Katie Tokarz

Currently on Broadway in "A Chorus Line"
playing the role of Kristine

Newspaper Article:

Worcester Telegram & Gazette (MA)
July 22, 2007

On Broadway

by Richard Duckett

"See I couldn't really sing ..."

Dudley native Katherine Tokarz will soon try to sing those words on stage.

They don't apply to Tokarz but to the character she is playing, poor tone deaf (and rather scatter-brained) Kristine. Alas for Kristine, you have to be able to sing, dance and act to get a featured role in a Broadway musical.

That is exactly what Tokarz has done. Beginning Tuesday she'll be playing Kristine in the Broadway revival of "A Chorus Line" at the Schoenfeld Theatre in New York City.

It's a significant step in the 25-year-old's career, but the level-headed Tokarz didn't want to sing too loudly about it being a dream come true when asked if, in fact, it was.

"I'm very tentative to say `dream come true,'" Tokarz said during a phone interview from New York after a recent rehearsal for "A Chorus Line."

"My dreams have been to be challenged professionally and move forward. But it is very gratifying. I would say I'm really excited about where I am in my life right now. If someone had told me 10 years ago I would be (appearing) on Broadway, I would say, `No I'm not.' So in that sense I'm very proud of where I am right now."

Actually, this is not the first time she has been on Broadway. Tokarz has appeared in the Broadway production of "Wicked," as well as its touring show and also in a Chicago production of "Wicked." Other notable credits include being a former Miss Worcester County, and dancing with the famed Moulin Rouge in Paris.

"It's really interesting the way things happen," Tokarz reflected.

The auditioning process for "A Chorus Line" was a lot like the audition depicted in the actual show. In "A Chorus Line," 17 dancers standing in a line on stage are forced to bare their souls as well as dancing abilities while auditioning for the demanding and prying director Zach, who has to whittle the hopefuls down to just eight.

The show debuted 32 years ago and was revived last year. The producers are bringing in 10 new people into the cast effective Tuesday. At one audition for the three female roles that were coming available, 500 women showed up, including Tokarz.

They were divided into groups of 25, and were taught and then performed a jazz combo. "They make some cuts, and then they speak to you to see what you're all about," Tokarz said. That immediately made it different than other auditions, but this is, after all, "A Chorus Line."

Tokarz had prepared for her audition by going to see the show for the first time just a few days before her tryout. "I kind of knew what I was aiming for," she said.

Next at the audition she had to sing some bars of Kristine's unsingable song, titled appropriately "Sing!"

"Kristine can't sing. It's funny," Tokarz said.

So it was a good thing when the powers that be watching Tokarz started laughing.

"They told me to stay." Next, the casting director arrived to catch her tryout. Tokarz performed a monologue, which normally would have been followed by some feedback from producers and casting people. "They said, `We have nothing to say to you. Just be yourself.'"

Herself, or Kristine?

"She's very nervous and excited and she just keeps talking," Tokarz said of Kristine.

Asked if she is really a bit like that, Tokarz said, "Yes, it's not far off."

Well, the Tokarz on the phone for this interview was highly intelligent.

Regardless, Tokarz had left the audition waiting to receive word about being called back. While this was going on, her boyfriend's father, who had been suffering from cancer, became seriously ill and subsequently passed away.

"It was tough. We got through it together. I went to the call-back. I had to focus."

Hours after the callback audition she received a phone call. She had the part. "It was very exciting," she said.

In the show "Wicked" Tokarz had been a swing - an understudy who can fill in for several different roles as needed. In "A Chorus Line" she has a specific role. "A principal contract is a big deal. There's a lot more responsibility," Tokarz said.

While she may never have envisioned such a thing happening, Tokarz started dancing at the age of 3, and said she looked up to a cousin who was a performer/dancer with Disney in shows at its theme parks.

As Tokarz got older, she played sports but also continued with dance. "I didn't know if I wanted to make it a career," she said.

One factor was clear, however. "I love dancing. ... I love to move around and just the energy and entertaining people. It's awesome. It's more like my personality. I love it. I kept it (dance) for the right reasons for me. So I've just followed my heart."

She danced at Shepherd Hill Regional High School and appeared in school musicals and plays, including "Romeo and Juliet," where she played Juliet. She also took dance lessons at the Jo Ann Warren Dance Studio (she credited Jo Ann Warren with helping her be well-prepared for auditions) and studied voice with Jane Shivick. Encouraged to enter the Miss Worcester County pageant, Tokarz did - and won. "I actually won - which was insane," she said with a bemused modesty.

Tokarz was a student at Clark University and Emerson College for a spell, but when she successfully auditioned for Disney Tokyo, the spell of performing was finally cast for good. "I loved it. I said, `I want to do this,'" she said of her decisive eight months in Japan.

She went on to spend a year performing with Disney Florida, then was off to Germany to study in a voice program. While in Europe, she auditioned with the Moulin Rouge. "They don't normally hire Americans. I was the only American," she said.

After seven months there, she moved to New York City two years ago.

Despite her credentials, she found, like the "Chorus Line" characters, that "I hope I get it" can be a plaintive cry.

"I was a caterer. I did a lot of catering. It definitely was a struggle."

She praised her parents for providing unwavering support. And 10 months in, she was hired for "Wicked."

Her voice lessons with teachers such as Shivick may have paid off as much as all the years dancing, she feels. "Not that I was going to do opera but I studied as a very legit soprano," she said. For the producers of "Wicked" it was likely a plus. "To find a dancer that can sing like that - that's what helped me get cast. I thought I had got hired as a dancer for `Wicked.' Then I saw my contract and it said singer/dancer."

Now in "A Chorus Line" she plays a dancer who can't sing.

Looking ahead, Tokarz said she would like to be involved in a new show and participate in the accompanying creative process.

Also, "I definitely want to get my degree in something other than performing." English literature

is a possibility.

That said, "To be honest, I tend to look to the immediate future one step at a time," she said.

"I just kind of keep moving forward. The more goals I reach, the more I realize it's such a personal journey."