Non-Equity A Chorus Line tour opens Friday

[ACL2006]

Posted: 9/28/10 at 9:55am

A Chorus Line tour opens in New Haven

[ACL2006]

Posted: 9/28/10 at 9:56am

for a complete list of the tour schedule and the cast, go to:
A Chorus Line tour offical website

[dancingthrulife04]

Posted: 9/28/10 at 9:49pm

That link doesn't work.

http://www.achorusline.com

[geudupe]

Posted: 9/28/10 at 11:20pm

I'll be seeing it on Saturday, and can post some thoughts on it if anyone's interested.

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 9/28/10 at 11:29pm

That's a show, it seems to me, whose cast would pretty much need to have good health benefits.

[TheatreFan4]

Posted: 9/28/10 at 11:34pm

I'm sure that Baayork demanded it before getting on board.

I don't get to see it until March.

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 9/28/10 at 11:59pm

How the hell is Baayork Lee involved in this?

from the New Haven Register:

“It’s so satisfying, I can’t tell you,” Lee says. “They get so much training that sometimes we tell them you guys should be paying us! But it’s so satisfying to see how they grow and become one with the piece, and see how they can relate to the show after 35 years and still relate to what Michael Bennett created so long ago.”

[Yes, Baayork, these non-union kids should pay you for the privilege of being in the show!]

"While Lee considers herself the guardian of the Michael Bennett legacy, she feels a responsibility to her dancers. most of whom are in their very early 20s. She counsels them on nutrition and vitamins, and to avoid injuries, “I give them a one-hour warm-up each day, and they will be doing that before each show. I teach them how to protect their Achilles by warming them up or wearing ankle braces, how to look for a masseuse to get a massage in each city, a lot of little things.”

How to LOOK FOR a massage in each city? Some of them are one and two night stands. Shouldn't there be a physical therapist THERE? Oh those poor, exploited kids.

[bwayphreak234]

Posted: 9/29/10 at 12:01am

I saw the first national tour back when it first opened. The cast I saw seemed to lack chemistry and the whole show just felt disjointed because of that. I still thoroughly enjoyed it, but I probably would have enjoyed it more if the cast had more energy and chemistry. Can't wait to hear how the new tour is!

[husk_charmer]

Posted: 9/29/10 at 3:05am

Baayork was entrusted with the show by Michael Bennett. Therefore, all major productions (Broadway, London, Tours) have to be overseen by her.

It's some legal mumbo-jumbo stuff.

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 9/29/10 at 10:10am

Why does her union allow her to do a non-Equity tour?

This reminds me of an interview I read with Maureen Stapleton two eons ago. Probably in Christopher Street or The New York Native. She was talking about how much she loathed the message of "A Chorus Line," because the message could be boiled down to: "Don't pay us! We love it!"

Those quotes of Baayork remind me a lot of that.

[husk_charmer]

Posted: 9/29/10 at 11:01am

I believe directors and choreographers are exempt. The Non-Equity FAME tour in 03-04 (The 100 City tour for those who care) had a union Director and Choreographer.

And again, legally, they have to use Baayork, Bennett and Breglio probably worked something out decades ago so that she could do it.

[AEA AGMA SM]

Posted: 9/29/10 at 11:34am

SDC (the directors and choreographers' union) has no real beef against the non-Equity tours, since their members are still usually able to negotiate an SDC contract with the production companies.

[backwoodsbarbie]

Posted: 9/29/10 at 11:52am

I think it is wonderful that Baayork is so devoted to this show but I can't helping thinking it would benefit from some new eyes. I was at the audition for this tour and when she was watching us dance, you could tell that she was of the mindset that she was finding replacements for these characters created back in 1975, not a new cast.

Updated On: 9/29/10 at 11:52 AM

[Phyllis Rogers Stone]

Posted: 9/29/10 at 11:56am

75

[backwoodsbarbie]

Posted: 9/29/10 at 11:59am

Thanks for finding my typo Phyllis, I edited my post.

[Phyllis Rogers Stone]

Posted: 9/29/10 at 12:00pm

[tourboi]

Posted: 9/29/10 at 3:42pm

I love that people are condemning the production. Do you know what's in the casts contracts about physical therapy? Do you know they're not being taken care of? Either way, were the actors given a choice to take the role/contract? Yup.

One shouldn't assume they know everything.

[TheatreFan4]

Posted: 9/29/10 at 4:29pm

Oh, take me Mr. Clynes.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BiHwXrSap50&feature=sub