NEW CHORUS LINE LEADS ANNOUNCED- Page 2

[YankeeGal#24]

Posted: 1/27/06 at 8:33am

Saw the original tour in LA when I lived there, and the (ugh) film, but CANNOT WAIT FOR THIS!!!

[tourboi]

Posted: 1/27/06 at 9:17am

D'Amboise! AHHHHH! *faints*

SO Can't wait for this. She'll be brilliant.

[mint0621]

Posted: 1/27/06 at 9:34am

Great article from NY Times about Charlotte d'Amboise & her new role in Chorus Line

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/01/27/theater/newsandfeatures/27chor.html

[children&art]

Posted: 1/27/06 at 9:40am

ugh! why dont they use unknowns for this show like they did originally???

[matiboi]

Posted: 1/27/06 at 9:54am

I almost shat when I read this . . . I'm SOO excited! :)

[Sing a Song With Me]

Posted: 1/27/06 at 9:57am

Beresse and D'Amboise are hardly high-profile, C&A. I think they're great choices and I'm looking forward to this production since it does seem some care is being taken in the casting.

[mominator]

Posted: 1/27/06 at 9:58am

My AMEX is aleady out, just waiting for the tickets to go on sale!! (JOYYYYYYYYYYY!!)

[WithoutATrace]

Posted: 1/27/06 at 9:59am

this is SO FREAKING EXCITING!!! i am *so happy* for Charlotte (and honestly, i thought she was better than Christina in Charity).

[melissa errico fan]

Posted: 1/27/06 at 10:10am

ugh! why dont they use unknowns for this show like they did originally???


Donna McKechnie was fairly well-known when she originated the role of Cassie...

And Sing a Song with Me is right: d'Amboise and Berresse are HARDLY well-known. Outside of the New York theatre world, they're barely known at all. Of the three actresses who were up for the role of Cassie, Charlotte is definitely the most "famous", but Midwestern tourists who come to see this show will probably give a collective, "Charlotte who?".

[LeaGirl]

Posted: 1/27/06 at 10:12am

Yeah I just called my mother (Chorus Line is her favorite show, she's quite excited)

I'd consider her fairly knowledgable about theater, but she lives in North Carolina. And she had NO idea who Charlotte was, even though I know she's seen her at some point.

Charlotte is hardly a huge broadway "name" - I'm quite excited for her!

[Scottie310]

Posted: 1/27/06 at 10:14am

If you think about it, D'Amboisse has just about as much name recognition as Donna McKechnie did in the original. Donna had been in a few shows already before a Chorus Line (She was a Dancer in the original How to Succeed..., and fairly large parts in Company and On the Town). Plus Cassie is supposed to be just like both Donna and Charlotte, she was a fairly well known Broadway star before things went bad and had to resort to auditioning for a part in the chorus.

Same thing with Zach. He is supposed to be a well known director, so casting someone with a "name" would fit for that part too. Cassie and Zach can be played by someone relatively famous because their characters experience some sort of fame

EDIT: People beat me to it... Updated On: 1/27/06 at 10:14 AM

[BroadwayDoc]

Posted: 1/27/06 at 10:14am

Good for Charlotte. She deserves it.

[NYadgal]

Posted: 1/27/06 at 10:16am

Joining the chorus of praise for the announcement.

oh, I have such a special place in my heart for this show... so far, so good with the cast.

[Musical Director]

Posted: 1/27/06 at 10:18am

Also in the original Donna was playing a role that was based on herself and her relationship with Michael Bennet. I did FOLLIES with Donna at Paper Mill Playhouse some years ago and it was great to hear all the stories. I was the Musical Director for that FOLLIES production and she is a real sweetheart. I think Charlotte is a perfect choice for the role.

[InfiniteTheaterFrenzy]

Posted: 1/27/06 at 10:18am

Yay for both!
D'Amboise though... that's really incredible. I can't think of anyone more perfect for the part.

[Scottie310]

Posted: 1/27/06 at 10:24am

Wasn't Donna the inspiration for Maggie, not Cassie?

[AuditioningWaitress]

Posted: 1/27/06 at 10:36am

I couldn't be happier for Charlotte! I think she's be wonderful!

[best12bars]

Posted: 1/27/06 at 10:37am

Congrats to both. I wish they wouldn't use the word "star" though. Or "billing." There are NO STARS in this show. They need to get familiar with the show they're promoting. It's not the (crappy) film we're talking about here.

With the original production of ACL, the Tony committee decided finally to break its rule of forbidding performers to be submitted for "leading" awards unless they were billed above the title. This is why you have people like Yul Brynner (as the King), Isabel Bigley (as Sarah Brown) and Barbara Cook (as Marian Paroo) winning the FEATURED acting awards for their work, instead of competing in the more appropriate leading categories. They were "featured" simply because their names weren't above the title. No other reason.

William Daniels in "1776" started kicking the controversy into high gear when he was nominated for FEATURED actor for playing the leading role of John Adams. He angrily refused the nomination and demanded they remove his name from consideration, which they did (to much embarrassment and bad press at the time). This was because 1776 listed its cast alphabetically... which is known as a "favored nations" billing. All performers, regardless of the size of the role, are billed alphabetically in a single group. That's why Daniels had received a "featured" nomination.

When A Chorus Line rolled around a few years later, they also used "favored nations" billing. But this time, the committee was asked to consider Donna McKechnie for a "leading" actress award. They did, and it was a "first." So, the rule changed once and for all, and now the category definition has very little to do with billing anymore.

Still a lot of people moaned and groaned that "Cassie" really ISN'T a leading role, regardless of billing. I would agree that it's more of an ensemble performance... albeit the most memorable one (thanks in no small part to Miss McKechnie's original interpretation of the part). But does "ensemble" mean leading or supporting? Food for thought.

And for anyone who thinks Cassie isn't a meaty, incredible part... you must not have seen the right actress play Cassie yet.

Updated On: 1/27/06 at 10:37 AM

[Wanna Be A Foster]

Posted: 1/27/06 at 10:38am

This really is Charlotte's big break. And I'm so happy for her. Especially after all the drama with Charity last year. Girlfriend's finally getting her due.

[isntitromantic]

Posted: 1/27/06 at 10:40am

For the record: The Cassie-Zach is not based on Donna McKechnie's relationship with Michael Bennett, although she was his muse as a dancer. They did not become romatically involved until both were riding the Chorus Line wave -- and it was ill-starred at best. Chorus Line may have foreshadowed her relationship with Bennett, but McKechnie would never have returned to the chorus like Cassie -- she was far too established by the time she was in Chorus Line. The bits of her life that are in the show are Maggie (dancing around the living room) and Judy Turner (shaving her sister's head).

As far as it not being a lead role: McKechnie won the Tony over Gwen Verdon and Chita Rivera in a leading category. (This is why the Tonies that year featured Jerry Orbach -- Fosse refused Alexander Cohen's request for a performance by Rivera or Verdon).

McKechnie was brilliant as Cassie in 1975 and when she returned in 1986 for six months she was even more poignant. D'Amboise will be stunning as well.

[best12bars]

Posted: 1/27/06 at 10:42am

Donna's "true life stories" can be heard in the dialogue of several Chorus Line characters... Maggie, Sheilah and Cassie... bits and pieces, here and there.

But her "life" isn't represented wholly by any of these characters.

Updated On: 1/27/06 at 10:42 AM

[OtherDaryl]

Posted: 1/27/06 at 10:43am

I would imagine that Donna McKechnie, alone, on the cover of Newsweek, greatly contributed to her being singled out for leading consideration.

This is very good news.

Very very good news.

[best12bars]

Posted: 1/27/06 at 10:45am

"I would imagine that Donna McKechnie, alone, on the cover of Newsweek, greatly contributed to her being singled out for leading consideration."

No doubt! She was clearly the "break out" performance when the show first opened. There was universal acclaim for all, but Donna was at the top of the list by a mile.

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 1/27/06 at 11:19am

This really isn't going to work for me if Charlotte doesn't marry Bob Avian. Oh sure, she'd have to divorce Terrance Mann, on the grounds that he was in the Chorus Line movie. But it would be Broadway magic.

[ljay889]

Posted: 1/27/06 at 11:23am

Wow... just wow.

Finally Charlotte has a new role! Now the Weisslers will *shock* have to look for new Roxies when they aren't stunting the role..

Soooo happy for both of them. Can't wait.