| A Chorus Line | |
|---|---|
 Original Broadway windowcard | |
| Music | Marvin Hamlisch |
| Lyrics | Edward Kleban |
| Book | James Kirkwood Jr. Nicholas Dante |
| Productions | 1975Off-Broadway 1975Broadway 1976 North American tour 1976 US tour 1976West End 1990 US tour 1996 North American tour 2006 Broadway 2008 North American tour 2013 West End |
| Awards | Tony Award for Best Musical Tony Award for Best Book of a Musical Tony Award for Best Original Score Pulitzer Prize for Drama Olivier Award for Best Musical Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Musical Helpmann Award for Best Musical |
A Chorus Line is a 1975 musical conceived byMichael Bennett with music byMarvin Hamlisch, lyrics byEdward Kleban, and a book byJames Kirkwood Jr. andNicholas Dante.
Set on the bare stage of a Broadway theater, the musical is centered on seventeenBroadway dancersauditioning for spots on achorus line.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 anOff-Broadway production,A Chorus Line opened at theShubert Theatre on Broadway July 25, 1975, directed by Michael Bennett and co-choreographed by Bennett andBob Avian. An unprecedented box office and critical hit, the musical received twelveTony Award nominations and won nine, in addition to the 1976Pulitzer Prize for Drama.
The original Broadway production ran for 6,137 performances, becoming thelongest-running production in Broadway history until surpassed byCats in 1997, and the longest-running Broadway musical originally produced in the US, until surpassed in 2011 by the revival ofChicago. It remains theseventh longest-running Broadway show ever.A Chorus Line's success has spawned many successful productions worldwide. It began a lengthy run in theWest End in 1976 winning theLaurence Olivier Award for Best New Musical and was revived on Broadway in 2006, and in the West End in 2013.
The show opens during an audition for an upcoming Broadway production. The formidable director Zach and his assistant choreographer Larry put the 24 dancers through their paces. Every dancer is desperate for work ("I Hope I Get It"). After a round of cuts, 17 dancers remain. Zach tells them he is looking for a strong 8-member dancing chorus of four boys and four girls. Wanting to learn more about them, he asks the dancers to introduce themselves. Reluctantly, the dancers reveal their pasts. The stories generally progress chronologically from early life experiences through adulthood to their chosen career.
The first candidate, Mike Costa, explains that he is the youngest of 12 children. He recalls his first experience with dance, watching his sister Rosalie's dance class when he was a preschooler ("I Can Do That"). Mike replaced her one day when she refused to go to class—and he stayed. As Bobby Mills tries to hide his unhappy childhood by making jokes, the other dancers distrust 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 that the streetwise Sheila Bryant is seemingly not taking the audition seriously. Opening up, she reveals that her mother married at a young age and her father neither cared about nor loved them. At age six she realized, as had fellow auditionees Bebe Benzenheimer and Maggie Winslow, that ballet helped her escape her unhappy family life ("At the Ballet"). Scatterbrained andtone-deaf Kristine Urich-DeLuca laments being unable to sing, while her husband Al finishes her phrases in tune ("Sing!").
Mark Anthony, the youngest dancer, relates his first exposure to the male and female anatomy and his firstwet dream, and the 4 ft 10 in (1.47 m) Connie Wong laments the problems of being short, while the other dancers share their own memories of adolescence ("Hello Twelve, Hello Thirteen, Hello Love"). Diana Morales describes her horrible high school acting class ("Nothing"), Don Kerr remembers his first job at anightclub and Judy Turner reflects on her problematic childhood while some auditioners talk about their parents' opinions ("Mother"). Greg Gardner discusses discovering his homosexuality and Richie Walters recounts nearly becoming akindergarten teacher ("Gimme the Ball"). Finally, the newly-buxom Val Clark explains that talent alone isn't everything without good looks, andplastic surgery can really help improve one's image and career prospects ("Dance: Ten, Looks: Three").
The dancers go downstairs to learn a song for the audition's next section, but experienced dancer Cassie Ferguson, who has had notable successes as a soloist, stays onstage to talk to Zach. They have a history together: Zach had previously cast her in featured parts, 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. However, she explains her current inability 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 relents and sends her downstairs to learn the dance combination.
Zach calls Paul San Marco, who has been reluctant to share his past, onstage for a private talk, and he emotionally details his childhood and teenage years, his early career in adrag act, facing his manhood and his homosexuality, and his parents ultimately discovering his lifestyle and disowning him for it, before breaking down, with Zach comforting him. 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 the issues in their relationship and her career. Zach points to the machine-like movement of the other dancers, who have all blended together and will probably never be recognized individually, and mockingly asks if she wants this. Cassie defiantly defends the dancers: "I’d be proud to be one of them. They’re wonderful....They’re all special. I’d be happy to be dancing in that line. Yes, I would...and I'll take chorus...if you'll take me."
During atap 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, the auditionees assert that whatever happens next in their lives and/or careers, they will be free of regret for pursuing their dreams ("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 never-endingensemble.[1]
Theoriginal cast album was Issued by Columbia Records (PS33581).
| Chart (1977) | Position |
|---|---|
| Australia (Kent Music Report)[2] | 47 |
| Character | Off-Broadway | Broadway | U.S. Tour[3] | International Tour[4] | West End[5][6] | Broadway Revival[7] | U.S. Tour[8] | West End Revival[9] |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1975 | 1976 | 2006 | 2005 | 2013 | ||||
| Zach | Robert LuPone | Eivind Harum | Michael Berresse | Michael Gruber | John Partridge | |||
| Larry | Clive Clerk | Roy Smith | T. Michael Reed | Tyler Hanes | John Carroll | Alastair Postlethwaite | ||
| Don Kerr (#5) | Ron Kuhlman | Ronald Young | Brad Anderson | Derek Hanson | Gary Watson | |||
| Maggie Winslow (#9) | Kay Cole | Jean Fraser | Mara Davi | Hollie Howard | Vicki Lee Taylor | |||
| Mike Costa (#81) | Wayne Cilento | Don Correia | Jeff Hyslop | Jeffrey Schecter | Clyde Alves | Adam Salter | ||
| Connie Wong (#149) | Baayork Lee | Jennifer Ann Lee | Yuka Takara | Jessica Wu | Alexzandra Sarmiento | |||
| Greg Gardner (#67) | Michel Stuart | Andy Keyser | Mark Dovey | Michael Paternostro | Denis Lambert | Andy Rees | ||
| Cassie Ferguson | Donna McKechnie | Sandy Roveta | Charlotte d’Amboise | Nikki Snelson | Scarlett Strallen | |||
| Sheila Bryant (#152) | Kelly Bishop | Charlene Ryan | Jane Summerhays | Deidre Goodwin | Emily Fletcher | Leigh Zimmerman | ||
| Bobby Mills (#84) | Thomas J. Walsh | Scott Pearson | Ron Kurowski | Ken Alan | Ian Liberto | Ed Currie | ||
| Bebe Benzenheimer (#37) | Nancy Lane | Miriam Welch | Alisan Porter | Pilar Millhollen | Daisy Maywood | |||
| Judy Turner (#23) | Patricia Garland | Yvette Mathews | Heather Parcells | Stephanie Gibson | Lucy Adcock | |||
| Richie Walters (#44) | Ronald Dennis | A. Wellington Perkins | James T. Lane | Anthony Wayne | James T. Lane | |||
| Al DeLuca (#17) | Don Percassi | Steve Baumann | Tony Yazbeck | Colt Prattes | Simon Hardwick | |||
| Kristine Urich-DeLuca (#10) | Renee Baughman | Christine Barker | Chryssie Whitehead | Jessica Latshaw | Frances Dee | |||
| Val Clark (#179) | Pamela Blair | Mitzi Hamilton | Jessica Lee Goldyn | Natalie Hall | Rebecca Herszenhon | |||
| Mark Anthony (#63) | Cameron Mason | Paul Charles | Tim Scott | Paul McGill | Jay Armstrong Johnson | Harry Francis | ||
| Paul San Marco (#45) | Sammy Williams | Tommy Aguilar | Jason Tam | Kevin Santos | Gary Wood | |||
| Diana Morales (#2) | Priscilla Lopez | Loida Iglesias | Natalie Cortez | Gabrielle Ruiz | Victoria Hamilton-Barritt | |||
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. Although Bennett's involvement has been challenged, there has been no question about Kirkwood and Dante's authorship. In later years, Bennett's claim thatA Chorus Line had been his brainchild resulted not only in hard feelings but a number of lawsuits as well.[10] During the workshop sessions, random characters would be chosen at the end for the chorus jobs based on their performance quality, resulting in a different "cast" being selected every run-through. However, several of the costumers objected to this ending, citing the stress of having to change random actors in time for the finale. This resulted in the ending being cut in exchange for the same set of characters being "cast."[11] Marvin Hamlisch, who wroteA Chorus Line's score, recalled how, during the first previews, audiences seemed put off by something in the story. This problem was solved when actressMarsha Mason told Bennett that Cassie (Donna McKechnie in the original production) should win the part in the end because she did everything right. Bennett changed it so that Cassie would always win the part.[12]
A Chorus Line openedOff-Broadway atThe Public Theater on April 15, 1975.[13] At the time, the Public did not have enough money to finance the production so it borrowed $1.6 million to produce the show.[14] The show was directed by Bennett and co-choreographed by Bennett and Bob Avian. Advance word had created such a demand for tickets that the entire run sold out immediately. ProducerJoseph Papp moved the production toBroadway, and on July 25, 1975, it opened at theShubert Theatre, where it ran for 6,137 performances[15] until April 28, 1990.
Additional Opening Night cast members Carole Schweid and John Mineo were understudies named "Barbara" and "Jarad", although they only went on covering other roles.[16]
The production was nominated for 12Tony 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.[17] The show won the 1976Pulitzer Prize for Drama, one of the few musicals ever to receive this honor, swept nearly all the main categories at the 1976Drama Desk Awards, and theNew York Drama Critics' Circle Award for Best Play of the season.
In 1976, many of the original cast went on to perform in San Francisco. Open roles were recast, and the play was again reviewed as the"New" New York Company which includedAnn Reinking,Sandahl Bergman,Christopher Chadman, Justin Ross (who would go on to appear in the film), andBarbara Luna.
When it closed,A Chorus Line was thelongest running show in Broadway history[18] until its record was surpassed byCats in 1997. On September 29, 1983, Bennett and 332A Chorus Line veterans gathered to celebrate the musical becoming the longest-running show in Broadway history.[19]
Up to February 19, 1990,A Chorus Line had generated $146 million from its Broadway gross and $277 million in total U.S. grosses[20] and had 6.5 million Broadway attendees.[21] At the time, it was the second most profitable show in Broadway history afterCats with profits of $50 million (including ancillary income). 75% of the profits went to Papp's New York Shakespeare Festival and 25% to Bennett's Plum Productions.[20] Since its inception, the show's many worldwide productions, both professional and amateur, have been a major source of income for The Public Theater that Papp had founded.
U.S. and international tours were mounted in 1976, including a sit-down engagement in Los Angeles at the Shubert Theatre.
A London production opened in theWest End at theTheatre Royal Drury Lane in 1976, initially with the International Cast from the US, includingJane Summerhays as Sheila.[22][23] The production ran for three years and won theLaurence Olivier Award as Best Musical of the Year in 1976, the first year the awards were presented. The original British cast took over in 1977. It includedJean-Pierre Cassel as Zach,Diane Langton as Diana Morales, Jeff Shankley as Al,Michael Staniforth as Paul,Stephen Tate as Greg (later replacing Cassel as Zach) and Geraldine Gardner (aka Trudi van Doorn ofThe Benny Hill Show) as Sheila.Elizabeth Seal was cast as Cassie but was replaced at the eleventh hour by her understudy Petra Siniawski who played the role for the entire British cast run.[24]
The original Australian production opened in Sydney atHer Majesty's Theatre in May 1977 and moved to Melbourne'sHer Majesty's Theatre in January 1978. The cast featuredPeta Toppano as Diana,David Atkins as Mike, and Ross Coleman as Paul.[25]
In 1980, under the direction of Roy Smith, the Teatro El Nacional of Buenos Aires produced a Spanish version ofA Chorus Line lasting 10 months (and then only to make way for an already scheduled subsequent production).
In Spain, the show opened in December 1984 at Teatre Tívoli in Barcelona, directed by Roy Smith and translated into Spanish by Nacho Artime and Jaime Azpilicueta, before transferring to Teatro Monumental in Madrid.
In July 1986,A Chorus Line was produced in Italy for the first time. It premiered at theNervi Festival of Dance inGenoa, followed by a five-week Italian tour. The choreography was adapted for the festival's performing space byBaayork Lee who had played Connie in the original production and subsequently became a close collaborator of Michael Bennett, the original choreographer.[26]
The German-language version was again directed by Lee and first opened in 1987 inVienna, Austria, where it ran for one season[27] followed by the German-language CD release[28] produced byJimmy Bowien in 1988.
The first—and as of 2016 only—professional Hungarian production of the musical opened its limited run on March 25, 1988, under the titleMichael Bennett emlékére (In Memory of Michael Bennett). It was performed by Ódry Színpad (the company of theAcademy of Drama and Film in Budapest) translated into Hungarian by György Gebora, and directed by Imre Kerényi. The character Zach was renamed Michael and played by Kerényi.[29]
The 2006 Broadway revival opened at theGerald 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 recouped its investment in 19 weeks.[30] The production was directed byBob Avian, with the choreography reconstructed by Baayork Lee, who had played Connie Wong in the original Broadway production. The opening night cast includedPaul McGill,Michael Berresse,Charlotte d'Amboise,Mara Davi,James T. Lane,Tony Yazbeck,Heather Parcells,Alisan Porter,Jason Tam,Jessica Lee Goldyn,Deidre Goodwin, andChryssie Whitehead.[31] On April 15, 2008,Mario Lopez joined the cast as the replacement for Zach.[32] The production was the subject of the documentary filmEvery Little Step.
The production received two Tony Award nominations in 2007 for Featured Role (Charlotte d'Amboise) and Revival (Musical).[17] The original contract forA 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 between the dancers and Michael Bennett's estate.[33]
A 2008 U.S. touring production opened on May 4, 2008, at theDenver Center for the Performing Arts and toured through June 2009. This production featured Michael Gruber as Zach,Nikki Snelson as Cassie, Emily Fletcher as Sheila, andGabrielle Ruiz as Diana.[34]
In 2012, the musical toured Australia, gaining much critical acclaim.Baayork Lee directed the production and it gained many nominations, includingHelpmann nominations for Best Actress in a Musical for West End star,Anita Louise Combe playing Cassie, Best supporting Actress in a musical, Deborah Krizak and Best supporting Actor in a musical, Euan Doidge and it won best musical. The same production and cast then came to Singapore, playing at theMarina Bay Sands, Sands Theater from May 4 to 27, 2012.[35]
The show returned to London for aWest End revival in February 2013 at theLondon Palladium, running through August of that year. It was directed by original choreographerBob Avian, withJohn Partridge,Scarlett Strallen, andVictoria Hamilton-Barritt starring.[36]James T. Lane is reprising his Broadway role andLeigh Zimmerman won theLaurence Olivier Award for Best Performance in a Supporting Role in a Musical for her portrayal of Sheila in this production.[37] Producers announced on 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.[38]
In 2015, the Original Broadway cast ofHamilton paid tribute toA Chorus Line's 40th anniversary and performed "What I Did For Love",[39] with the original cast ofA Chorus Line joining them onstage.
Reports surfaced in June 2016 that a second Broadway revival is planned for 2025, in honor of the show's 50th anniversary.[40]
For its annual fully staged musical event, theHollywood Bowl produced a limited run of A Chorus Line from July 29–31, 2016, directed and choreographed byBaayork Lee. The cast includedSabrina Bryan as Valerie Clark,Robert Fairchild as Mike Costa, Spencer Liff as Larry,Ross Lynch as Mark Anthony,Mara Davi as Maggie Winslow, J. Elaine Marcos as Connie Wong,Jason Tam as Paul San Marco,Leigh Zimmerman as Sheila Bryant,Mario Lopez as Zach, Sarah Bowden as Cassie Ferguson,Krysta Rodriguez as Diana Morales, and Courtney Lopez as Kristine Ulrich.[41]
In 2016, approval was granted to directorDonna Feore to allow changes in choreography so the show could be performed for the first time on athrust stage, in the Festival Theatre at theStratford Festival of Canada.
In 2018,New York City Center presentedA Chorus Line as their annual gala presentation. The production was directed byBob Avian, co-choreographer of the original 1975 production, and choreographed byBaayork Lee, Broadway's original Connie Wong.
In 2019, a Spanish-language version of the musical premiered as part of the inaugural season of Teatro del Soho in Málaga, Spain, starring the theater's founderAntonio Banderas as Zach. Banderas also co-directed the musical with Baayork Lee.[42]
On July 27, 2025, a one nightA Chorus Line Official 50th Anniversary Celebration was held at the Shubert Theatre. Original 1975 Broadway cast members Kelly Bishop, Wayne Cilento, Baayork Lee, Priscilla Lopez, and Donna McKechnie participated, and included special performances by Charlotte d’Amboise,Ariana DeBose, andBebe Neuwirth, among others. The performance was directed by Baayork Lee and included original choreography by Michael Bennett and Bob Avian. The performance benefited the Entertainment Community Fund programs serving dancers.[43][44]
| Year | Award | Category | Nominee | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1976 | Laurence Olivier Award | Best New Musical | Won | |
| 1977 | Evening Standard Theatre Award | Best Musical | Won | |
| 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 | ||
| Year | Award | Category | Nominee | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | Helpmann Award | Best Musical | Won | |
| Best Actress in a Musical | Anita Louise Combe | Nominated | ||
| 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 | ||
In 1975, the rights for a film were sold toUniversal Pictures for $5.5 million plus 20% of the distributor's gross rentals above $30 million.[20] Universal subsequently sold the rights toPolyGram.[46] The film was released in 1985, starringMichael Douglas as Zach. It also featuredAlyson Reed andTerrance Mann as Cassie and Larry respectively. The film was directed byRichard Attenborough with a screenplay byArnold Schulman. It was produced byCy Feuer and distributed byColumbia Pictures,Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, and Universal Pictures. The film received mixed reviews from critics and was abox office bomb, grossing only $14 million from a $25 million budget. Songs "Montage Part 1: Hello Twelve, Hello Thirteen, Hello Love" and "Montage Part 4: Gimme The Ball" were cut and replaced with "Surprise, Surprise", a new song written byMarvin Hamlisch andEdward Kleban. "The Music and the Mirror" was also cut and replaced with "Let Me Dance for You", written by Hamlisch and Kleban. "What I Did for Love" was sung by Cassie instead of Diana and was sung as a counterpart during "The Tap Combination." Songs "And...", and "Sing!" were cut entirely.
| Preceded by | Longest-running Broadway show 1983–1997 | Succeeded by |
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Other | |
