Few Broadway shows have been bigger than “;A Chorus Line.”; The original production had one of the longest runs in Broadway history, and the story continues to appeal to people of all ages.

Dwayne Sakaguchi and Leonard Villanueva are at least a full generation apart in terms of age, but both are ecstatic to be in the cast of Army Community Theatre's current production of the ever-popular slice-of-show-biz-life musical.

“;'A Chorus Line' is one of the shows I've wanted to do ever since I started theater,”; said Sakaguchi, a sophomore at Kaimuki High School who plays tap dancer Mike Costa.

Sakaguchi discovered theater three years ago, “;in the middle of seventh grade”; at Washington Middle School, when he auditioned for a show at Kaimuki and got a role. He broke out in a big way a year later with his show-stopping performance as Angel, one of the leads in Kyle Kakuno's production of “;Rent: School Edition”; at Saint Louis School.

One of his favorite numbers from any show is the finale of “;A Chorus Line.”; He discovered it while he was a member of Diamond Head Theatre's Shooting Stars program and said he enjoyed doing it so much that being in a full-scale production of the show became his goal.

“;I said, 'If I become a good enough dancer, I want to be in that show,' and I'm so happy I got to do it—especially as a 10th-grader.”;

Villanueva—full-time schoolteacher, proud grandfather and veteran dancer—shared Sakaguchi's enthusiasm while viewing the story from a different perspective.

“;It goes from the start of your career—and I remember being there—to the end of one's career,”; he said. “;We put our heart and soul and sweat into (dance) ... (but) our days as dancers are numbered.”;

Villanueva added that although he is “;towards the end of my dancing career,”; he isn't finished just yet.

IRONICALLY, it was playing the largely nondancing role of the Engineer in the Paliku Theatre's production of “;Miss Saigon”; two years ago that inspired Villanueva to get back in top shape as a dancer (”;rehearsing every day”;) and then audition for “;A Chorus Line.”; He was cast as Italian-American Mike DeLuca and worked in rehearsals to develop a credible Bronx accent.

“;Without the training that I've had, and without the experience of being in the theater, I would not have been able to do this role,”; he said. “;The training really helped, the experience really helped and here I am.”;

The now familiar plot has DeLuca, Costa and the other characters auditioning for a job in the dance line of an upcoming show. They're put on the spot by the show's director, Zach (Peter Togawa), who forces them to share their hopes, fears and darkest secrets—or leave the audition stage and forfeit their chance for the job.

While some are spilling their guts to Zach, the audience hears the thoughts of others as well as they recall their early experiences with hostile or unsympathetic teachers, dance lessons, puberty, sex, being outed as a homosexual and learning that women can advance their career prospects by getting “;enhancements.”; The story shifts between comedy, irony and heart-touching tragedy as the dancers' share their stories, and Zach finally makes his selections.

Villanueva said the auditions at ACT were not as brutal as in the show, but there was plenty of competition.

“;There were a lot of men who could sing, and at the dance auditions there were a lot of young dancers. I didn't know that there was a singing role for Al (DeLuca); I just wanted to get in.

“;Pretty much like all the characters (in the show), we (all) just wanted to get in.”;

Sakaguchi said he would have been happy with any role. He's been in rehearsals for the show while also working as assistant choreographer of Kaimuki High School's production of “;Little Shop of Horrors”;—and juggling all his school classes and homework—but said “;all the hard work is paying off.”;

And, yes, and he and Villanueva are looking forward to auditioning for roles in upcoming shows.