Donna McKechnie, beloved Tony-winning original "Cassie" joins in a celebration of the upcoming fortieth anniversary of the creation of
A Chorus Line at the annual
Fire Island Pines Literary and Theater Weekend, a hugely popular event held annually at
The Madison Fire Island Pines.
Ms. McKechnie will headline an afternoon of performances and interviews hosted by
Christine Pedi (
NEWSical The Musical/cohost of Sirius XM Radio's
Dueling Divas with
Seth Rudetsky/recent "Mama Morton" in
Chicago on Broadway).
Ms. McKechnie will also sign copies of her memoir,
Time Steps: My Musical Comedy Life (Simon & Shuster).
A Chorus Line, conceived and originally choreographed and directed by
Michael Bennett, features a book by
James Kirkwood and
Nicholas Dante, and music by
Marvin Hamlisch and lyrics by
Edward Kleban. The original production of
A Chorus Line was conceived beginning in January 1974, opened at
The Public Theater's Newman Theatre on May 21, 1975, and transferred to Broadway's Shubert Theatre on July 25th, opening there on October 19, 1975.
A Chorus Line won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama, nine Tony Awards (including Best Musical, Score, and Book), and the New York Drama Critics Circle Award. The original production ran for nearly fifteen years, closing on April 28, 1990, after 6,137 performances.
The Fire Island Pines Literary and Theater Weekend is produced by
Ben Hodges, president of Theatre World Media and editor in chief of the beloved sixty-eight-year-old
Theatre World book series, published by Theatre World Media. He is also the coeditor of
The Commercial Theater Institute Guide to Producing Plays and Musicals),
Forbidden Acts: Pioneering Gay & Lesbian Plays of the Twentieth Century, and
The American Theatre Wing Presents The Play That Changed My Life: America's Foremost Playwrights on the Plays That Influenced Them (all by Applause Books). He is also a practicing entertainment attorney in New York City.