Shows "C"

A CHORUS LINE Conceived & Originally Directed & Choreographed by Michael Bennett Book by James Kirkwood & Nicholas Dante Music by Marvin Hamlisch Lyrics by Edward Kleban Co-choreographed by Bob Avian Original Broadway Production produced by the New York Shakespeare Festival. Joseph Papp, Producer, in association with Plum Productions, Inc First performed at the Public Theatre, New York - 16 April, 1975 Shubert Theatre, Broadway - 19 October, 1975 (6137 perfs) Theatre Royal, Drury Lane - 22 July, 1976 (3 years) SYNOPSIS A celebration of those unsung heroes of the Musical Theatre, the chorus dancers, valiant, over dedicated, underpaid and highly trained troopers who back up the star and often make them look more talented than they are. The characters portrayed in "A Chorus Line" are, for the most part, based upon the lives and experiences of Broadway dancers. This show is dedicated to anyone who has ever danced in a chorus or marched in step .. . anywhere. INTRODUCTION The story takes the audience on a heart-rending, nail-biting roller-coaster of emotions as a group of potential performers are put through a vigorous series of dance numbers and their numbers are gradually reduced to the sixteen from whom the director, Zach, must make his final choice. Instead of making them read a short audition, Zach asks, each hopeful to give a personal history of how they came to be in show business and what are their hopes, and inspirations. By the end of the show the audience can identify with each performer and why they have endured a life filled with rejection, injury, pain and heartache to be involved with what is, to them, the glamorous world of the musical theatre. The show finishes when the successful few, now dressed in full costume, step forward in turn to receive an individual bow, before joining together to perform the brilliant dance finale showing exactly the talent required to make up that usually unappreciated essential of every successful show - A CHORUS LINE. STORY At an audition for an forthcoming Broadway production, the formidable director Zach and his assistant choreographer Larry put the dancers through their paces. Every dancer is desperate for work. After the first audition, 17 dancers remain. Zach tells them he is looking for a strong dancing chorus of four boys and four girls. He wants to learn more about them, and asks the dancers to introduce themselves. With reluctance, the dancers reveal their pasts. The stories generally progress chronologically from early life experiences through adulthood to the end of a career. The first candidate, Mike, explains that he is the youngest of 12 children. He recalls his first Adam Faith as Zach in the 1996 UK touring production of A Chorus Line

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