"A Chorus Line' Help, Please...

[TWSFan4Ever]

Posted: 12/29/06 at 8:55pm

I just got the revival recording and I'm puzzled about something...

In the FINALE ("One, Reprise"), are the Ensemble people from the beginning (that we cut first) in it and is the character (the character's name just escaped me) that gets injured, in it? Are they in the finale, or not?

[BSoBW2]

Posted: 12/29/06 at 8:58pm

No, just the 19 characters. Paul is the first guy out on stage during the FINALE, followed by Larry (the men come out in a line one at a time).

[dancingthrulife04]

Posted: 12/29/06 at 8:58pm

I haven't seen the show, but from what I understand, they are NOT in the finale.

Posted: 12/29/06 at 8:58pm

no cut dancers in the finale. PAUL is the injured one.

[TWSFan4Ever]

Posted: 12/29/06 at 9:01pm

Thank you. And something's that been wondering: how does the Curtain Call work? Since there's no specific character as the lead...

[BSoBW2]

Posted: 12/29/06 at 9:02pm

The 19 stand in a line doing the high kicks and everything fades out. Then the show is over. It's quite tragic.

[TWSFan4Ever]

Posted: 12/29/06 at 9:04pm

Haha, no bows? Wait...is there even a curtain for this show?

[BSoBW2]

Posted: 12/29/06 at 9:04pm

No curtain, no bows.
Updated On: 12/29/06 at 09:04 PM

[TWSFan4Ever]

Posted: 12/29/06 at 9:05pm

Thank you

So it's kind of like RENT (how it starts)...they just all walk off and then it starts... Updated On: 12/29/06 at 09:05 PM

[BSoBW2]

Posted: 12/29/06 at 9:08pm

Well, it starts with them all dancing at the mirror (like on the CD).

Lights come up on the actors already on stage.

[TWSFan4Ever]

Posted: 12/29/06 at 9:10pm

Oh, ok, so the theatre lights dim off and then the stage lights come on revealing them?

[BSoBW2]

Posted: 12/29/06 at 9:12pm

Preset
House 1/2
House Out
Actors to places
Music/Stage up

[TWSFan4Ever]

Posted: 12/29/06 at 9:13pm

Thank you!

Haha, I guess that means they don't even ask the audience to make sure their cell phones are off? Updated On: 12/29/06 at 09:13 PM

[BSoBW2]

Posted: 12/29/06 at 9:16pm

I think there was an announcement before the show started. I was not exactly working off a prompt book when I wrote that list.

[TWSFan4Ever]

Posted: 12/29/06 at 9:18pm

Haha, ok, thanks for all your help

When I don't have a chance of seeing a show anytime soon, I get curious about how the show's set up.

[TWSFan4Ever]

Posted: 12/29/06 at 9:56pm

Also, when you enter the theatre, do they have the stage set-up so it's completely turned to the black side of the rotating thing and then when the theatre blacks out and the stage lights come on revealing the cast dancing, is it turned to the mirror?

[ggersten]

Posted: 12/29/06 at 10:02pm

As I recall the finale I saw in LA in '77, the line comes out from the side and each dancer gets a quick bow as they enter, but it looks like part of the dance, not a bow - so it's a curtain call that's not a curtain call.

[BSoBW2]

Posted: 12/29/06 at 10:09pm

It's on the black side and turns when the cast moves to places.

[neddyfrank2]

Posted: 12/29/06 at 10:13pm

When you enter the theater the whole stage is dark except for I remember a TINY TINY light on a chair (I saw it in previews in San Fransisco), but I might be making that whole part up.

When they come out in the line in the finale of ONE, one at a time that is their bow.

The show starts with the stage lights coming up and they are already dancing on stage with the music. From that point on the lights never go down and a curtain never closes.

[Broadway Matt]

Posted: 12/29/06 at 10:16pm

this was all very intentional on the part of Michael Bennett. the show isn't meant to have any sort of curtain call, and having the lights fade out on the kick-line is to imply that it is its own entity apart from the people who comprise it- something that literally never stops. the idea of the number is to re-introduce the characters you've come to know and identify with as unrecognizable members of a chorus- which is of course the goal of their pouring their hearts out for 2 hours. It's all about uniformity in the end, and all of that unnecessary individualism has been melted away. Bennett envisioned the number as much more thought-provoking and disturbing than most give it credit for. He wanted audiences to have trouble identifying their favorite characters beneath their hats, amidst the glitz and glamour of the big production number. He wanted them to leave with a new appreciation for anonymous chorus dancers, to see them as 3 dimensional characters despite their onstage function of being all the same.

as for the logistics, the lights dim and there is a pre-show announcement. then it fades to complete black (no doors or flashlights allowed during the black; in the original they actually got permission to turn off the exit signs for this part) as the cast assumes their positions mid-audition, which is where they are when Zach's "again" cues the lights back on and the action continues. there's no curtain whatsoever.

Updated On: 12/29/06 at 10:16 PM

[neddyfrank2]

Posted: 12/29/06 at 10:20pm

Also adding on to what BroadwayMatt said I belive that their is no curtain call or curtain or orchestra pitt or intermission for the same reason. Because he never once wanted you to remember you are watching a show he wanted to take you to this audition- In an audition there would be no orchestra pitt, or curtain, or intermission, or bows. From the minute you walk into the theater to the minute you exit you are watching an audition. If you think of the show itself as a character- it stays in character from start to finish, not once does it break character bringing you back to reality.

[Broadway Matt]

Posted: 12/29/06 at 10:38pm

yep, neddy is spot on. it all serves the same purpose of fulfilling Bennett's vision. in various earlier drafts of the show there were actually some book scenes and different settings, and Cassie even had a later entrance at one point. there was an overture too. this all went away when it became clear that realism and momentum were the way to go. so the pit, which was present in the original, was concealed from sight. in this revival, the orchestra is downstairs in a room completely separate from the house.

the "character" analogy is very appropriate. the show is in character throughout, all the way until Zach announces his decisions. at that point it does break character for the finale, in the sense that what you're seeing isn't connected to what has taken place earlier. it is a display of the sort of job these dancers are all aspiring to- it is "a" number from "a" show not necessarily having anything to do with the audition we've just watched. we see these familiar dancers reappear, even the ones who didn't get the job, and it doesn't matter who they are at this point. all that matters is that they are a part of the line and are not pulling your eye from the full picture. one original idea they considered on how to stage the number was to have them dancing around a spotlight, which was to signify the nameless "star" they were highlighting.

Updated On: 12/29/06 at 10:38 PM

[TWSFan4Ever]

Posted: 12/30/06 at 8:23am

Thank you all SOO much!

[EponineAmneris]

Posted: 12/30/06 at 10:25am

Personally I love the way it's done...