A Chorus Line and the 1976 Tony Awards

[fgreene1938]

Posted: 7/20/09 at 3:12pm

This was the year of A Chorus Line, but it also had Chicago and Pacific Overtures. ACL shut everything else out of the big awards but, in hindsight, it hard to believe. That's not to say it's bad...any year with those three musicals in contention is a classic year. Still, it has the weakest score and Donna McKechnie won for best actress over Gwen Verdon and Chita Rivera (Chicago) for what was a supporting role. And Pacific Overtures, a problemmatic and esoteric show, still has a wonderful score. Any thoughts? The recent ACL revival was a (very good) carbon copy but the show didn't seem to be the pivotal musical it was proported to be in 1975.

Updated On: 7/20/09 at 03:12 PM

[ljay889]

Posted: 7/20/09 at 3:16pm

Donna should have been in featured, and Verdon should have won leading.

[ACL2006]

Posted: 7/20/09 at 3:29pm

and how's this: The revival of Chicago might end up lasting longer than the original production of A Chorus Line.

[fgreene1938]

Posted: 7/20/09 at 3:39pm

^ Ain't it the truth!

[MTVMANN]

Posted: 7/20/09 at 3:59pm

You can make an arguement for Cassie being in the Best Actress Category if you want to...just like you can argue The Baker's Wife in "Into The Woods" as a leading or featured role.

As for Gwen Verdon...was she missing a lot of performances at that time? I know that she ended up getting sick, but not sure if it was after the Tony Awards.
Maybe that played a part in her not winning. At any rate, she looks completely thrilled for Donna McKechnie when she won on the footage of the awards.

[fgreene1938]

Posted: 7/20/09 at 4:12pm

^ True enough...and the Tony's history for awarding supporting roles with lead awards (and vice versa) is notorious. Also, Verdon was missing performances almost from the get-go (it was "theater dirt" at the time, as I recall) and after the Tony's she got sick and good old Liza subbed for her. In any case, Verdon had four Tony's by then and it's inconceivable that she would have been given a fifth...it was unprecedented until Julie Harris and Angela Lansbury. Also, at the time Chita Rivera was not the Broadway Baby she's now considered. "Chicago" jump-started her theatrical career and was her first (of nine) nominations since Bye-Bye Birdie in 1961.

[frontrowcentre2]

Posted: 7/20/09 at 5:17pm

In context of the times, many theatre goers (and reviewers) found CHICAGO too dark and cynical. CHORUS LINE buys into the show business dream. CHICAGO looks at its dark underbelly. By 1996, tastes had changed.

[philcrosby]

Posted: 7/20/09 at 5:24pm

You've got to remember that Tonys are totally "of the moment." They reward HITS. Occasionally, if the field is meager, or a certain performance is outstanding even though the show is not, an anomaly can squeek through. But that's rare.

So, in 1976, A CHORUS LINE was a smash hit of the kind Broadway had not seen in years. You couldn't get a ticket. It was all over the national press. It was new in approach, the critics' and audience's darling (and deservedly so). It touched people and they embraced it. It was simply HUGE.

CHICAGO, despite all it had going for it, and it was considerable, was a cold, distant show -- cynical where CHORUS LINE was sentimental. Fosse's dances seemed recycled, where Bennett's seemed fresh and new. It suffered until Liza took over for the ailing Gwen and word of mouth for the show itself got better. It was not the flop legend would have it -- it played over 900 performances at a time where that marked a big success. But audiences didn't love it the way they loved A CHORUS LINE.

And PACIFIC OVERTURES just mystified people. Beautiful to look at, academic and remote in approach. No characters, just archetypes -- a living history lesson. Certainly interesting, but a show to love and embrace? No.

You can't recreate that lightning that was A CHORUS LINE in 1976.

[D2]

Posted: 7/20/09 at 5:31pm

Gwen Verdon had surgery for vocal nodes which took her out of the show in the summer of 1975, a few weeks after the show opened. Liza stepped in for her for about 7 weeks, and did indeed bump the box office. But that was long before the Tony Awards, which as I recall were on Easter Sunday, 1976.

As for Verdon's track record for the rest of her run, I can't speak for that but I don't recall any rumors of her constantly missing performances, and she stayed with the show until February of 1977, longer than Rivera did.

[MTVMANN]

Posted: 7/20/09 at 5:35pm

From what I understand from documentaries, didn't ACL "revive" the Broadway Theatre scene in the 1970's bringing money to the area as well as other shows?

If so, then it deserved all that it received!

[fgreene1938]

Posted: 7/20/09 at 5:36pm

I recall at the time many rumors and Page-Six type of reports of Verdon's absences but, then again, NY theater is rife with rumor-mongering and gossip. Her alleged unreliability was played up at the time, which couldn't have helped her Tony chances. Still, 1976 was a classic year for Broadway and the Tonys.

[husk_charmer]

Posted: 7/20/09 at 6:03pm

ACL2006-
The revival of Chicago has to run for another two years to out last the original run of Chorus Line. It is my singluar wish that it closes before then. No revival, especially one that uses such d-list celebs as Chicago, should outlast any thing, let alone A Chorus Line.

[ljay889]

Posted: 7/20/09 at 6:07pm

I think another 2 years for the Chicago revival is a given. And there are several periods of time per year where there are no celebs in it.
Updated On: 7/20/09 at 06:07 PM

[MTVMANN]

Posted: 7/20/09 at 6:18pm

"Chicago" has definately shown us that if you are a woman and are dreaming of a career in the theatre, reality t.v. and soap opera's are a great way to begin your career!

[fgreene1938]

Posted: 7/20/09 at 6:34pm

^^^ Sad but true, stunt-casting is here to stay, at least for the forseeable future. It doesn't always work (Mario Lopez went into the Chorus Line revival and it closed within 3 months) but it seems to have done so for Chicago. It's hard to believe that a revival could pass the original ACL for longevity...but Phantom (gasp) is still around, so anything's possible.

[AnythingGoes2]

Posted: 7/21/09 at 4:29am

ACL deserved all the praise it got. It was the only musical in the 70's that was a big hit really - thats because people were looking for something new and optimistic escape - not something dark (like Chicago) or too unusual (like Pacific Overtures)

ACL fits the American Dream and Showbuisness perfectly.

Chicago is a better score but the production of it back in 76 was far from perfect. Chicago just fits the times we are in at the moment of celebrity culture and farce - it just wasn't the right time for it in 76.. It was the right time for A Chorus Line.

[madbrian]

Posted: 7/21/09 at 7:47am

Even if the Chicago revival runs forever, it will not diminish what A Chorus Line was, and what it did for Broadway and NYC. It ran for years when doing so was unheard of, it revitalized the theater district, and it inspired a generation of dancers. I don't care how long Phantom, Chicago, or any other show runs, none of them will be anywhere near as important as A Chorus Line.

As for the Tonys that year, I think Kelly Bishop's win for supporting actress was the most surprising, though very deserved. Like many others, I assumed Priscilla Lopez would win; she was terrific, and she had two numbers (Nothing, and leading the cast in What I Did For Love). Bishop didn't have her own song, just one third of At The Ballet. However, the Tony voters deserve credit for acknowledging Bishop's performance, and giving the award to the best actress.

[MTVMANN]

Posted: 7/21/09 at 8:54am

^^^^^It's funny that you say that about Bishop vs. Lopez because I used to believe the same thing (btw...never seen ALL of the original).

As far as parts go, I kinda actually forget that Diana is there and you never forget that Shelia is there.

[husk_charmer]

Posted: 7/21/09 at 9:54am

^If you forget Diana, you've got a lousy performer in the role.

[madbrian]

Posted: 7/21/09 at 10:08am

^^^I agree. And Priscilla Lopez was anything but forgettable. Kelly Bishop was just that good.

[MTVMANN]

Posted: 7/21/09 at 10:23am

It's more the actual role that I am talking about.

Shelia has little bits of snappy dialouge throughout the entire show, but I only seem to notice Diana when she sings "Nothing" and at the build up to "What I Did For Love". Plus she's at the stage left end and naturally you focus on the center.

I was just saying that when I only listened to the cast recording I used to think that it should have gone the other way around...but after seeing the show I agree with the voters.

[givesmevoice]

Posted: 7/21/09 at 10:44am

didn't Michael Bennett pretty much tell Kelly Bishop there was no way she was going to win?

[blaxx]

Posted: 7/21/09 at 1:34pm

That's not to say it's bad...any year with those three musicals in contention is a classic year. Still, it has the weakest score

You mean the strongest? It makes perfect sense, ACL was the best show of that season!

[husk_charmer]

Posted: 7/21/09 at 1:55pm

^ AMEN. But most people know when ACL is concerned, I am anything but objective.

[ray-andallthatjazz86]

Posted: 7/21/09 at 2:04pm

Such a tough choice. I adore CHICAGO and think it has one of the strongest scores ever written, but so does A CHORUS LINE. I probably would have voted for CHICAGO for Best Score and A CHORUS LINE for Best Musical. Simply put, when everything in A CHORUS LINE comes together (light, costume, acting, dancing, music, etc) it's pure theater magic, what's so beautiful about is that it uses EVERY element of theater in order to create what it does. I'd say it was the best show of that season, even if I prefer the CHICAGO score. I don't get why people say that A CHORUS LINE has a weak score, I mean, I can't listen to "The Music and the Mirror," "At the Ballet," "What I Did for Love" and "Nothing" without getting chills. I remember the first time I ever heard "Nothing" I sat there with my mouth open when Diana sings the last "nothing," I thought it was so unexpected, poignant, and neat.
Also, if Barbara Cook, Rita Moreno and Isabel Bigley won Tonys for roles that were clearly leading, I don't see what's so wrong with McKechnie winning for Best Leading Actress. After all, McKechnie's performance made Cassie a lead, IMO. I wish Kelly Bishop and Priscilla Lopez had tied for featured though.