016. "I Can Do That", A Chorus Line

Finally got caught up with my target word count for Camp NaNo, which means I'm halfway through. Kind of boggling about that. Sorry for the lack of posts lately?


Anyway, let's talk about "I Can Do That", from the original Broadway production of A Chorus Line, as sung by Wayne Cilento.

I got to class
And had it made
And so I stayed
The rest of my life
All thanks to Sis
(Now married and fat)
I can do this
That I can do!
I can do that

Everybody knows A Chorus Line, right? It changed musical theatre. The story of a bunch of dancers auditioning for the chorus line in a new musical, and their individual stories and desires and reasons.

"I Can Do That" is Mike's song. Superficially it's just Mike showing off his dance skills -- put him in the spotlight, he'll show you what he can do. More specifically, it's the story of how he got into dance, virtually by accident at an early age, and how he's been obsessed with it ever since.

It's a recurring theme among the ACL dancers. They dance because they're dancers. That's why one of the most famous lines from the show is Cassie's "God, I'm a dancer. A dancer dances!" Why did you choose to pursue a career in dance? Because I'm a dancer.

I am not a dancer, but that tautological devotion to a frankly kind of idiotic choice of career paths is certainly one I can identify with.