CHORUS LINE Opening Night & Party- some thoughts

[Broadway Matt]

Posted: 10/6/06 at 2:19am

hello beautiful people! I just walked in a bit tipsy from the opening night of ACL and wanted to share some of the evening from an usher's standpoint. all in all it was one of the more exciting nights I've had in the theatre to say the least. needless to say the audience reaction was phenomenal, though that is to be expected, and the cast gave a world class performance in response.

i'm not good with faces, so I only spotted a small fraction of the notables in attendance. I seated Patti LuPone, and had the unpleasant task of telling Joan Rivers she had been sent to the wrong aisle. Outside of my area I was able to spot Rosie O Donnell, Fran Drescher, Terrence Mann, Marvin Hamlisch, and Liza (a wonderful audience member, the first on her feet for an ovation). Allegedly also in attendance were Hillary Clinton, Sarah Jessica Parker, one of the Kennedys, and any number of people involved in the original ACL production.

I was just grateful to be able to attend the party, so I tried mostly to stay out of everyone's way. After all, it was their night to be stars and the last thing they needed was unnecessary attention from staff members who they will be seeing every day for who knows how long. Nonetheless, I was able to exchange congratulations and take pictures with a number of cast members including Tyler Haynes, Chryssie Whitehead, Tony Yazbeck, Jessica Lee Goldyn, James T Lane, Paul McGill, and Grant Turner (boy in the headband). Among those I didn't speak to but who I did see glowing with that opening night excitemement were Mara Davi, Natalie Cortez, Jeffrey Schecter, and a radiant Charlotte in a Cassie-red dress. Also had the good fortune to spot Donna McKechnie as I was on my way out.

Oddly enough, one of the best chats I had all night was with a surprisingly pleasant Frank Rich. I approached him near the main bar to express my admiration and mention his recent appearance on Real Time With Bill Maher, and I found him to be a lovely and enchanting man- something I never expect from a person of such influence and reputation. He seemed genuinely happy with the new production and even expressed a bit of regret about the impending review from his publication. I told him how inspirational it was to see someone with a theatre journalism background wind up in such an important position, and he spoke a bit about the importance of theatre writers and scholars in modern society. He took time to engage in a nice little conversation and even took a snapshot with me. So, given my reluctance to bug the performers on a night such as this, I have to say that meeting Frank Rich was by far the most memorable part of the evening.

The party itself was absolutely amazing. It was at the Palace Hotel on Madison Ave. I've only been to 2 previous Broadway openings (CHITTY at the Hilton Hotel, and GOOD VIBRATIONS at Dodger Stages) and this was by far the most impressive, decadent, and resplendent. The facility was gorgeous and expansive, boasting multiple floors of beautiful decor- including a wonderful outdoor patio where guests of all ages could dance, chat, and schmooze, and where happily the "adults could smoke!" Most of the rooms feautured a full open bar as well as a delicious food setup including butternut squash tortellini, some sort of yummy beef product, and a variety of great desserts. There were the main rooms on the lower floor for general party activities, then the upper level had a few of the reserved rooms meant mostly for members of the original company, design team, cast, etc. It was in these areas that I spotted folks like Frank Wildhorn and Douglas Sills (which makes sense since the producer John Breglio is married to PIMPERNEL lyricist Nan Knighton, and Terry Mann is another SP alum). To be honest, I didn't spend much energy on trying to spot celebrities. Rather I just enjoyed the amenities that were there, interacted when appropriate, and generally just kept my eye on where Bruce Glikas was heading. He has a good eye for where the excitement is.

Also very exciting were the gift bags given to the guests upon exiting the party. It included a cute little knapsack with "A Chorus Line Opening Night, 10/5/06" printed on the front, and inside were the souvenir program and an advance copy of the new cast recording (to be released in 5 days). So here I am at home, with my buzz mostly worn off, excited to pop in the CD, get online and face the reviews as they come out.

I took a number of good photos throughout the night and hope to post a few as soon as I have the time/energy. I'll post links to them in this thread. All in all a lovely evening, and I want to thank the producers for inviting us to be a part of it.

Updated On: 10/6/06 at 02:19 AM

[uncageg]

Posted: 10/6/06 at 2:50am

Broadway Matt,

It is 12:50am Denver time as I read you post. You made me feel as if I were there!! Thank you!

[Broadway Matt]

Posted: 10/6/06 at 3:34am

I'm glad you enjoyed my little stream-of-consciousness recollection of the night. I'm not nearly a good enough writer to really paint a real picture of the event, but I'm sure Glikas and others will have plenty of photos online in a day or so. For my part, here are a few of the shots I took tonite:

Tony Yazbeck & Jessica Lee Goldyn-
https://www.broadwayworld.com/viewphoto.cfm?id=15412

Tyler Hanes-
https://www.broadwayworld.com/viewphoto.cfm?id=15413

Paul McGill-
https://www.broadwayworld.com/viewphoto.cfm?id=15414

Frank Rich-
https://www.broadwayworld.com/viewphoto.cfm?id=15417

There are others, but it's too late to start photoshopping right now.

Updated On: 10/6/06 at 03:34 AM

[EponineAmneris]

Posted: 10/6/06 at 5:35am

Thank you! This was wonderful to read

[DG]

Posted: 10/6/06 at 5:38am

Matt - thank you for your thoughts - it was lovely to read (despite your self-deprecation )

[BrunetteBombshell]

Posted: 10/6/06 at 5:48am

Thanks for the great review of the party! It sounded like so much fun, and you got some great pictures.

[BroadwayRandy0711]

Posted: 10/6/06 at 6:22am

Thank you for sharing your memorable night with us. Reading threads like yours makes me more and more excited to see this revival. Actually this will be the first time that I see "A Chorus Line" ever. I have never seen the movie, so I did not want to compare it. I want to experience everything for the first time.
Thanks again.

[theatrelovr]

Posted: 10/6/06 at 7:23am

Thanks for the great review. I feel like I was at the party with you. Terrific pictures as well.

[Wanna Be A Foster]

Posted: 10/6/06 at 8:29am

Jessica Lee Goldyn certainly lived up to her name in that gorgeous GOLD dress! What a knockout.

Thanks for the inside word, Matt. Always fun to hear.

Updated On: 10/6/06 at 08:29 AM

[best12bars]

Posted: 10/6/06 at 10:40am

Thanks for sharing all of that with us. Great pics, too!

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 10/6/06 at 10:55am

Thanks! :)

And wow, I am incredibly envious that you got to meet Frank Rich. That's so cool. I finally just tracked down a copy of Hot Seat. I'm looking forward to actually sitting down and making a dent in it, eventually.

[HughE2030]

Posted: 10/6/06 at 11:38am

WOW thank you very much for the details of the party. Sounds like it was really a memorable night.

[BwayBaby18]

Posted: 10/6/06 at 12:00pm

Jessica looks much better out of costume.

[ashley0139]

Posted: 10/6/06 at 3:44pm

Sounded like an amazing time! Though the picture with Frank Rich is not working for me. Thanks for the great details thought!

[Phantom2]

Posted: 10/6/06 at 5:45pm

Tyler Hanes has proven that blondes really do have more fun! Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

[Broadway Matt]

Posted: 10/6/06 at 10:34pm

Thanks to all for the lovely comments. It truly was a spectacular night, and really served as further reminder of what a beloved, iconic show it still is. The reviews were a little more negative than I would've liked, but they were all pretty fair and well-defended for the most part. And it's a definite boon to have such good reviews from VARIETY, as well as the still somewhat-influential John Simon.

emcee: the Frank Rich thing was definitely very cool. it's interesting to see how far he's risen since his days as a critic, and- love him or hate him- the theatre needs as many advocates as it can get in important postions. Just the other day I was reading through some of his classic NY Times reviews for shows like DREAMGIRLS and LES MIS:

http://theater2.nytimes.com/gst/theater/trevlist.html?author=Frank+Rich

You'll have to let me know how you like HOT SEAT. I'm working on THE GREATEST STORY EVER SOLD at the moment, but it'll take awhile to get thru it.

EDIT: I should add that the new cast album sounds great! I haven't heard it all yet, but from what I have listened to the orchestrations and vocals are gorgeously replicated. It's also a bit more complete than the original and includes the complete lyrics in the liner notes. I urge everyone to pick up a copy when it hits stores in a few days. I think it'll also be on iTunes.

Updated On: 10/6/06 at 10:34 PM

[BSoBW2]

Posted: 10/6/06 at 11:20pm

As if getting to see the show isn't enough! Lucky.

I'll be there Sunday!

[Broadway Matt]

Posted: 10/6/06 at 11:47pm

BSoBW2: hey there, haven't talked to u in quite a while! it's good to see that there are still some of us old-timers around these boards. do come say hello if u spot me on Sunday. I'm on early shift so I'll be there for seating only then am rushing off to catch "Shortbus" downtown. I hope you enjoy the show!

[Luscious]

Posted: 10/7/06 at 2:18am

ACL

[Broadway Matt]

Posted: 10/7/06 at 4:05am

Luscious, am I missing something with your cryptic single-word posts? I haven't been around in awhile, so I'm not familiar with you or what u might be aiming for with this approach.

[Luscious]

Posted: 10/7/06 at 8:35am

Life's a puzzle, ain't it?