A Chorus Line - changes for Mario? — Page 5

He informed the creative team that he would leave the show if those demands were not met.

I still say this is a grossly inaccurate description of what happened.

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This debate is being treated like a radical staging WHO'S AFRAID OF VIRGINIA WOOLF with two men as George and Martha. These are minor, basically cosmetic adjustments in an excessively loyal if tepidly received revival, to give CPR to a too-carefully re-built show in its 2nd year on the NY stage. I say, bring in new blood, new approaches -- SURPRISES. This revival has existed long enough to provide die hard true believers with a goose-bumps experience that seemingly can only come from exact recreation. Let everyone else embrace the show as they choose to. If someone has 101 bucks to spend to see Mario as Zach, are we really worried about whether his costume mirrors Robert LuPone's in the 70s (or Beresse's in 07), or where he's placed in the final line formation? The show and its carefully developed values stand as is; these are adjustments to accommodate a commercially conceived production. More critically, tThe theater is a living, breathing art form that thrives on 8 unique performances a week. Let the public question, decide. If Mario's "demands" dilute Bennett's imprimatur, we'll find out in a due time.

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I question the veracity of them. I question whether or now he was present for the incident. I accuse him of being a fake and a troll.

If half of what he is asserting were really the case, Michael Riedel would have made this his column for the week--or even a front-page story in the New York Post.

But this is all the imaginings of a drama queen and a wannabe who thinks he can cause "trouble" from this anonymous chatboard.

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Really does this matter??!!?!?!?!?!?! You guys have been going at it for the whole day!! The changes don't directly affect either of you, so give it a rest. So what if it affects the "integrity of the piece"? I agree that it does. But it does not have to be argued upon for literally hours on end!

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Because I think the word "demands" is being wrongly used, as if the responsibility and decisions were his and not Bob Avian's, Baayork Lee's and John Breglio.

If THEIR judgment were being criticized, it would be appropriate. But drama queens here accuse Mario of marching in like Helen Lawson in Valley of the Dolls and forcing John Breglio to capitulate or forcing Baayork and Bob to prostitute themselves and trash Michael's memory.

Just. Didn't. Happen. That. Way.

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the only attributable demand to Mario, other than the sale of his book in the lobby

Aha. So now we're down just one "demand" on Mario's part--for a shirt to be changed--but all staging changes were made by the creative staff entrusted by Michael Bennett to watch over his show. Correct?

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PJ, you ARE sounding like his lawyer... press agent, or lover, take your pick!

(knows exactly which one he'll choose)

I don't know how you can state for a fact it didn't happen when you weren't even there to hear Fosse76's conversation. Who knows, right? You certainly can't claim to being at the stage door when Fosse76 was.

I agree that this all sounds like an overblown rumor that blossomed even (allegedly) among the cast members. That's how gossip spreads at work, folks.

It sounds totally over-dramatized. Mario probably made a few requests to help him look better in the show. That's what stars do. ALL of them. Even in the "sacred cow" known as A Chorus Line. I doubt any cast members were around when those negotiations took place. Hell, I doubt MARIO was around for the negotiations. That's why he has an agent and a manger. They're the ones who "haggle." So it's a bunch of speculation, even from the cast. The production team decided to honor the requests for fear of the show closing if they didn't keep Mario and his "people" happy and agreeing to do it. They don't have a lot of options ahead of them, other than to fold up their tent.

The finger-pointing as to why, who, and how it took place is all typical but very bizarre.

But hey, this is the theatre and it's DRAMA!

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Updated On: 4/24/08 at 11:12 AM

I'm still amazed that no one has seen the show since Mario Lopez joined. No reviews what so ever.

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ACL2006: again, there is nothing in the contract about using the original staging. At least not in my contract from 2004.

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I saw the show last night. The changes were pretty insignificant actually. Zach did come on stage before TMITMirror. It didn't really help or hurt anything. He leaves before she sings much.

Larry does put on a fitted zip up when he re-enters the stage after Paul’s monologue. He only ends up wearing it for One and WIDFLove since he obviously wears his finale costume as always.

And yes, Mario is the peak of the wedge for the finale. It wasn't distracting, and though the integrity of the ending SEEMS like it has been compromised, it really doesn’t FEEL any different at all. He gets no more attention then Paul would, who was just as featured since the audience is so emotionally connected to him by that point. Someone HAS to be the front of the wedge, and the audience accepts the director leading his team without any distraction of who he is off stage.

Overall, Mario was fine. Unless you're analyzing him, he blends in. I suppose if you want to hate him, he doesn’t look AS polished as the other dancers, but as stated before (somewhere...) a strong director/choreographer does not always imply the strongest dancer.

Of course there is nothing in the contract about using the original choreography or staging. The libretto doesn't come with the details of every individual dance combination typed out. You don't get an extra choreography book, nor a video titled "How I Did It". Every production I have seen has been similar, but certainly not the same, and the most similar parts are ripped off from the movie because that is what everyone is familiar with. Furthermore, doing the exact staging is stealing, and we all remember what happened with the Chicago production of Urinetown when their production looked a bit too much like the Broadway production.
I would love to comment about the real argument here, but there seems to be so many different one going on, and they are all really about nothing. he bottom line seems to be, yes the point of the show is changed when a "star" is introduced. It is about the chorus, the people in the background, and giving them a chance to stand out and tell their story. The "star" defeats the purpose, and making anyone a star, no matter who it is, is a poor choice.

The replacement casts for original production and the national tours used to get stale frequently.

The stage managers would announce that Michael was coming back to see the show, and everyone in the cast would be on their best behavior.

Michael would come in, fire a few dancers, belittle a few others, make some of them cry and storm out and the show would be in tip-top shape again. Other director/choreographers were similarly sadistic, especially Jerry Robbins (who swatted my butt with a rolled up newspaper once, so hard it was red for days).

I really believe that the one thing Bob and Baayork were unable to do with this revival was make the dancer/actors vulnerable--which Michael did through sheer intimidation and the magnetic force of his personality. You just WANTED to please him.

My friend Reed was fired from the national tour, re-hired and fired again. (Or was that Fotop? I forget. Their stories were all like that.)

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I saw the show last night, and I must admit I have not seen this revival. I saw the original production in 1982, and my reaction to what I saw last night, and what I saw 25 years ago was the same. Its a good show, but alot of people seemed to be going through the motions. With that said, and after hearing about Mario for weeks on these boards I was curious. I got a standing room spot which suprised me. There was another girl who was standing to my right who I did not know. Thats all that were standing. To my left is where Mario sat as Zach. I must say from what I saw his dancing is just as good as the people who have been doing the show for 2 years. When he came to the back of the theater, and sat in his spot. He looked over at me and smiled. About 15 minutes into the show he came over to me put his arm around me, and was very apologetic, and what to know as audience memeber did I notice that he was off. Ofcourse I thought he was fine, and we had a conversation. Never have I met anyone who was more concerned with making an impression with an audience as this boy. He wanted feedback, suggestions etc. I told him that the only reason I came was to see him, and see if he was up to it. I told him you are someone that SHOULD be on Broadway, and has the chops, and should not feel that he is just a "STUNT"...He was very gracious, and sweet. Towards the end of the show..he came back to me, and asked if I had anymore notes, and I said I would be happy to tell you anything you want for a few minutes after the show...He said he would love to but had a photo shoot. At the stagedoor he came out, signed for children, and I approached him. I said Im the one you were talking too, and he said OH HEY THANKS MIKE... Does this sound like a monster who makes demands? It sounds to me like someone who wants to be a fixture on Broadway. I now have great respect for Mario Lopez...not that I didnt have any before...But I here to set the record straight...He appeares to be a genuine human being who is working extremely hard to work in the theatre. If there were changes in the show...They are not noticeable. (except for the Finale) SO WHAT! I dont even understand the whole shirt issue..Mario is never bare during the show. My review basically is I feel Mario is doing a great job dancing, and his character will only improve with time. THUMBS UP MARIO

Updated On: 4/26/08 at 10:46 AM