Edward Kleban News

Engaging, well-paced, aurally pleasing, and exceedingly entertaining from start to finish, the Hollywood Bowl's A CHORUS LINE is an exceptional presentation of this iconic show which celebrates those hard-working, ultra-talented, under-paid men and women who willingly choose a volatile career in which they sing and dance their hearts out in the background of a musical. It is set in the far out mid-70's, hence, the show is a retro-tastic trip down memory lane as it showcases a day of auditions for eight chorus member positions in a brand new musical opening on Broadway. For this Bowl version of A CHORUS LINE, producers enlisted TV host/actor Mario Lopez and then filling the rest of the large 17-member cast with a diverse group of proven triple-threat stage professionals. The resulting show is, hands down, one of the most well-performed musical productions that I have seen at the Bowl. From the execution of director/choreographer Baayork Lee's Michael Bennett-inspired choreography to the incredible singing performances of Kleban and Hamlisch's memorable classic songs, this is a production of A CHORUS LINE that can stand proudly side-by-side with any acclaimed full production of the musical, regional or otherwise.

Today in 1975, A Chrous Line opened at the Shubert THeatre, where it ran for 6137 performances. A Chorus Line is a musical about Broadway dancers auditioning for spots on a chorus line. The book was authored by James Kirkwood, Jr. and Nicholas Dante, lyrics were written by Edward Kleban, and music was composed by Marvin Hamlisch. With nineteen main characters, it is set on the bare stage of a Broadway theatre during an audition for a musical. The show provides a glimpse into the personalities of the performers and the choreographer as they describe the events that have shaped their lives and their decisions to become dancers. The original Broadway production received 12 Tony Award nominations and winning nine of them, in addition to the 1976 Pulitzer Prize for Drama.

To any A CHORUS LINE aficionado, the mere mention of Baayork Lee will conjure up vivid memories of the original Connie Wong - the youthful-looking, 4'10' Asian-American, perky dynamo who repeatedly evaded revealing her biological age to Zach, the interviewing choreographer. Now in 2016, Baayork will be choreographing and directing her most recent production of A CHORUS LINE at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles.

Anaheim's official resident theater company, Chance Theater is pleased to the addition of five additional performances of … A Chorus Line. Book by James Kirkwood and Nicholas Dante, music by Marvin Hamlisch, lyrics by Edward Kleban, directed by Chance's Artistic Director Oanh Nguyen, choreographed by Hazel Clarke, with music direction by Ryan O'Connell.  A Chorus Line opened last Saturday and will continue through August 7th on the Cripe Stage at Chance Theater @ Bette Aitken theater arts Center. 

Broadcast Music, Inc. (BMI), the global leader in music rights management, has announced that the BMI Lehman Engel Musical Theatre Workshop is now accepting applications for its first year composer/lyricist class. The application deadline is end of day on Monday, August 15, 2016.

If there was ever one musical that, on the surface, can translate well as an intimately-staged production in a black box theater space, then A CHORUS LINE---the classic 1975 Tony Award- and Pulitzer Prize-winning backstage musical---should certainly qualify as a strong contender. This still dazzling, groundbreaking show has been revived at Anaheim's Chance Theater, the lauded small regional theater company in Orange County, CA that has definitively, in the very recent past, shown a knack for taking large musicals and making them smaller, very special ones. For the most part, the same can certainly be said about their newest small-scaled local revival, which continues its extended run through August 7, 2016. Exceedingly admirable despite being a bit rough around the edges, Chance Theater's peppy production reminds audiences old and new why the world of musical theater continues to lure certain dreamy, insanely talented people to this sometimes frustrating, often euphoric, and always competitive profession time and time again.

Cortland Repertory Theatre's third production in their 45th anniversary summer season is the CRT debut of the Pulitzer Prize winning musical 'A Chorus Line'. Conceived, originally directed and choreographed by Michael Bennett, this nine-time Tony Award winning Broadway musical boasts a book by James Kirkwood and Nicholas Dante, music by Marvin Hamlisch and lyrics by Edward Kleban. Performances of CRT's production will be held at the Little York Pavilion in Preble, and run from July 13 - 30 with evening performances at 7:30. Matinees are available on July 15, 17, 20, 24, and 27 at 2:00 PM. Tickets may be purchased by calling 800-427-6160 or by visiting the CRT Box Office at 24 Port Watson Street in downtown Cortland. Tickets are also available for sale 24 hours a day through the CRT website at www.cortlandrep.org.

convergence-continuum continues its 2016 Season with Chad Beuelin's HARBOR, a hilarious and touching romp into the shifting nature of the meaning of family.

Cortland Repertory Theatre's third production in their 45th anniversary summer season is the CRT debut of the Pulitzer Prize winning musical 'A Chorus Line'. Conceived, originally directed and choreographed by Michael Bennett, this nine-time Tony Award winning Broadway musical boasts a book by James Kirkwood and Nicholas Dante, music by Marvin Hamlisch and lyrics by Edward Kleban. Performances of CRT's production will be held at the Little York Pavilion in Preble, and run from July 13 - 30 with evening performances at 7:30. Matinees are available on July 15, 17, 20, 24, and 27 at 2:00 PM. Tickets may be purchased by calling 800-427-6160 or by visiting the CRT Box Office at 24 Port Watson Street in downtown Cortland. Tickets are also available for sale 24 hours a day through the CRT website at www.cortlandrep.org.

This winner of nine Tony Awards, five Drama Desk Awards and the Pulitzer Prize starts previews July 1 on the Cripe Stage at Chance Theater, Anaheim's official resident theater company, at the Bette Aitken theater arts Center. Previews will run July 1st-July 8th with regular performances will begin July 9 and continue through July 31.

convergence-continuum continues its 2016 Season with Chad Beuelin's HARBOR, a hilarious and touching romp into the shifting nature of the meaning of family.

The talented HAMILTON ensemble member recently gave a world premiere performance of a lost Kleban/Hamlisch song.

New casting has been announced for the Hollywood Bowl's production of A Chorus Line, which won the Tony Award for Best Musical.  The additional cast members announced are Mario Lopez as Zach, Sarah Bowden as Cassie Ferguson, Krysta Rodriguez as Diana Morales, and Courtney Lopez as Kristine Ulrich.

Start getting your kids ready! In a recent interview with Broadway Journal, producer and Michael Bennett estate executor John Breglio revealed plans for a revival of A Chorus Line in 2025, coinciding with the show's 50th anniversary. Breglio also produced the 2006 revival of the show.

The last of a six-part, decade-by-decade video series sampling the legendary artist's performances of musical theatre classics.

This week A Chorus Line at the Stratford Festival confirmed what I've already long suspected: Donna Feore is one of the greatest directors of musicals of our time. Year after year she has managed to put out a top notch main stage musical for the festival as good as anything you'll see on Broadway, Toronto, or the West End.

Casting for the Hollywood Bowl's upcoming production of A Chorus Line, which won the Tony® Award for Best Musical, has been announced: Sabrina Bryan as Valerie Clark, Robert Fairchild as Mike Costa, Spencer Liff as Larry, Ross Lynch as Mark Anthony, in addition to Mara Davi as Maggie Winslow, Denis Lambert as Gregory Gardner, J. Elaine Marcos as Connie Wong, Jason Tam as Paul San Marco, and Leigh Zimmerman as Sheila Bryant. Additional casting will be announced at a later date.

Atlanta Lyric Theatre, now in its 37th year as the metro area's only professional musical theatre company, has announced its upcoming 2016-17 season of musicals at the 600-seat Jennie T. Anderson Theatre (548 S. Marietta Pkwy., Marietta). With five fantastic shows - the Tony Award-winning fairy tale adventure Shrek the Musical, the beloved Broadway blockbuster A Chorus Line, the electrifying music of Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis, Johnny Cash and Carl Perkins in Million Dollar Quartet, Andrew Lloyd Webber's epochal extravaganza Jesus Christ Superstar, and the musical tale as old as time Disney's Beauty and the Beast -- we look forward to delivering an unforgettable theatrical experiences to our patrons!

Anaheim's official resident theater company, Chance Theater is pleased to present a fresh and intimate production of the Broadway musical classic ... A Chorus Line. Book by James Kirkwood and Nicholas Dante, music by Marvin Hamlisch, lyrics by Edward Kleban, directed by Chance's Artistic Director Oanh Nguyen, choreographed by Hazel Clarke, with music direction by Ryan O'Connell. A Chorus Line will preview from July 1 through July 8, regular performances will begin July 9 and continue through July 31 on the Cripe Stage at Chance Theater @ Bette Aitken theater arts Center.

For her first appearances at The Metropolitan Room, Andrea Axelrod will present Almost Like Being in Love - exploring songs 'about the cusp of love', with music director Barry Levitt and bass player Jon Burr.