Who made Bennett change the ACL ending?- Page 2

[WalkOn]

Posted: 2/7/07 at 9:10pm

I'm jealous.

[husk_charmer]

Posted: 2/7/07 at 9:11pm

Updated On: 2/7/07 at 09:11 PM

[neddyfrank2]

Posted: 2/7/07 at 9:11pm

When did Simon come, the first preview?

What other lines did Simon add?

[Michael Bennett]

Posted: 2/7/07 at 9:17pm

When I was writing about ACL during the SF run, somebody contacted me who had a copy of the transcripts. They might have a copy at Lincoln Center library. The transcripts are long and very meandering and very repetative. It really says something to the genius of the original creative team that they could look at those pages and pages and pull out ideas for songs and monologues. I'm not sure I could have. The transcripts are fascinating for being the inspiration for ACL, but for an entertaining read - its surprisingly dull.

[ray-andallthatjazz86]

Posted: 2/7/07 at 9:22pm

In Seth Rudetsky's Q Guide to Broadway he mentions that the show was not getting a standing ovation at the Public which did not sit well with Bennett, is it true the show did not get a standing ovation till he changed the ending with Cassie making the final cut?
Also, I thought I had read in the book "On The Line" that at one point, Bennett would give LuPone a list with the people he thought had given the best performance of the night and that those would be the people that made the cut at the end. Did I actually read this or were the dancers who made the cut always determined in the script?

[Michael Bennett]

Posted: 2/7/07 at 9:25pm

A CHORUS LINE never got standing ovations by nature of the way the curtain call is built into the finale....

They played around with cutting different people during the first week at the Public, but they had to "freeze" the ending pretty quickly, because it affected the order of entrances during "One."

[neddyfrank2]

Posted: 2/7/07 at 9:25pm

I think that was a thread on BWW (about changing the dancers who make the cut). I am pretty positive the same dancers have made it every night since it opened on Broadway.

[Becoz_i_knew_you21]

Posted: 2/7/07 at 9:45pm

I also heard another contributing factor about the different cuts were how fast the costumes changes had to be made leading into "One."
Updated On: 2/7/07 at 09:45 PM

[keely2]

Posted: 2/7/07 at 9:51pm

You don't like Goodwin? I love her!

[husk_charmer]

Posted: 2/7/07 at 9:57pm

keely-
At the risk of starting something, I felt her casting as Shelia was inappropriate. Shelia is a WASP. Kelly Bishop herself was even shocked at the decision and said the same thing. I find her way too cold, and vocally she just doesn't deliver to me, and there were better choices out there.

[tellybox]

Posted: 2/7/07 at 10:03pm

I also remember reading somewhere about that, as a character, it made more sense for Zach to cast Cassie in the chorus because he was able to realize that she was a great dancer, and indeed deserved the part.

[Pemily]

Posted: 2/7/07 at 10:03pm

"Actually, Kelly Bishop said "Can the adults please smoke" during the original recording sessions - but Simon did ad her quip: "Do you need any women?"

The Cassie arriving late bit was apparently something they tried and abandoned in the second workshop. It wasn't ever performed that way at the Public."

That's not right. The "do you need any woman" line came from Bishop as she was kind of pissed that female dancers were only refered to as "girls" like they still were teenagers instead of women (She was 30 years by then and "girl" really isn't the right term for a 30 year old, but still - as she was a dancer - casters and Co. refered to her as "girl"). Actually, almost every line Simon wrote for Sheila was cut as Bishop actually refused to do them, 'cause she didn't think they were funny, but ruined the character.

Moreover, Bishop's character was the only one that never was picked for the line during the workshops although Bennett picked everyone every now and then to keep up the tension and the question who'd eventually be picked in the actual musical.

Posted: 2/7/07 at 10:06pm

It's Sheila, not Shelia. Jesus!

[ashley0139]

Posted: 2/7/07 at 10:06pm

Moreover, Bishop's character was the only one that never was picked for the line during the workshops although Bennett picked everyone every now and then to keep up the tension and the question who'd eventually be picked in the actual musical.

Is this because of the character or Bennett's feelings toward Bishop, though I don't know if that would make sense.

This is really one of the most interesting threads I have read in a very long time.

[ljay889]

Posted: 2/7/07 at 10:08pm

It's Sheila, not Shelia. Jesus!

- Come on. Aren't there worse things to get upset over than someone mixing up a few letters in a character's name?

[husk_charmer]

Posted: 2/7/07 at 10:13pm

I had never noticed I mis-spelled it. My best friend is Shelia pronounced the same, so it just never occured to me. My bad.

[Pemily]

Posted: 2/7/07 at 10:37pm

"Is this because of the character or Bennett's feelings toward Bishop, though I don't know if that would make sense."

As far as I know, MB and KB had a pretty good relationship, he even used to call her after the rehersals to discuss the whole thing (he did with others as well). There was even a rumor about MB, she and Tommie Walsh having a sexual encounter (Kelly's reply in an interview was: "WHAT!?!?!?! Absolutely not! Where did you hear that? Are you serious?? Sometimes the three of us would go out together…. like when the movie Tommy came out. Thommie Walsh and I saw it and the next day went up to Michael and said you're coming with us tonight, no if's, ands or buts! We flirted with each other…sure…but no, we did not have sex. I'm so oblivious to these A Chorus Line Rumors…. It was years before I found out the swings had been calling us the "Big 6." I do remember rehearsing the Milliken show. We were in a studio and I walked by him after dancing this really hot number and he grabbed my butt and said "Talent turns me on." That's the only time he ever went there with me.")

Anyways, I'm just checking my books and some interviews to find the place were I read it, in "On the Line" Lane says she never was picked, but I', 99% percent sure Kelly said that also somewhere else as I had a discussion about that already. Will try to find it and post the source and whatever was written down as explanation.

[neddyfrank2]

Posted: 2/7/07 at 10:47pm

What is teh "Big Six"?

[broadwaystar2b]

Posted: 2/7/07 at 10:49pm

Bishop also did Promises, Promises with Bennett, as did Donna and Lee

[Michael Bennett]

Posted: 2/7/07 at 10:52pm

It's probably worth noting too, that Michael Bennett, the cast, and Neil Simon apparently are all in disagreement about who contributed what - in terms of the one liners. That's actually not uncommon in a workshop setting, particularly when the cast is asked to improv. Simon himself says he doesn't remember what he contributed. A couple of lines I always assumed were Neil Simon's are actually in the transcripts. History on the show is definitely a little blurred, at this point, to say the least.

The fact that Shelia was never "selected" probably has more to do with the character than Kelly Bishop. Michael Bennett said it was completely "unrealistic" for Zach to pick Cassie, because of their history together - by the same sentiment, perhaps Bennett thought Zach wouldn't have picked Shelia because she is the person on the line who is the least afraid of him.

[Broadway Matt]

Posted: 2/7/07 at 10:56pm

I know Simon wrote the "I'm a Leo..." joke as well as "Sometimes I'm aggressive." He basically helped streamline the book a bit and contributed a bit of material on the comedic side. Bishop did reject a lot of what was written for her, since it was stuff she would never say. A lot of the miscellaneous one-liners that for some reason weren't working wound up being given to Judy because Trish Garland was able to make them funny.

[husk_charmer]

Posted: 2/7/07 at 10:58pm

I always want to give the part to Sheila over Val...but then again, that's not realistic either. This is one of two shows that I'd like to have been a fly on the wall during it's creation for.

Side note: I would have loved to have seen Bebe Neuwirth in the role.

[BSoBW2]

Posted: 2/7/07 at 11:01pm

There are so many people I would have loved to see in this show. Bebe as Sheila or Cassie.

I would have loved to see Jane Sumerhayes as Sheila!

[Broadway Matt]

Posted: 2/7/07 at 11:03pm

The Big Six are the characters whose stories continue throughout the whole show and are the most developed: Cassie, Zach, Sheila, Paul, Diana, and Val.

Everyone else has their moments, but we wind up knowing a great deal more about the Big Six's lives and their journey in the show.

[Michael Bennett]

Posted: 2/7/07 at 11:07pm

Simon may have added the "aggressive" line - but Bishop on the tape says she's a Leo and that the "rest of the Zodiac better watch out." It really is fascinating - but I do think in some instances - Simon or Bennett just added as little as a word here and there.