A Chorus Line

For the 1985 film adaptation, see A Chorus Line (film).
A Chorus Line

Original Broadway Windowcard
Music Marvin Hamlisch
Lyrics Edward Kleban
Book James Kirkwood
Nicholas Dante
Productions 1975 Off Broadway
1975 Broadway
1976 West End
1976 Toronto
1977 Sydney
1978 Mexico
1979 Stockholm
1980 Buenos Aires
1982 São Paulo
1989 México
2006 San Francisco
2006 Broadway Revival
2006 San Juan
2007 Belgrade
2008 US Tour
2010 Mexico
2010 US Tour
Seoul
2012 Melbourne and Adelaide
2012 Singapore
2012 Sydney
2013 West End revival
2014 Oslo
2014 Warrnambool
Awards Tony Award for Best Musical
Tony Award for Best Book
Tony Award for Best Score
1976 Pulitzer Prize for Drama
Olivier Award for Best Musical

A Chorus Line is a musical with music by Marvin Hamlisch, lyrics by Edward Kleban and a book by James Kirkwood, Jr. and Nicholas Dante. Centred on seventeen Broadway dancers auditioning for spots on a chorus line, the musical is set on the bare stage of a Broadway theatre during an audition for a musical. A Chorus Line provides a glimpse into the personalities of the performers and the choreographer as they describe the events that have shaped their lives and their decisions to become dancers.

Following several workshops and an Off-Broadway production, A Chorus Line opened at the Shubert Theatre on Broadway July 25, 1975, directed and choreographed by Michael Bennett. An unprecedented box office and critical hit, the musical received twelve Tony Award nominations and won nine, in addition to the 1976 Pulitzer Prize for Drama.

The original Broadway production ran for 6,137 performances, becoming the longest-running production in Broadway history until surpassed by Cats in 1997, and the longest-running Broadway musical originally produced in the US, until surpassed in 2011 by Chicago. It remains the sixth longest-running Broadway show ever. A Chorus Line's success has spawned many successful productions worldwide. It began a lengthy run in the West End in 1976 and was revived on Broadway in 2006, and in the West End in 2013.

Synopsis

The show opens in the middle of an audition for an upcoming Broadway production. The formidable director Zach and his assistant choreographer Larry put the dancers through their paces. Every dancer is desperate for work ("I Hope I Get It"). After the next round of cuts, 17 dancers remain. Zach tells them he is looking for a strong dancing chorus of four boys and four girls. He wants to learn more about them, and asks the dancers to introduce themselves. With reluctance, the dancers reveal their pasts. The stories generally progress chronologically from early life experiences through adulthood to the end of a career.

The first candidate, Mike, explains that he is the youngest of 12 children. He recalls his first experience with dance, watching his sister's dance class when he was a pre-schooler ("I Can Do That"). Mike took her place one day when she refused to go to class—and he stayed. Bobby tries to hide the unhappiness of his childhood by making jokes. As he speaks, the other dancers have misgivings about this strange audition process and debate what they should reveal to Zach ("And ..."), but since they all need the job, the session continues.

Zach is angered when he feels that the streetwise Sheila is not taking the audition seriously. Opening up, she reveals that her mother married at a young age and her father neither loved nor cared for them. When she was six, she realized that ballet provided relief from her unhappy family life ("At the Ballet"), as did Bebe and Maggie. The scatter-brained Kristine is tone-deaf, and her lament that she could never "Sing!" is interrupted by her husband Al finishing her phrases in tune.

Mark, the youngest of the dancers, relates his first experiences with pictures of the female anatomy and his first wet dream, while the other dancers share memories of adolescence ("Hello Twelve, Hello Thirteen, Hello Love"). The 4'10" Connie laments the problems of being short, and Diana recollects her horrible high school acting class ("Nothing"). Don remembers his first job at a nightclub and Judy reflects on her problematic childhood while some of the auditionees talk about their opinion of their parents ("Mother"). Then, Greg speaks about his discovery of his homosexuality and Richie recounts how he nearly became a kindergarten teacher ("Gimme the Ball"). Finally, the newly buxom Val explains that talent alone doesn't count for everything with casting directors, and silicone and plastic surgery can really help ("Dance: Ten; Looks: Three [Tits and Ass]").

The dancers go downstairs to learn a song for the next section of the audition, but Cassie stays onstage to talk to Zach. She is a veteran dancer who has had some notable successes as a soloist. They have a history together: Zach had cast her in a featured part previously, and they had lived together for several years. Zach tells Cassie that she is too good for the chorus and shouldn't be at this audition. But she hasn't been able to find solo work and is willing to "come home" to the chorus where she can at least express her passion for dance ("The Music and the Mirror"). Zach sends her downstairs to learn the dance combination.

Zach calls Paul on stage, and he emotionally relives his childhood and high school experience, his early career in a drag act, coming to terms with his manhood and his homosexuality, and his parents' ultimate reaction to finding out about his lifestyle. Paul breaks down and is comforted by Zach. Cassie and Zach's complex relationship resurfaces during a run-through of the number created to showcase an unnamed star ("One"). Zach confronts Cassie, feeling that she is "dancing down," and they rehash what went wrong in their relationship and her career. Zach points to the machine-like dancing of the rest of the cast: the other dancers who have all blended together, and who will probably never be recognized individually. Cassie defends the dancers and replies, "I'll take chorus, if you'll take me!"

During a tap sequence, Paul falls and injures his knee that recently underwent surgery. After Paul is carried off to the hospital, all at the audition stand in disbelief, realizing that their careers can also end in an instant. Zach asks the remaining dancers what they will do when they can no longer dance. Led by Diana, they reply that whatever happens, they will be free of regret ("What I Did for Love"). The final eight dancers are selected: Mike, Cassie, Bobby, Judy, Richie, Val, Mark, and Diana.

"One" (reprise/finale) begins with an individual bow for each of the 19 characters, their hodgepodge rehearsal clothes replaced by identical spangled gold costumes. As each dancer joins the group, it is suddenly difficult to distinguish one from the other: Ironically, each character who was an individual to the audience seems now to be an anonymous member of a neverending ensemble.[1]

Musical numbers

Characters

The Auditionees:

Cut dancers:

Production history

The musical was formed from several taped workshop sessions with Broadway dancers, known as "gypsies," including eight who eventually appeared in the original cast. The sessions were originally hosted by dancers Michon Peacock and Tony Stevens. The first taped session occurred at the Nickolaus Exercise Center January 26, 1974. They hoped that they would form a professional dance company to make workshops for Broadway dancers.

Michael Bennett was invited to join the group primarily as an observer, but quickly took control of the proceedings. Although Bennett’s involvement has been challenged, there has been no question about Kirkwood and Dante’s authorship. In later years, Bennett's claim that A Chorus Line had been his brainchild resulted in not only hard feelings but a number of lawsuits as well.[2] During the workshop sessions, random characters would be chosen at the end for the chorus jobs, resulting in genuine surprise among the cast. Subsequent productions, however, have the same set of characters winning the slots.[3] Marvin Hamlisch, who wrote A Chorus Line '​s winning score, recalls how in its first previews audiences seemed put off by something in the story. Actress Marsha Mason told Bennett that Cassie (Donna McKechnie in the original production) should win the part in the end and not lose because she did everything right. Bennett changed it so that Cassie would win the part.[4]

Original production

A Chorus Line opened Off Broadway at The Public Theater on April 15, 1975.[5] At the time, the Public did not have enough money to finance the production so it borrowed $1.6 million to produce the show.[6] The show was directed and co-choreographed (with Bob Avian) by Bennett.

Advance word had created such a demand for tickets that the entire run sold out immediately. Producer Joseph Papp moved the production to Broadway, and July 25, 1975, it opened at the Shubert Theatre, where it ran for 6,137 performances until April 28, 1990. The original Broadway cast included:

Cast
(in Alphabetical Order)
Role Awards
Scott Allen Roy
Renee Baughman Kristine
Kelly Bishop Sheila Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actress in a Musical (won)
Tony Award for Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Musical (won)
Pamela Blair Val
Wayne Cilento Mike
Chuck Cissel Butch
Clive Clerk Larry
Kay Cole Maggie
Ronald Dennis Richie
Donna Drake Trisha
Brandt Edwards Tom
Patricia Garland Judy
Carolyn Kirsch Lois
Ron Kuhlman Don
Nancy Lane Bebe
Baayork Lee Connie
Priscilla Lopez Diana Obie Award for Best Actress (won)
Tony Award for Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Musical (nominated)
Robert LuPone Zach Tony Award for Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Musical (nominated)
Cameron Mason Mark
Donna McKechnie Cassie Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actress in a Musical (won)
Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Musical (won)
Don Percassi Al
Michael Serrecchia Frank
Michel Stuart Greg
Thomas J. Walsh Bobby
Sammy Williams Paul Obie Award for Best Actor (won)
Tony Award for Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Musical (won)
Crissy Wilzak Vicki

In addition, Carole Schweid and John Mineo were understudies named "Barbara" and "Jarad", although they only went on covering other roles.

The production was nominated for 12 Tony Awards, winning nine: Best Musical, Best Musical Book, Best Score (Hamlisch and Kleban), Best Director, and Best Choreography, Best Actress (McKechnie), Best Featured Actor (Sammy Williams), Best Featured Actress (Bishop) and Best Lighting Design.[7] The show won the 1976 Pulitzer Prize for Drama, one of the few musicals ever to receive this honor, and the New York Drama Critics' Circle Award for Best Play of the season.

In 1976, many of the original cast went on to perform in the Los Angeles production. Open roles were recast and the play was again reviewed as the "New" New York Company which included Ann Reinking, Sandahl Bergman, Christopher Chadman, Justin Ross (who would go on to appear in the film), and Barbara Luna.

When it closed, A Chorus Line was the longest running show in Broadway history[8] until its record was surpassed by Cats in 1997 and Les Misérables and The Phantom of the Opera in 2002. According to Baayork Lee in Sean Egan’s James Kirkwood biography Ponies & Rainbows, the first of those shows was artificially elevated above A Chorus Line. She said, “I think they had Cats limping in, keeping it open and do you know I think they were giving tickets away just so that it would stay open, so they would break the record.” [9] On September 29, 1983, Bennett and 330 A Chorus Line veterans came together to produce a show to celebrate the musical becoming the longest-running show in Broadway history.[10] A Chorus Line generated US$277 million in revenue and had 6.5 million Broadway attendees.[11] Since its inception, the show's many worldwide productions, both professional and amateur, have been a major source of income for The Public Theater.

By 1991, four of the five original creators had died; Bennett, Kirkwood, and Dante from complications of AIDS-related diseases, and Kleban from cancer. Hamlisch died in 2012.

Subsequent productions

U.S. and international tours were mounted in 1976, including a run in Los Angeles at the Shubert Theatre in Century City.

A London production opened in the West End at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane in 1976. It ran for several years. Jane Summerhays and Geraldine Gardner (aka Trudi van Doorn of the Benny Hill Shows), played Sheila in the London production.[12][13] The production won the Laurence Olivier Award as Best Musical of the Year 1976, the first year in which the awards were presented. Joan Illingworth was also down to the last two to appear.

In 1980, under the direction of Roy Smith, the Teatro El Nacional of Buenos Aires produced a successful Spanish version of A Chorus Line lasting 10 months (to make way for a subsequent production).

In 1984, under the direction of Roy Smith with translation by Nacho Artime y Jaime Azpilicueta, the show was produced at the Tivoli Theater in Barcelona and the Monumental Theatre in Madrid Spain.

An unsuccessful film adaptation was released in 1985, starring Michael Douglas as Zach. As Kelly Bishop, the original Sheila, later noted, "it was appalling when director Richard Attenborough went on a talk show and said 'this is a story about kids trying to break into show business.' I almost tossed my TV out the window; I mean what an idiot! It's about veteran dancers looking for one last job before it's too late for them to dance anymore. No wonder the film sucked!"

In July 1986, A Chorus Line was produced in Italy for the first time. It premiered at the Nervi Festival of Dance in Genoa, followed by a five-week Italian tour. The choreography was adapted for the festival's performing space by Baayork Lee who had played Connie in the original production and subsequently became a close collaborator of Michael Bennett, the original choreographer.[14]

The 2006 Broadway revival opened at the Gerald Schoenfeld Theater October 5, 2006, following a run in San Francisco. The revival closed August 17, 2008, after 759 performances and 18 previews. It cost $8 million to finance and recouped its investment in 19 weeks.[15] The production was directed by Bob Avian, with the choreography reconstructed by Baayork Lee, who had played Connie Wong in the original Broadway production. The opening night cast included Paul McGill, Michael Berresse, Charlotte d'Amboise, Mara Davi, James T. Lane, Heather Parcells, Alisan Porter, Jason Tam, Jessica Lee Goldyn and Chryssie Whitehead.[16] On April 15, 2008, Mario Lopez joined the cast as the replacement for Zach.[17] The production was the subject of the documentary film Every Little Step.

The production received two Tony Award nominations in 2007 for Featured Role (Charlotte d'Amboise) and Revival (Musical).[7] The original contract for A Chorus Line provided for sharing the revenue from the show with the directors and dancers that had attended the original workshop sessions. However, the contract did not specify revenue when the musical was revived in 2006. In February 2008, an agreement was reached with the dancers and Michael Bennett's estate.[18]

A 2008 U.S. touring production opened May 4, 2008, at the Denver Center for the Performing Arts and was expected to tour through June 2009. This production featured Michael Gruber as Zach, Nikki Snelson as Cassie, Emily Fletcher as Sheila, and Gabrielle Ruiz as Diana.[19]

In 2012, the musical came to Singapore, playing at the Marina Bay Sands, Sands Theater, May 4 to May 27, 2012.[20]

A Chorus Line returned to Glasgow, Scotland for a short, rare run at Eastwood Park Theatre, from January 29 to February 2, 2013. The production, by Glasgow Music Theatre, included some alterations. An intermission was inserted between 'Montage' and 'Dance Ten, Looks Three' and the solo of the final ballad, 'What I Did For Love' was sung by the character Bebe (played by Katie Hart). The production preceded the show's West End revival and featured Colin Johnston as Zach, Bridget Louise McCavanagh as Cassie, Emma Fraser as Sheila, Kirsty Grant as Val and Kelly Johnston as Diana. The production was directed by Marcus Littlejohn, with musical direction by Barrie McKillop and choreography by Marion Baird.

The show returned to London for a revival in February 2013 West End and is currently on stage at the London Palladium. It is being directed by original choreographer, Bob Avian, with John Partridge, Scarlett Strallen, and Victoria Hamilton-Barritt all starring.[21] James T. Lane is reprising his Broadway role and Leigh Zimmerman won the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Performance in a Supporting Role in a Musical for her portrayal of Sheila in this production.[22] Producers announced June 9, 2013, that the London revival cast would record a new cast album featuring never-before-heard songs which were written for the show but never made the final cut.[23] It was just like the original veterans had done when the original cast album of the musical was released on Columbia Records following the overnight momentum of success in 1975.

Awards and nominations

Original Broadway production

Year Award Category Nominee Result
1976 Tony Award Best Musical Won
Best Book of a Musical James Kirkwood and Nicholas Dante Won
Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Musical Donna McKechnie Won
Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Musical Sammy Williams Won
Robert LuPone Nominated
Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Musical Kelly Bishop Won
Priscilla Lopez Nominated
Best Original Score Marvin Hamlisch and Edward Kleban Won
Best Direction of a Musical Michael Bennett Won
Best Choreography Michael Bennett and Bob Avian Won
Best Costume Design Theoni V. Aldredge Nominated
Best Lighting Design Tharon Musser Won
Drama Desk Award Outstanding Musical Won
Book of a Musical James Kirkwood, Jr. and Nicholas Dante Won
Outstanding Actress in a Musical Kelly Bishop Won
Donna McKechnie Won
Outstanding Director of a Musical Michael Bennett Won
Outstanding Choreography Michael Bennett and Bob Avian Won
Outstanding Music Marvin Hamlisch Won
Outstanding Lyrics Edward Kleban Won
Pulitzer Prize for Drama Won
Theatre World Award Special Award Won
1978 Gold Record Award from Columbia Records Won
1984 Tony Award (special) Longest-running Broadway musical Won

Original London production

Year Award Category Nominee Result
1976 Laurence Olivier Award Best New Musical Won
1977 Evening Standard Award Best Musical Won

2006 Broadway revival

Year Award Category Nominee Result
2007 Tony Award Best Revival of a Musical Nominated
Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Musical Charlotte d'Amboise Nominated

2013 London revival

Year Award Category Nominee Result
2013 Laurence Olivier Award Best Musical Revival Nominated
Best Performance in a Supporting Role in a Musical Leigh Zimmerman Won

Other media

The 60th Academy Awards featured a variation of "I Hope I Get It" at the beginning of the ceremony.

In 1976, "One" and "What I Did For Love" were performed by the cast of "The Brady Bunch Variety Hour."

In 1990, original cast members Baayork Lee and Thommie Walsh collaborated with Robert Viagas on the book On the Line: The Creation of A Chorus Line, which chronicles the musical's origins and evolution and includes interviews with the entire original cast.

In 1990, Visa launched a marketing campaign around A Chorus Line as it was touring the United States. The promotions included television commercials featuring the musical and the right to say that tickets for the show could be charged only on Visa cards. Visa paid $500,000 for the promotion.[24]

Also in 1990, much of the original cast reunited to perform selections from the musical as well as talk about it on the talk show Donahue. This performance was given to benefit the final run of the show as it was about to close on Broadway at the time. The highlight of the appearance was an emotionally charged performance of "At The Ballet" as performed by Kelly Bishop, Kay Cole and Nancy Lane which left several of the cast and the studio audience fighting back tears. Another highlight was the comical performance of "Dance: Ten, Looks: Three (Tits and Ass)" as done by Pamela Blair. Renee Baughman was the only original cast member who couldn't attend the show's taping because she had to care for her seriously ill father.

The Simpsons episode "Treehouse of Horror V" closes with a parody of "One," which the Simpsons family sings (with alternate lyrics) after they are turned inside out by a mysterious fog.

Michael Bennett and Ed Kleban are portrayed in the 2001 musical A Class Act, a partly fictionalized account of Kleban's life using some of the lyricist's unpublished songs.

In "What I'll Never Do For Love Again," the 20th episode of the fifth season of Ally McBeal (2002), Elaine Vassal auditions (ultimately in vain) for a Boston production of A Chorus Line, singing "Dance: Ten; Looks: Three" and "The Music and the Mirror."

James D. Stern and Adam Del Deo produced and directed a documentary film about the musical called Every Little Step, which includes footage of Michael Bennett and interviews with Marvin Hamlisch, Bob Avian, former New York Times theater critic Frank Rich, and original cast members Donna McKechnie and Baayork Lee. The film includes some of the audiotapes made at the early workshop sessions and shows behind-the-scenes footage of the audition, rehearsals, and performances of both the original 1975 production and the 2006 Broadway revival. Production of the documentary began in 2005 when 3,000 hopefuls arrived on the first day of auditions for the revival. The film made its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival in September 2008 and was released as Broadway Broadway in Japan the following month.[25] The documentary opened in limited release in the US in April 2009.[26]

In 2009, music from the score was used in the television series Fringe in the episode Brown Betty, and also in the movie Land of the Lost that same year featuring Will Ferrell, Danny McBride, and Anna Friel

The song "What I Did for Love" has been recorded by Aretha Franklin from "Sweet Passion" (1977), Petula Clark, The Three Degrees on their 1977 album Standing Up for Love, Me First and the Gimme Gimmes on "Are a Drag" (1999), Christine Ebersole in a 2009 episode of "The Colbert Report", and most recently by Lea Michele in the first episode of the second season of the hit musical television series Glee. In a later episode in the same season, Jenna Ushkowitz and Harry Shum, Jr. performed "Sing!", although the male and female vocals were switched. The episode "Hell-O" from the show's first season was planned to feature a performance of "Hello Twelve, Hello Thirteen, Hello Love", although the performance was cut; in a later episode the song can be heard playing in the background. Never officially released, the song was performed by Lea Michele and Jonathan Groff. "At The Ballet" was featured in the show's fourth season and was performed by Chris Colfer, Naya Rivera, Lea Michele and Sarah Jessica Parker.

"Phineas & Ferb": in one part of the live show; Heinz Doofenshmirtz sings part of One

The Scrubs episode My Malpractical Decision features a parody of "One", accompanying an imaginary sequence in which Neena Broderick repeatedly assaults a barrage of unfortunate bystanders in the genitals.

In the House MD Season 6 episode, "The Down Low", James Wilson (Robert Sean Leonard) starts singing the song in the last few seconds of the episode much to the discomfort of Wilson's best friend, Gregory House (Hugh Laurie).

In August 2013, ACL alumna Melissa R. Randel ("Judy Turner") mounted her original production, The Hat, at The New York International Fringe Festival - FringeNYC. The Hat was inspired by her experience as a young Broadway dancer who learns on the eve of a performance that her father has died. "The curtain rises on her 87th performance of a hit Broadway musical, but no one tells Ruth her father has died. Forevermore, her heart clings to a gold-studded chorus girl’s top hat. LIGHTS UP! 5-6-7-8!" Randel appeared in more than 2,000 performances from 1981 to 1985 at Broadway's Shubert Theatre and on National and International tours, and can be seen as a featured dancer in Richard Attenborough's film, A Chorus Line.

Notes

  1. Synopsis adapted from "Michael Bennett's A Chorus Line".
  2. Those First in ‘Chorus Line’ Gain a Continuing Stake New York Times February 2, 2008
  3. McKay, William. "Michael Bennett's A Chorus Line" Musicals101.com. 1998. Retrieved August 14, 2008.
  4. "Kurt Brokaw's New Directors/Film, Part Three". Madison Avenue Journal. March 24, 2009. Retrieved March 14, 2013.
  5. "A Chorus Line". Lortel Archives. April 15, 1975. Retrieved March 14, 2013.
  6. "What They Did for Love." American Theatre. February 2007, Vol. 24 Issue 2, p15-16, 2p.
  7. 7.0 7.1 "TonyAwards.com - The American Theatre Wing's Tony Awards - Official Website by IBM", TonyAwards.com. Retrieved August 14, 2008.
  8. Rothstein, Mervyn. "After 15 Years (15!), 'A Chorus Line' Ends". The New York Times. April 30, 1990
  9. Egan, Sean (2011) “Ponies & Rainbows: The Life of James Kirkwood" Bearmanor Media, ISBN 1-59393-680-X, page 450
  10. Corliss, Richard. "The Show Must Go Under". TIME. June 21, 2005. Retrieved August 14, 2008.
  11. "A Sensation's Final Bow". TIME. March 5, 1990. Retrieved August 14, 2008.
  12. BroadwayWorld listing
  13. Really Useful biography
  14. Bentivolglio, Leonetta (11 July 1986). "A Chorus Line a Nervi miracolo di professionalità". La Repubblica. Retrieved 26 April 2014 (Italian).
  15. BWW News Desk. "A Chorus Lins Ends Run Tonight, August 17". Broadwayworld, August 17, 2008.
  16. BWW News Desk. "A Chorus Line Announces Complete 2006 Cast", BroadwayWorld.com, April 26, 2006. Retrieved August 14, 2008.
  17. BWW News Desk. "Mario Lopez Joins A Chorus Line on April 15", BroadwayWorld.com, March 4, 2008. Retrieved August 14, 2008.
  18. Robertson, Campbell (February 2, 2008). "Those First in Chorus Line Gain a Continuing Stake". The New York Times. Retrieved March 14, 2013.
  19. Hetrick, Adam. "National Tour of A Chorus Line Officially Opens in Denver May 9", playbill.com, May 9, 2008. Retrieved August 18, 2008.
  20. "A Chorus Line, Marina Bay Sands, Singapore". Retrieved 25 February 2012.
  21. "A Chorus Line revived at London Palladium". Retrieved 7 September 2012.
  22. 2013 Olivier Awards Announced; Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time, The Audience, Top Hat and Sweeney Todd Take Major Awards Retrieved April 28, 2013
  23. http://www.westendframe.com/2013/06/AChorusLineAlbum.html
  24. McManus, John, "Visa joins with Chorus Line," Advertising Age, September 17, 1990, Vol. 61 Issue 38, p. 4
  25. The Japan Times, October 17, 2008
  26. Playbill.com, January 27, 2009

References

External links

Preceded by
Grease
Longest-running Broadway show
1983 – 1997
Succeeded by
Cats