[It was] a groundbreaking, Pulitzer Prize-winning musical, A Chorus Line, set a Broadway standard when it debuted in 1975 and [yet, it still] remains relevant today. A Chorus Line is a musical with a book by James Kirkwood Jr. and Nicholas Dante, music by Marvin Hamlisch, and lyrics by Edward Kleban. It shows an insider’s view of the casting and audition process that goes in a Broadway show, centering around seventeen Broadway dancers auditioning for spots on a chorus line.
The show won nine Tony Awards, along with a Special Tony Award for becoming Broadway’s longest-running musical in 1984, and a Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1976.
Production History
A Chorus Line was formed from several taped workshop sessions with Broadway dancers known as “gypsies.” The taping for the first session was at the Nickolaus Exercise Center in January 1974, with lead dancers hoping they could form a professional dance company for workshops for Broadway dancers.
Original Broadway productions
The show opened off-Broadway at The Public Theater on April 15, 1975. It was directed by Michael Bennett and co-choreographed by Bob Avian and Bennett. Word about the show quickly spread, creating a demand for tickets that the entire run sold out immediately. A Chorus Line premiered on Broadway in July 1975 at the Shubert Theatre, where it ran until April 1990 for 6,137 performances.
The original cast included:
Robert Lupone as Zach
Clive Clerk as Larry
Donna McKechnie as Cassie
Ron Kuhlman as Don
Kay Cole as Maggie
Wayne Cilento as Mike
Baayork Lee as Connie
Michel Stuart as Greg
Carole Bishop as Sheila
Thomas J. Walsh as Bobby
Nancy Lane as Bebe
Trish Garland as Judy
Ronald Dennis as Richie
Don Percassi as Al
Renee Baughman as Kristine
Pamela Blair as Bal
Cameron Mason as Mark
Sammy Williams as Paul
Priscilla Lopez as Dianna
Most of the original cast went on to perform in the Los Angeles production. The new cast of the “New” New York Company included Ann Reinking, Christopher Chadman, Sandahl Bergman, Justin Ross, and Barbara Luna. When the show closed, it became the longest-running show in Broadway history until 1997, when Cats surpassed it.
Original West End production
A London production of A Chorus Line opened in the West End at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane in 1976. Initially, the international cast from the US retained their roles, including Jane Summerhays as Sheila. The original British cast took over the next year. It included:
Jean-Pierre Cassel as Zach
Jack Gunn as Larry
Elizabeth Seal/Petra Siniawski as Cassie
Lance Aston as Don
Veronica Page as Maggie
Michael Howe as Mike
Cherry Gillespie as Connie
Stephen Tate as Greg
Geraldine Gardner as Sheila
Leslie Meadows as Bobby
Susan Claire as Bebe
Judy Gridley as Judy
Roy Gayle as Richie
Jeff Shankley as Al
Vicki Spencer as Kristine
Linda Williams as Val
Peter Barry as Mark
Michael Staniforth as Paul
Diane Langton as Dianna
Plot Overview
A tribute and celebration of the unsung heroes of the musical theatre, the chorus dancers, A Chorus Line examine a day in the lives of seventeen dancers all vying for a spot in a chorus line of a Broadway musical. Chorus dancers are often over-dedicated, highly trained, but are underpaid, and when they back up the star, they make him or her look more talented than they really are. For the most part, the characters portrayed in the show are based on the real-life experiences of Broadway dancers.
The story takes the audience to a roller coaster of emotions as a group of potential Broadway performers is put through a dynamic series of dance numbers. Their numbers are gradually reduced from whom Zach, the director, must make his final choice. www.acriticsrant.com Image: Pinterest.com
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