Sunday Times A Chorus Line Article

[MargoChanning]

Posted: 9/24/06 at 2:18am

"MANY of the performers in the new revival of “A Chorus Line” were not born when the original opened in 1975. And some were just learning to talk when it closed in 1990.

So it might seem that the stories of aspiring dancers would be a stretch for the young actors in the revival, which opens on Oct. 5 at the Schoenfeld Theater. How could they possibly understand what it was like to be a dancer in 1975, when Times Square was a place tourists avoided; the gay rights movement was just six years old; no one had heard of AIDS; and “The Phantom of the Opera” and “The Lion King” were not even in a New York actors’ vocabulary?

The tales in “A Chorus Line” are real, after all, based on transcripts from the stream-of-consciousness reflections of a group of dancers who gathered in the winter of 1974 to talk about their lives, and the threats to their livelihood. In many cases the dancers’ stories went directly into the script, verbatim. Collected and given shape under the direction of Michael Bennett, then a 30-year-old star choreographer, the result was a kind of musical documentary, a portrait of an industry at a certain moment in time.

But it was just as much a portrait of youth and romanticism. And how could anyone but a 20-something dancer with dreams of stardom really know what these characters are going through? Six of the 19 principal performers in the revival spoke about their characters, their own stories and what has changed about growing up and getting to Broadway. "


For the rest of the article:
‘A Singular Sensation,’ a New Generation

[mustard]

Posted: 9/24/06 at 6:07am

Look at Cryssie Whitehead up there. She's so adorable I almost can't stand it.

[mustard]

Posted: 9/24/06 at 6:07am

double post Updated On: 9/24/06 at 06:07 AM

[Magdalene]

Posted: 9/24/06 at 8:05am

The show was a joy to watch!

[mominator]

Posted: 9/24/06 at 8:16am

Thanks Margo!! As I posted on another thread, Somewhere in Heaven
Michale Bennett is smiling!

[folkyboy]

Posted: 9/24/06 at 11:22am

i'd bet that the reason this show costs $10 million dollars is because they spend so much time paying the news writers to report more bum non-review articles about the show.

[PalJoey]

Posted: 9/24/06 at 11:49am

You can't buy publicity. You can buy advertising but not publicity.

[Katurian2]

Posted: 9/24/06 at 11:55am

Well..that can be debated. But this was a very interesitng article to read. It is now hanging up in my bedroom. They are all so amazing! (But that goes without saying)

[BwayBaby18]

Posted: 9/24/06 at 11:58am

those costumes don't look very 70's.... is that just what they showed up to the theatre wearing?

[erikaamato]

Posted: 9/24/06 at 12:13pm

Those aren't "costumes." They're rehearsal clothes. (Photo was taken during the rehearsal process.)

[erikaamato]

Posted: 9/24/06 at 12:15pm

Sorry for the double-post. (Computer issues.)

Costumes are above. Updated On: 9/24/06 at 12:15 PM

[BSoBW2]

Posted: 9/24/06 at 12:25pm

Ouch.

Instead of starting another thread - doesn't anyone know ACL's cancellation line policy? How early do people start lining up if they have one?

[PalJoey]

Posted: 9/24/06 at 12:45pm

For those into the Cassie/Charlotte question, Glebb started a very interesting thread on adapting choreography to individual dancers on the Off-Topic Board.

[EponineAmneris]

Posted: 9/24/06 at 6:17pm

Very nice article Thank you for sharing.

[NBC]

Posted: 9/24/06 at 11:51pm

There is a nice piece about Charlotte in this week's Time Out NY, the one with the Forgotten New York cover. There's a full-page interview and full-page photo of her as Cassie.