Tony Tuesday: A CHORUS LINE
This week we’re flying back to the 70s for some history making, high-kicking musical theatre. This week’s TONY Tuesday is:
“I Hope I Get It” from A Chorus Line at the 1976 TONY Awards ceremony.
Probably one of the most famous pieces in the musical theatre canon, A Chorus Line tells the story of a group of 17 dancers, and is in real time as they audition to be part of a Broadway chorus. As well as exploring the audition process, the show also opens up each character providing a glimpse into the reasons they pursued the profession.
The premise came about when a group of Broadway dancers filmed themselves doing several workshop sessions in a bid to become a Broadway dance troupe. Seeing a story emerge, the writers James Kirkwood Jr and Nicholas Dante got involved alongside composer Marvin Hamlisch and lyricist Edward Kleban. Through production, the writers had the winning “Chorus Line” at the end of each show change dependant upon how well each dancer did in a bid to reflect reality. However, the costume department complained saying it was impossible to get correct costumes in time without already knowing the line-up. The writers then made the decision to fix the line-up for every show.
Post workshop, the musical was produced at The Public Theater, which had the time had to borrow $1.6 million in order to help produce the production. Word of mouth caused an overwhelming demand for the show that when tickets were finally put on sale, it sold out immediately. This prompted the decision for the producers to transfer the production to Broadway without hesitation.
A Chorus Line, which was directed by Michael Bennet, who also co-choreographed it with Bob Avian, opened at The Shubert Theater on 25 July 1975. The show was an instant success and went on to garner 12 1976 TONY award nominations, winning a whopping 9 awards including the gong for ‘Best Musical’. By the time it closed, A Chorus Line was the longest running musical in history; this was overtaken by CATS in 1997, and until it was overtaken by the revival of CHICAGO in 2011, it was the longest running American musical in Broadway history. A Chorus Line also has the notoriety of being only one of 10 musicals to have won ‘The Pulitzer Prize for Drama’. The opening night cast included Robert LuPone as Zach, Donna McKechnie as Cassie, Kelly Bishop as Sheila, Priscilla Lopez as Diana and Sammy Williams as Paul. The musical closed on 28 April 1990.
The West End production premiered at Theatre Royal Drury Lane in 1976 using the US cast. A year later, the original British cast took over which included Jean-Pierre Cassel as Zach, Elizabeth Seal as Cassie, Geraldine Gardner as Sheila, Diane Langton as Diana and Michael Staniforth as Paul. The production ran for three years in total winning the inaugural Olivier for ‘Best New Musical’.
The musical was produced globally many times over the years before subsequent Broadway and West End revivals. The 2006 Broadway revival tried out of town in San Francisco before transferring to The Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre. The production was directed by original choreographer Bob Avian and the choreography was reconstructed by the original Connie Wong; Baayork Lee. The production recouped its investment in 19 weeks and closed on 17 August 2008. The cast included Michael Berresse as Zach, Charlotte d’Ambroise as Cassie, Deidre Goodwin as Sheila, Natalie Cortez as Diana and Jason Tam as Paul. This production was also the subject of the documentary, “Every Little Step”. The show was revived at the London Palladium in February 2013. Again, Avian and Lee helmed this production. The production also played without an interval. It starred John Partridge as Zach, Scarlett Strallen as Cassie, Victoria Hamilton-Barritt as Diana, Gary Wood as Paul and Leah Zimmerman as Sheila who won the Olivier for Best Performance in a Supporting Role in a Musical. The London cast recording also featured never-before heard renditions of cut songs.
The production was also adapted into a film in 1985, directed by Richard Attenborough and starring Michael Douglas as Zach. However, the film did not fair as successfully as the original material and was considered a box office bomb.
If you haven’t listened to A Chorus Line Besties, considered be officially shook. Get listening to one of the absolute CLASSICS.
Cast recordings available on streaming services.
FACTS:
Music: Marvin Hamlisch
Lyrics: Edward Kleban
Book: James Kirkwood Jr and Nicholas Dante
Theatre: The Shubert Theater
Run: 25 July 1975 – 28 April 1990 (6,137 performances)
TONYS:
(NOMINATED) Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Musical – Robert LuPone, Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Musical – Priscilla Lopez (1976) Charlotte d’Amboise (2007), Best Costume Design – Theoni V. Aldredge, Best Revival of a Musical (2007)
(WON) Best Musical, Best Book of a Musical – James Kirkwood Jr and Nicholas Dante, Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Musical – Donna McKechnie, Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Musical – Sammy Williams, Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Musical – Kelly Bishop, Best Original Score- Marvin Hamlisch and Edward Kleban, Best Direction of a Musical – Michael Bennet, Best Choreography – Michael Bennet and Bob Avian, Best Lighting Design – Tharon Musser
OLIVIERS:
(NOMINATED) Best Musical Revival (2013)
(WON) Best New Musical (1976) Best Performance in a Supporting Role in a Musical – Leigh Zimmerman (2013)
