Chicago vs A Chorus Line

I always thought "Chicago" was a much better musical than " A Chorus Line" . It had a better score & I just enjoyed it more. A Chorus Line was a very good show but I thought Chicago was better. I know A Chorus Line has its supporters. I am a supporter of Chicago.

The floor is now open for discussion

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One of the problems with A Chorus Line is the much despised movie version that people who have not seen the original show just assume is what was on stage put on film. I am one of those people and I had no idea, until I looked further into it, just how much ground that show broke and how very very different the movie is.

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I definitely don't take "A Chorus Line" for granted. It's one of my favorite musicals. I like it a lot more than Chicago. I like the music and story more for one, and everyone can relate to the characters. Don't get wrong, though. I do love Chicago. I just think "A Chorus Line" is Broadway's most universal musical.

The dancers who gave their stories for "A Chorus Line" were tape recorded at a "jam" session. Many were unaware that the recording would be shaped into a show. They were hastily paid one dollar ($1) for sharing at the session. They did not have the money to hire a lawyer to get proper compensation for their material. Some were also led to believe that when the show took shape, that they would be playing themselves. Considering all the money that "A Chorus Line" has raked in over the years, I would consider that "stolen".

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I love both Chicago and A Chorus Line for different reasons. ACL was my first Broadway show... at the Shubert Theatre. While I don't remember a lot about it (I was 4 years old). The movie version though -- however horrible it is -- still remains one of my favorites. Then again, I am very partial because one of my best friends was in it.

Chicago, I love for many reasons. Though my love of it didn't REALLY begin till I saw the tour in 2000 (even though I had begged since the revival opened in 1996 to see it and loved the 1975 obc for as long as I can remember)... But seeing the passion and talent Rox and Trace (Roxane Carrasco and Tracy Shayne) posessed.... well I just instantly fell in love with the show. Then we became friends, and I keep seeing it to see various friends who come in and out of the company.... It's been an experience to say the least.

I don't remember a time in my house when both ACL and Chicago weren't played.

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How can something of its time, which by definition is of a different era, look dated more than a show that is set in a different era? Seems like six of one, half a dozen ... or do you mean that ACL was created to look contemporary and Chicago was created to look back on an era? If so, the looking back is still the same, it's just that one was built in from the beginning.

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JohnPoppa you said what I meant to say, thank you. ACL was red hot at the time it happened, today you look at it and wonder just what all the fuss was about. If you were to revive it you would have to do a bit of a rethink choreographically (is there such a word?) speaking. Some of the steps are just too 70's funky. I don't think you could do it as a period piece, do you?

Hmmm maybe. I loved it at the time. I just think that Chicago has aged better. Something I probably wouldn't have thought twenty five years ago.

I've never heard of a backlash against ACL. I just think that Chicago today holds up better. ACL's original staging by today's standards is a little dated, whereas in 1976(?) it was revolutionary. I'd like to see a new production with a total rethink in regard to how to present it. OK maybe keep the original One choreography.

There is absolutely no reason you cannot. I think the person who started this thread picked up on something I said in another thread about how when I was an immature theater-goer (and typical American with a "we're number 1!" team mentality that I EVENTUALLY outgrew) I felt that one had to pick one over the other. Not grasping the moral of the story, the person who started this thread began a "pick one" thread.

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"If anyone thinks A Chorus Line is just a show about theater for theater then they missed something. "

I completely agree and I'm the one that said it. But I never found any universal truths or resonances in the show.

I loved A Chorus Line and thought Chicago was great. But, not as wonderful as A Chorus LIne.

It was an exciting time in my youth when both shows were running. Chicago was referred to sometimes as A Chorus Line's evil twin. While A Chorus Line had heart and soul and warmth and tender cares for woes of the world--Chicago said "that's show biz kid."

I have a vivid memory that after seeing both of them for the SECOND time, it was indisputable that Chicago still seemed to be giving an opening night performance, while A Chorus Line seemed to be getting a bit weary.

Ultimately, I always found Chicago somewhat unfulfilling. It is a great display of showmanship with dazzling choreography and a magnificent score. However, the basic "story" of Chicago is about charachters that you don't tend to fall in love with or I don't think, really care a great deal about. The only kinda likable charachter in Chicago is Amos Hart..and you kinda feel sorry for him.

A Chorus Line is full of charachters we care about and indeed grow to love during the show. Cassie, Sheila, Diana, Paul etc...part of why we love the charachters in A Chorus Line is because they share their failures and dreams with us. That is one of the reasons A Chorus Line resonates for so many people....it is essentially about "people's dreams."

It was exciting when cast members went back and forth between the shows. Ann Reinking, haunting as Cassie, then adding a young spin to the part of Roxie Hart was particularly memorable. Years later, it was fun when 42nd Street's Peggy Sawyer, Wanda Richert, became Cassie in A Chorus Line.

When Chicago opened there was certainly more emphasis in the press on the two dancing legends starring in the show than the source material. I must say, if memory serves me correctly, during the original run, when it was still Gwen Verdon and Chita Rivera doing the finale, I am quite sure I was "more watching" the amazing Gwen and Chita deliver the brilliance of Bob Fosse, than I was watching a performance by Velma and Roxie. The lines seemed to be blurred. Perhaps it was intentional, perhaps it was just me.

Ultimately, I loved both shows, but if one is on top for me, it is A Chorus Line. After seeing A Chorus Line (you would not believe how many times I saw the original production) I often felt like I had been through a physical and emotional experience. It could feel draining.

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Updated On: 8/26/03 at 03:07 PM

Show or movie? If you saw the show, when and where?

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