Considered groundbreaking when it opened on Broadway in 1975, the musical went on to win nine Tony Awards, including Best Musical and the 1976 Pulitzer Prize for Drama. Today, it remains as touching and powerful as when it debuted and is one of the longest running musicals on Broadway.
On Friday, July 29, the cast of the 2016 Hollywood Bowl production of A CHORUS LINE met members of the original 1975 Broadway cast backstage. Below, check out a photo featuring cast members of the Hollywood Bowl production of A CHORUS LINE side by side with the original Broadway cast members who created their roles!
The cast includes Mario Lopez as Zach, Sarah Bowden as Cassie Ferguson, Krysta Rodriguez as Diana Morales, and Courtney Lopez as Kristine Ulrich.
A Chorus Line also stars Sabrina Bryan as Valerie Clark, Robert Fairchild as Mike Costa, Spencer Liff as Larry, and Ross Lynch as Mark Anthony. In addition,Mara Davi as Maggie Winslow, J. Elaine Marcos as Connie Wong, Jason Tam as Paul San Marco, and Leigh Zimmerman as Sheila Bryant round out the principal cast.
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.
The Ordway Center for the Performing Arts presents A Chorus Line, now playing through Feb. 28. BroadwayWorld brings you a first look at the cast in action below!
Maine State Music Theatre Finds Its Talent for Summer 2015
When the audience thinks of casting for a Broadway musical, they conjure up the image of a darkened auditorium, an artist onstage peering into the glare and hearing Zach's voice from out of the void with its curt dismissal, 'Thank you.' Since its smash opening on Broadway in 1975 A Chorus Line has come to embody in poetic terms the uphill struggles of countless artists who toil every day on stage and off in pursuit of the metier they love. The rituals of auditioning and casting calls are integral to the life of an actor or theatre director, and each year they are played out in countless theatres large and small across the country, a crucial part of the puzzle that goes into shaping a successful season.
The Public Theater just presented a special 40th anniversary tribute to A CHORUS LINE last night, April 16 in honor of the first performance of this legendary musical that premiered in The Public's Newman Theater 40 years ago and went on to make musical theater history. To commemorate this landmark event, the cast of the critically-acclaimed musical HAMILTON, currently playing on the same Newman stage, presented original cast members of A CHORUS LINE with a plaque that will hang in the Ford Foundation Lobby of The Public. BroadwayWorld brings you photos from inside the special event below!
Baldwin Wallace is a powerhouse in providing talent to the Broadway stage. In the past year, over a dozen of the program's grads have listed, 'a proud graduate of Baldwin Wallace' in their Great White Way 'Playbill' resumes.
"Nothing runs for ever," says Mike, played expertly by Michael Russell in UCO Musical Theatre's production of, A Chorus Line. Maybe not, but the original Broadway production of A Chorus Line ran 6,137 performances, receiving 12 Tony Award nominations and winning nine as well as the Pulitzer Prize for drama. A 1975 version of a reality show, A Chorus Line is a groundbreaking musical which gives the audience a snapshot of the inner workings of the audition and more importantly into the psyches of the dancers.
Broadway veteran Mitzi Hamilton, one of the dancers inMichael Bennett's original developmental workshop that provided the inspiration for the character of Val in A Chorus Line, directs and choreographs the Tony Award and Pulitzer Prize-winning musical at Surflight Theatre, now playing through September 14.
The Public Theater last night presented the one-night-only Public Theater annual gala ONE THRILLING COMBINATION at the Delacorte Theater. Directed by Ted Sperling, the gala event celebrated Marvin Hamlisch, The Public Theater and the 40th anniversary of the creation of A Chorus Line. Performers incuded: John Lithgow, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Zachary Quinto, Martha Plimpton, Billy Porter, Jonathan Groff, Sutton Foster, Joshua Bell, Lindsay Mendez, Claybourne Elder,Krysta Rodriguez, Marissa McGowan, Laura Shoop, Peter Dugan, Nikka Graff Lanzarone, Jessica Wu, Mylinda Hull,Brooke Sunny Moriber, Nicole Lewis and more!
BroadwayWorld was there for the special night and you can check out photos from the star-studded arrivals below!
The Public Theater last night presented the one-night-only Public Theater annual gala ONE THRILLING COMBINATION at the Delacorte Theater. Directed by Ted Sperling, the gala event celebrated Marvin Hamlisch, The Public Theater and the 40th anniversary of the creation of A Chorus Line. Performers incuded: John Lithgow, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Zachary Quinto, Martha Plimpton, Billy Porter, Jonathan Groff, Sutton Foster, Joshua Bell, Lindsay Mendez, Claybourne Elder,Krysta Rodriguez, Marissa McGowan, Laura Shoop, Peter Dugan, Nikka Graff Lanzarone, Jessica Wu, Mylinda Hull,Brooke Sunny Moriber, Nicole Lewis and more!
BroadwayWorld was there for the special night and you can check out photos from the curtain call below!
For the first time since its first London season, which opened in 1976 and won the Olivier Award for Best Musical, a full London revival of the Broadway production A CHORUS LINE will be staged at the London Palladium. The production is currently in previews to prepare for press night on Tuesday, February 19th. The season will be strictly limited, running through until June 29th.
We go behind the scenes of A CHORUS LINE as it stages its London revival!
John Partridge, Scarlett Strallen, Leigh Zimmerman and Victoria Hamilton-Barritt lead the cast in A Chorus Line - here are the first shots of the new cast together!
Paper Mill Playhouse's production of A Chorus Line, directed and choreographed by Mitzi Hamilton, one of the dancers in Michael Bennett's original taped workshop that inspired the 1975 musical began performances October 3 and opened Sunday with a tribute to composer Marvin Hamlisch. View photos from opening night below!
Paper Mill Playhouse will present A Chorus Line, the Tony Award and Pulitzer Prize-winning musical conceived, choreographed and directed by Michael Bennett, with book by James Kirkwood and Nicholas Dante, music by Marvin Hamlisch, and lyrics by Edward Kleban. The production will be directed and choreographed by Mitzi Hamilton, one of the dancers in Bennett's original taped workshop that inspired the 1975 Musical. John O'Neill will serve as Music Director/Conductor. A Chorus Line started performances last night, October 3. BroadwayWorld brings you some first shots from the production below!
Paper Mill Playhouse will present A Chorus Line, the Tony Award and Pulitzer Prize-winning musical conceived, choreographed and directed by Michael Bennett, with book by James Kirkwood and Nicholas Dante, music by Marvin Hamlisch, and lyrics by Edward Kleban. The production will be directed and choreographed by Mitzi Hamilton, one of the dancers in Bennett's original taped workshop that inspired the 1975 Musical. John O'Neill will serve as Music Director/Conductor. A Chorus Line will begin performances on October 3.
The cast just met the press, and BroadwayWorld was there for all the festivities. Check out complete photo coverage below!
Directed and choreographed by original A Chorus Line cast member Baayork Lee, this bona fide Broadway hit features an incredible ensemble cast composed of exciting Broadway stars and Pittsburgh CLO veterans. Featuring the music of Marvin Hamlisch.
Starring Golden Globe nominee Lorenzo Lamas (The Bold and the Beautiful, Air America, Renegade, Falcon Crest) as Zach, A Chorus Line runs June 15-24 in the Robinson Theatre, 617 Lexington Street, Waltham. Check out these pictures from the final dress rehearsal before opening night tonight below.
The Town Hall's critically acclaimed Broadway by the Year's® 12th Season continued this week with The Broadway Musicals of 1975 on Monday, May 14th. 1975 was a year that brought us famous shows by musical theater icons including Marvin Hamlisch, (A Chorus Line), John Kander and Fred Ebb (Chicago), and Richard O'Brien (The Rocky Horror Show), among others. Produced by The Town Hall, The Broadway Musicals of 1975 was created, written and hosted by Scott Siegel. Casting for The Broadway Musicals of 1975 included Ashley Brown, Lari White, Bob Stillman, Maya Days, Scott Coulter, Carole J. Bufford, Patrick Page and more.
The all-new Australian production of one the most successful American Broadway musicals of all time, A CHORUS LINE will play at Sydney's Capitol Theatre for 21 performances only from 20 July, 2012. Having played to full houses in Adelaide and Melbourne, this iconic smash hit musical is directed and re-staged by Baayork Lee, one of the original cast members and inspirations from the Tony Award® winning 1975 production. See photos from the show below!
The 2010-2011 National Tour of A CHORUS LINE had a very special audience member on Saturday, November 6: original star Donna McKechnie. McKechnie, who created the role of 'Cassie' in the original Broadway production, was in South Bend, IN for the weekend performing her acclaimed solo show 'My Musical Comedy Life.'
The new national tour of A Chorus Line, kicked off in Rochester, New York on October 5. Check out these photos from the production.
The Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award-winning musical A CHORUS LINE leaps, turns and taps its way to center stage at the Marriott Theatre, 10 Marriott Drive, previewing September 1, opening Sunday, September 12 at 5 p.m. and running through October 31.
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