture shock.

Noyer: The culture shock, but also the authenticity of the show.

The original director and choreographer Michael Bennett based the characters in the musical on real dancers; Shields met with the actors and encouraged them to individually flesh out the characters they were playing.

Noyer: Peter kind of sat down and challenged them all to come with a rationale or objective for their character. Why it is that their character wanted this job? So they took the little bits of information that we get about these characters—whether they have a family, what different economic backgrounds they come from, how they were raised—and challenged them to create a purpose for being here and really to understand the desire that each one of these characters has. And although that is not conveyed directly through the script, it is conveyed through the way [our actors] choose to perform and represent these characters.

Shields: As far as our actual actors go, we’ve done a lot of exercise in cast bonding, just to make sure the dynamics are all there.

The experiences and stories of the characters are what really resonated with the two directors, and what they hope the audience will connect with as well.

Noyer: As a dancer for, well most of my life, I see that the passion within me, that I have every time I dance, is something that shines through these characters and in this show...Although they are just in a chorus, they never should be seen as just one of 20, or one of eight, they’re all individuals. Through this show, you see that everyone has more to them.

Shields: What I find cool about this show is how ironic it is. It’s called “A Chorus Line,” but it is anything but a chorus line. It should be called 17 stars, because each performer has their number, everyone shines for one number. We had 17 leads to cast.

For these two friends “A Chorus Line” remains a classic, and they are confident that the show will resonate with the Harvard audience.

Noyer: Well it was originally written in 1976. You’d think that between 1976 and 2006 the stories would have lost their ability to relate to a mass audience, but really, the fact that the characters are just as realistic and moving today as they were 30 years ago is really a testament to how well the show was originally written.

Shields: And the cool thing about that is that it is, even though it still relates, it’s definitely now.

—Candace I. Munroe