A Chorus Line Question
A Chorus Line Question
A Chorus Line Question#0
Posted: 9/26/04 at 8:06pmThe Theatre School I am a part of is doing A Chorus Line and I auditioned for Cassie as long with a few other roles. I was wondering what her role is like in the Broadway show? I've only seen the movie and haven't had a chance to read the script. What would you consider "the lead" Thanks!
Broadway Legend Joined: 6/1/04
re: A Chorus Line Question#1
Posted: 9/26/04 at 8:10pmCassie is a stand-out role but A Chorus Line is definitely considered an ensemble piece. Break a leg, hope you get the role you want.
re: A Chorus Line Question#2
Posted: 9/26/04 at 8:12pmCassie is probably the closest thing the show has to a lead role, though it's frankly not that much larger that Diana or Sheila (Diana actually might be larger -- she has two solo songs). It's mostly due to the length of the "Music and the Mirror" scene (and that she's alone on stage for that number) that Donna McKechnie was put in the lead rather than supporting category for the Tonys (and won). Great part -- "The Music and The Mirror" has the potential to stop the show.
Broadway Legend Joined: 7/30/04
re: A Chorus Line Question#3
Posted: 9/26/04 at 8:15pmI love that song. One of my all-time favorites. Definitely powerful if done right (although the last time I saw it, the woman who played Cassie was a wonderful dancer and a sucky singer, but oh well...)
re: A Chorus Line Question#4
Posted: 9/26/04 at 10:16pmCassie is a great role. She also has a moving scene with Zack during the "one" rehersal number. "Music and the Mirror" is a great song! If done remotely well it could stop the show. Break a leg! Other good roles to get are Maggie, Diana, Sheila, and Val.
Stand-by Joined: 2/16/04
re: A Chorus Line Question#5
Posted: 9/27/04 at 12:55am"God I'm a dancer, a dancer dances"-that line sung with so much passion made me fall in love with theatre
re: A Chorus Line Question#6
Posted: 9/27/04 at 12:58amFunny, mine was "kiss today goodbye the sweetness and the sorrow"!
Broadway Legend Joined: 6/1/04
re: A Chorus Line Question#7
Posted: 9/27/04 at 2:15am
mines was: just a dash of silicone..shake your new maracas and you're fine!
--- just kidding, i couldn't resist!
Updated On: 9/27/04 at 02:15 AM
Broadway Legend Joined: 7/30/04
re: A Chorus Line Question#8
Posted: 9/27/04 at 12:21pm
"God I'm a dancer, a dancer dances"-that line sung with so much passion made me fall in love with theatre
Me too, that line has so much passion in it...if it's done well, that line can steal the show!
re: A Chorus Line Question#9
Posted: 9/27/04 at 2:13pm
if there is a "lead" in A CHORUS LINE, it is the part of Cassie.
Donna McKechnie won a Tony for Best Actress for the part.
Cassie is a great part to play, but indeed a difficult one. Remember,
alot of folks that haven't seen ACL think it is about "young people" who want to be dancers....
In Fact, ACL is more about dancers who are 30ish than 18 (there is of course the 18 yr old "wet dream boy"--but most of the focus is on the "older dancers")
Cassie is a tricky part to play. She is supposed to be primarily a dancer, but a Broadway dancing performer who "has stopped two shows cold." Therefore she has tried for employment in California and met with little success except for having played a "dancing bandaid" in a commercial.
Cassie is conceived as being really "too good for the chorus, but not good enough to be a star." There can be nuanced acting involved here.
Of course, when Cassie gets to "strut her stuff alone" she gets to do it in one of the most brilliantly constructed pieces of theater Michael Bennett ever did, THE MUSIC AND THE MIRROR.
Donna was simply breathtaking when she performed that number and Ann Reinking was absolutely bewitching doing THE MUSIC AND THE MIRROR after she took over the role from Donna.
re: A Chorus Line Question#10
Posted: 9/27/04 at 2:18pmIncidentally, Bennett actually readjusted the choreography of the number for Reinking in order to better emphasize Reinking's incredible line and extension (she was a ballet dancer before she came to Broadway). Both she and McKechnie were incredible in the role.
re: A Chorus Line Question#11
Posted: 9/27/04 at 2:24pmWow, I feel so, I'm not sure how to put it... Taught of theater I guess is the most accurate. There's been a lot of learning here today. And this student is certainly the better for it.
re: A Chorus Line Question#12
Posted: 9/27/04 at 2:39pmMargoChanning, I remember the adjustments well and I totally agree with you that both women we mentioned were incredible as Cassie. When either of them did MUSIC AND THE MIRROR, it truly was time to "fasten your seatbelts."
re: A Chorus Line Question#13
Posted: 9/27/04 at 2:43pmI don't actually remember the Shubert having seatbelts any of the times I saw A Chorus Line. Perhaps I just relied on the airbags and let the chips fall where they did.
re: A Chorus Line Question#14
Posted: 9/27/04 at 3:37pmteacheroftheatre - who is that in your icon?
re: A Chorus Line Question#15
Posted: 9/27/04 at 3:39pmThat's T.O.T. and that rhymes with H.O.T., don't you A.G.R.E.E.?
re: A Chorus Line Question#16
Posted: 9/27/04 at 3:59pmnamo - well - if you're asking ME - he IS an attractive man.
re: A Chorus Line Question#17
Posted: 9/27/04 at 4:02pmI couldn't agree with you more. Unless it's the guy who was Dawson Creek's father or The Flash. In any case, H.O.T.
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