A Chorus Line Revival

We're just a little over a year away from the 50th anniversary and it's inevitable celebratory revival.

Do we see this back at the Shubert, or perhaps re-opening the Palace?

https://forum.broadwayworld.com/readmessage.php?thread=1152542

🤞🏽

Would love for Ryan Steele to be in this

Jarethan said: "The only revival, which wasn't that long ago, was mediocre, and I don't think it returned its investment. I doubt we will see a major revival any time soon, but I have been wrong before."

The 2006 revival recouped in 19 weeks and ran for almost two years.

https://www.broadway.com/buzz/96299/chorus-line-revival-recoups-8-million-investment-after-19-weeks/

I want Robyn Hurder as Cassie again. But i think they need to think outside the box for a 50th anniversary revival. gender swap some roles?

I follow Baayork Lee on Instagram and she travels around the country directing and choreographing Michael Bennett’s original. It’s really cool to see her with young dancers and continuing Bennett’s legacy!

betyourass said: "Why is gender swapping the only way to innovate? These characters were based on real people. So why erase their legacy?

EXACTLY! Not only would doing this NOT be innovative, it's just downright gimmicky. The one thing A CHORUS LINE does NOT need is a gimmick to stir up interest or to sell.

The show is a classic.

I would love to see a Chorus Line revival that embraces the original production's earthy vernacular energy. Everyone onstage should be raw, desperate, and idiosyncratic - the whole point is that all of these rough, standout personalities get smudged into an indistinguishable line of top hats and teeth. The revival (or at least the first tour version, which I saw) was glee-club clean, and it felt like any of those people could just walk out and get a job dancing elsewhere, so why are they putting themselves through this?

OhHiii said: "Dylan Smith4 said: "A 50th Anniversary production would be the PERFECT show to reopen the Palace!"

The Palace will be re-opened by a massive star in residency..."



A Judy Garland hologram!

They're already doing it (successfully) in the UK with ABBA Voyage.

Dylan Smith4 said: "OhHiii said: "Dylan Smith4 said: "A 50th Anniversary production would be the PERFECT show to reopen the Palace!"

The Palace will be re-opened by a massive star in residency..."

Where did you hear that? If true, who would it be?"

We all have our sources :)

I don't think anything's confirmed 100%, but this is definitely the intention in the vein of Judy/Liza at the Palace.

This has probably been done before, but I've always wanted to see a performance of the Finale where the build-up to the final kick-line culminates with the cast turning to face upstage as an upstage curtain opens, revealing stage lights shining, bulbs flashing, and roses flying, as they finish the kick-line, with the actual audience now seeing it all as if backstage (ala that moment during Dawn in Jersey Boys). It would either be really effective, or really dumb, but....a bold choice.

OhHiii said: "Alexander Lamar said: "Gaga at The Palace. Delightful."

What an EVENT it would be."

Ooh, as in The Main Event? Streisand?

bigbelterbaby said: "I follow Baayork Lee on Instagram and she travels around the country directing and choreographing Michael Bennett’s original. It’s really cool to see her with young dancers and continuing Bennett’s legacy!"





Baayork has so many assistants now to help her due to her age. She's there but isn't as hands on as she used to be.

I don't think it's really possible to capture the original production's earthy vernacular energy fifty years later. The original production, aside from being of its time (and for its time) was made of a cast who were mostly playing themselves for a director (Michael Bennett) who was symbiotic to the character of the director in the play. How do you even attempt to recapture that specific energy?

I don't think A CHORUS LINE benefits from being updated textually (and gender swapping roles while keeping it set in 1975 wouldn't make sense) but it would be nice to let a different director / choreographer create a new vision for the next revival.