Maria is a professional writer for http://A-Bronx-Tale.com. Music and Art is her passion and she enjoys writing on various Arts events including concerts and theaters. She can be reached at maria@a-bronx-tale.com. The dancers later move on to the next stage of audition: to
learn a song, but Cassie stays onstage to talk to Zach. She is a veteran gypsy
with notable successes as a soloist. Zach had the history of casting 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 intended to express her passion for dance.
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.
Eventually the final eight dancers are selected: Cassie, Bobby, Diana, Judy,
Val, Mike, Mark and Richie.
"One" 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 is now an anonymous member of an ensemble. The
musical was formed from several taped workshop sessions with Broadway dancers,
known as "gypsies," including eight who eventually appeared in the
original cast.
A Chorus Line opened off-Broadway at The Public Theater on
May 21, 1975. The show was directed and co-choreographed (with Bob Avian) by
Michael Bennett. The original cast starred Scott Allen, Kelly Bishop, Robert
Lupone, Wayne Cilento, Ronald Dennis, Baayork Lee, Priscilla Lopez, Donna
McKechnie, Thommie Walsh,
With a truly innovative idea, the show has marked its name
and viewer ship. The public is running after A Chorus Line to experience the
flamboyant and lurid world presented for the entertainment, which actually
carries stalk and harsh realities of life. The performance is a sure hit and
tickets are all up for sale!! Go and grab your share now!
Another candidate, Bobby, tries to hide the unhappiness of
his childhood by cracking jokes. As he speaks, the 17 dancers have reservations
about this strange audition process and debate what they should reveal to Zach.
The session continues and Zach is angered when he feels that the streetwise
Sheila is not taking the audition seriously. She reveals that her mother
married at a young age to a man who neither loved nor cared for her. She goes
on telling that when she was six, she realized that ballet provided relief from
her painful family life.
The scatter-brained Kristine is tone-deaf, and her lament
that she could never ‘Sing’ is interrupted by her husband. While sharing
memories of adolescence, Gregory speaks about his discovery of his
homosexuality, Diana recalls her horrible high school acting class, Don
remembers his first job at a nightclub, Richie recounts how he nearly became a
kindergarten teacher, Judy tells about her problematic childhood, and Connie
laments the problems of being short.
Finally, the newly-buxom Val explains that talent doesn’t
count for everything with casting directors. All go downstairs to learn a song
for the next section of the audition, but Cassie, a soloist, waits to talk to
Zach. They have a history together as Zach had cast her in a featured part
previously. They had also lived together for several years. Since she hasn’t
been able to find solo work for long, thus is willing to the chorus where she
can at least express her passion for dance.
Cassie and Zach’s vague relationship re-emerges during a
run-through of the number created to showcase an un-named star. Feeling that
Cassie is dancing down, Zach confronts her. They rehash what went wrong in
their relationship and her career. Zach points to the gypsies who will probably
never get out of the line. Cassie replies, ‘ I’ll take the Chorus, if you take
me’. Later, during a tap sequence, Paul falls injured and is carried off to the
hospital. His audition is over. The final eight dancers are selected. These
include Cassie, Bobby, Diana, Judy, Val, Mike, Mark and Richie.
“One’ begins with an individual bow for each of the 19 characters.
The dancers’ hodgepodge rehearsal clothes are replaced by identical spangled
gold costumes. As each dancer joins the group, it becomes difficult to
distinguish one from the other. Ironically, each character who was an
individual to the audience is now an anonymous member of the musical.
A Chorus Line received 12 nominations for the Tony Awards in 1975, winning nine. The winning categories were Best Musical, Best Actress, Best Featured Actor, Best Featured Actress, Best Director, Best Musical Book, Best Score, Best Lighting design and Best Choreographer. The musical also won the 1976 Pulitzer Prize for drama, becoming one of the few musicals ever to receive this honor.
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