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A Chorus Line
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A Chorus Line is a musical about seventeen Broadway dancers auditioning for spots on a chorus line. The book was authored by James Kirkwood, Jr. and Nicholas Dante, lyrics were written by Edward Kleban, and music was composed by Marvin Hamlisch.
With nineteen main characters, it is set on the bare stage of a Broadway theatre during an audition for a musical. The show 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.
The original Broadway production, directed and choreographed by Michael Bennett, was an unprecedented box office and critical hit, receiving 12 Tony Award nominations and winning nine of them, in addition to the 1976 Pulitzer Prize for Drama.
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Encyclopedia
A Chorus Line is a musical about seventeen Broadway dancers auditioning for spots on a chorus line. The book was authored by James Kirkwood, Jr. and Nicholas Dante, lyrics were written by Edward Kleban, and music was composed by Marvin Hamlisch.
With nineteen main characters, it is set on the bare stage of a Broadway theatre during an audition for a musical. The show 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.
The original Broadway production, directed and choreographed by Michael Bennett, was an unprecedented box office and critical hit, receiving 12 Tony Award nominations and winning nine of them, in addition to the 1976 Pulitzer Prize for Drama. It ran for 6,137 performances, becoming the longest-running production in Broadway history up to that time. It remains the longest running Broadway musical originally produced in the United States, and the fourth longest-running Broadway show ever. The show has enjoyed many successful productions worldwide and was revived on Broadway in 2006.
Synopsis
At an audition for an upcoming Broadway production, director Zach and his assistant choreographer Larry put the gypsies through their paces. Every dancer is desperate for work ("I Hope I Get It"). After the first cut, 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 17 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 family life. Bebe adds that, as she was not a beautiful child, she was also drawn to ballet, where she could feel beautiful. At the ballet, notes Maggie, someone is always there, unlike the father she has never had ("At the Ballet").
The scatter-brained Kristine is tone-deaf, and her lament that she could never "Sing!" is interrupted by her husband Al finishing her phrases. Mark, the youngest of the dancers relates his first experiences with pictures of the female anatomy and his first wet dream, and the other dancers share memories of adolescence ("Hello Twelve, Hello Thirteen, Hello Love"). Gregory speaks about his discovery of his homosexuality, and Diana recollects her horrible high school acting class ("Nothing"). Don remembers his first job at a nightclub, Richie recounts how he nearly became a kindergarten teacher, Judy reflects on her problematic childhood, and the 4'10" tall Connie laments the problems of being short. Finally, the newly-buxom Val explains that talent alone doesn't count for everything with casting directors, and silicone can really help ("Dance: Ten; Looks: Three").
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 gypsy 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 early career in a drag act, coming to terms with his manhood, homosexuality and sense of self. Cassie and Zach's complex relationship resurfaces during a run-through of the number created to showcase an un-named 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 good-but-not-great dancing of the rest of the cast, the gypsies who will probably never get out of the line. Cassie replies, "I'll take chorus, if you'll take me!" During a tap sequence, Paul falls injured and is carried off to the hospital: his audition is over. Zach asks the remaining dancers what they will do when they can no longer dance. Whatever happens, they reply, they will be free of regret ("What I Did For Love"). The final eight dancers are selected: Cassie, Bobby, Diana, Judy, Val, Mike, Mark and Richie.
"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 an ensemble. However, this initial audience reaction is misleading. As the number builds, what becomes clear is that since we now know these people intimately--and view them dancing here unobstructed by the so-called star of the show--we can never regard them as anonymous chorus line members again. Thus, the play's conclusion exposes its thematic root: that of a loving, heartfelt salute to any gypsy who ever tread the boards.
Musical numbers
- "I Hope I Get It" – Zach, Paul and Company
- "I Can Do That" – Mike
- "And..." – Bobby, Richie, Val and Judy
- "At the Ballet" – Sheila, Bebe and Maggie
- "Sing!" – Kristine, Al and Company
- "Montage Part 1: Hello Twelve, Hello Thirteen, Hello Love" – Mark, Connie and Company
- "Montage Part 2: Nothing" – Diana
- "Montage Part 3: Mother" – Don, Judy, Maggie and Company
- "Montage Part 4: Gimme The Ball" – Greg, Richie and Company
- "Dance: Ten; Looks: Three" – Val
- "The Music and the Mirror" – Cassie
- "One" – Company
- "The Tap Combination" – Company
- "What I Did for Love" – Diana and Company
- "One" (Reprise) – Company
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 on 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. In later years, his claim that A Chorus Line had been his brainchild resulted in not only hard feelings but a number of lawsuits as well.
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.
Original production
A Chorus Line opened off-Broadway at The Public Theater on May 21, 1975. At the time, the Public did not have enough money to finance the production. They borrowed $1.6 million in order to produce the show. The show was directed and co-choreographed (with Bob Avian) by Bennett. The original cast starred Scott Allen, Kelly Bishop, Robert Lupone, Michael Serrecchia, Donna Drake,Wayne Cilento, Ronald Dennis, Baayork Lee, Priscilla Lopez, Donna McKechnie, Thommie Walsh, Nancy Lane, Kay Cole, Ron Kuhlman, Rick Mason, Don Percassi, Renee Baughman, Pamela Blair, Sammy Williams, Clive Clerk, Chuck Cissel, Brandt Edwards, Carolyn Kirsch, Cameron Mason, Michel Stuart, Crissy Wilzak and Trish Garland.
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 on July 25, 1975 it opened at the Shubert Theatre, where it ran for 6,137 performances until April 28, 1990. 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. 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.
When it closed, A Chorus Line was the longest running show in Broadway history until its record was surpassed by Cats in 1997 and then The Phantom of the Opera in 2006. 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. A Chorus Line generated $277 million USD in revenue and had 6.5 million Broadway attendees. Since its inception, the show's many worldwide productions, both professional and amateur, have been a major source of income for The Public Theater.
Subsequent productions
U.S. and international tours were mounted in 1976, including a run at the Pantages Theatre in Hollywood.
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. The production won the Laurence Olivier Award as Best Musical of the Year 1976, the first year in which the awards were presented.
The Broadway revival opened at the Gerald Schoenfeld Theater on October 5, 2006 following a run in San Francisco. The revival closed on August 17, 2008 after 759 performances and 18 previews. It cost $8 million to finance and made back its investment in 19 weeks. 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, Heather Parcells, Alisan Porter, Jason Tam and Chryssie Whitehead. On April 15, 2008 Mario Lopez joined the cast as the replacement for Zach.
The production received two Tony Award nominations in 2007 for Featured Role (Charlotte d'Amboise) and Revival (Musical). 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.
A 2008 U.S. touring production opened on May 4, 2008 at the Denver Center for the Performing Arts and is expected to tour through June 2009. This production features Michael Gruber as Zach and Nikki Snelson as Cassie.
An unsuccessful film adaptation was released in 1985.
Other media
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 TV commercials featuring the musical and the right to say that tickets for the show could only be charged on Visa cards. Visa paid USD $500,000 for the promotion.
A Class Act - A Musical About Musicals (2001). Michael Bennett and lyricist Ed Kleban are portrayed in this partly ficionalized life story of Ed Kleban, using some of Kleban's unpublished songs. A Chorus Line 's number One is featured in this new musical.
James D. Stern and Adam Del Deo directed and produced, with John Breglio as executive producer, a documentary about the musical called Every Little Step: The Journey of A Chorus Line, which includes footage of Michael Bennett and interviews with Hamlisch, Avian, former New York Times theater critic Frank Rich and original cast member Donna McKechnie. The film shows behind-the-scenes footage of the audition, rehearsals and performances of the original and the 2006 Broadway productions. Production of the documentary began in 2005 with the filming of the auditions of 1,700 hopefuls for the revival. The film made its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival as a Special Presentation in September 2008. The documentary is scheduled to open in theatres in April 2009.
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