A Chorus Line’s Karla Puno Garcia: ‘The ensemble, we are the backbone of musicals’
The show’s director and choreographer talks about the casting process, theater’s unsung heroes, and Filipino work ethic.
It’s coming: the musical that will make you ask: “who am I anyway, am I my resume?”
At its helm is New York-based director and choreographer Karla Puno Garcia—Emmy Award-winner, first woman of color to choreograph the Tony Awards’ opening number, and first Filipino-American cast member and dance captain of Hamilton.
A Chorus Line won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1976 and is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year. It features a group of 17 ensemble dancers during a grueling audition for eight exclusive spots in a Broadway production. Throughout the show, these unsung heroes tell their stories and explain why they really need this job.
Theatre Group Asia, which also brought us Request sa Radyo and Into the Woods, will be staging A Chorus Line in March 2026 at the Samsung Performing Arts Theater.
FIVE, SIX, SEVEN, EIGHT: A CLOSER LOOK AT THE CASTING PROCESS
A year ago, Karla was on her way to Japan for a production of Tick Tick Boom when Theatre Group Asia’s (TGA) creative director Clint Ramos called her and asked if she wanted to direct and choreograph a production of A Chorus Line in the Philippines. Karla immediately said yes to her first-ever theater project in the Philippines. Since that day, Karla has been working with TGA to find the right cast for the show—a lineup that will be revealed later this year (so far, it’s been announced that Tony and Grammy Award nominee Conrad Ricamora will take on the role of Zach).
Karla Puno Garcia in ‘A Chorus Line’ New York City casting call and workshops; Photo Credit: Theatre Group Asia
The international search for A Chorus Line’s cast, open to performers of Filipino heritage, drew more than 500 auditionees. Because she’s based in New York, Karla couldn’t be present for the whole search, but she got to watch all the videos and self-tapes from Manila, Cebu, Connecticut, and Hong Kong.
“It’s like putting all the puzzle pieces together. And now I’m so happy that I can be here and see everyone in the flesh and get to experience all their talent and really make these final decisions with a lot of information,” Karla shares during her recent trip to Manila for the show’s final callbacks and bootcamp. “It’s basically A Chorus Line. It’s literally the show.”
As director and choreographer, Karla wants to create a friendly but firm environment and is looking for performers with a fiery commitment to the material. “The ensemble, we are the backbone of musicals. It really is a thankless job a lot of the time, but at the same time, you can’t do the show without us. So there’s a lot to say when it comes to what kind of performers you want to cast in a role like that. We have to see the commitment to the material and the fight. So in a way, it’s really about just being who they are as performers, because you don’t have to act a lot of that if you audition for a living. There’s obviously training in all aspects—singing, acting, dancing. But I want to see that they are able to transform, and at the same time, be themselves.”
WHAT SHE DID FOR LOVE (OF THEATER)
Karla, who grew up in Maryland and whose favorite Filipino dish is Balut, grew up learning traditional Filipino dances such as Itik-Itik and Sayaw Sa Bangko. She fell in love with dance at age three during her first tap class and began dancing competitively at age eight. As a child, her Filipina role model was her godsister—seeing her onstage made Karla want to be on Broadway, too. Karla went on to major in dance at New York University Tisch School of the Arts and focused on her dream of becoming a musical theater performer.
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Karla says she has lived A Chorus Line’s story her entire life. The song What I Did For Love has a special place in her heart as the show’s most emotional number. “It encapsulates our careers, our lives in theater as chorus members. That’s a love song to all of the work and the thankless performing, you know, behind the leads. That’s what we do, but we love it. And that’s why it’s What I Did For Love, because we wouldn’t have it any other way.”
However, Karla didn’t connect with A Chorus Line early on. After all, she entered the industry when more contemporary shows were being produced (she worked on Wicked, In The Heights, and Hamilton). To her, A Chorus Line “felt more like a time capsule, very traditional, even though at its time it was very revolutionary. That was like the Hamilton of its time, right? So it’s very ironic.”
“But I was also entering an industry when the 2000s revival had come about,” Karla shares, “So it brought new life to it, brought new light to it. And so I saw it, and it was definitely an exciting opportunity to feel that reflection of what I do for a living now.”
“Cut to now, I mean, it’s completely different. I’ve lived now 20 years as an ensemble member. So to reflect upon my life as a chorus member, these stories are timeless. They last forever, because it’s the same ideas of resilience, the same ideas of coming from different places, to dance together, to act together, to sing together, to tell stories. It’s the first time that a director in the show asks them about their own personal stories. So I think there’s much more weight now.”
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A CHORUS LINE—FILIPINO STYLE
For Karla, working with an all-Filipino team feels like family. “I feel like I’m creating a show with my cousins, and that’s the best way I can put it. It’s just such a great opportunity to feel so supported and celebrated and vice versa. I feel like I’m championing them, because I’ve never been in this situation.”
Karla adds that she is always in awe of fellow Filipinos’ work ethic, because everyone’s “so committed to the process”. She says they even have to remind each other to take breaks during rehearsals. “I told them, this is a hard show, and so we have to really pace ourselves and know when to push and pull because that’s important for the dynamic. But they just are so excited to be there. And it makes me so excited to come back in February and really go.”
Just like Theatre Group Asia’s previous shows, A Chorus Line is bound to incorporate Filipino elements. “You’ll just have to see,” Karla teases. “I’m really excited to launch from this and have all my ideas, and then work with my designers. My designers are amazing. Clint [Ramos] has referred me to some of the best in the business. These wonderful Filipino, Asian artists, scenic, costume, sound, they’re really talented. And we’ve been in process already, and so I’m excited for it all to come together and show everyone what we’re doing.”
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