DANCE: 10. LOOKS: 3. NO, that’s not the judges’ final assessment on Fox’s latest talent-based reality show. Long before America’s hottest hoofers and most eager singers strived for stardom on national television — only to be humiliated by the celebrity judges — audiences first became enthralled with the inherent drama, suspense, and universality of the audition process.
In 1975, A Chorus Line burst out of New York’s Public Theater. The musical’s premise was simple: a bare stage presented 17 dancers — so-called “chorus kids” — auditioning for an unnamed Broadway musical. Each performer sang and danced his or her heart out with arresting honesty. A Chorus Line became a cultural phenomenon, a transformative experience for audience and performers alike. The show nabbed nine Tony Awards and a Pulitzer Prize and became the longest-running musical in Broadway history. (Continental is the official airline of Live Broadway.)
Thirty-one years after it opened (and 16 years after it closed) A Chorus Line returns to Broadway October 5. Leg warmers are no longer in sight. Splashy production values are. And in an era in which talent competitions dominate the airwaves, the show couldn’t be any more relevant.
“The dancers are standing there, being judged all night long, and the emotions revealed convey raw truths,” says Bob Avian, who choreographed the original and directs the 2006 version. Avian was there when the show’s original creator/director Michael Bennett flipped on a tape recorder during a midnight dance session and extracted the real-life memories, doubts, and inspirations of the 24 friends (and friends of friends) whose personal stories became the basis for the show. Many of the dancers became part of the first cast of A Chorus Line.
For the 2006 production, the vetting process was a bit more stringent. Mirroring more precisely the tense competition of the show, more than 1,700 performers auditioned for the Broadway revival. Not surprisingly, Avian was also approached by a television producer to do a tie-in reality program in which the winner would get a part in A Chorus Line. Avian politely declined.
Still, while Avian calls A Chorus Line “the ultimate ensemble show, because it’s about a chorus of people,” one performer does stand out: Charlotte d’Amboise, who plays Cassie. Often characterized as one of Broadway’s foremost replacement actors — a reputation she earned during multiple runs in Chicago — d’Amboise may not have the face recognition of recent Broadway stars Brooke Shields, Huey Lewis, or Rosie O’Donnell, but that trait serves her well in this show.
“Broadway has gotten a little hung up on celebrity,” d’Amboise says. “The corporate backers want stars, because that’s what sells.” In fact, she is pleased that this production is relying more on the talent and material instead of the names. (Interesting fact: d’Amboise is married to Terrence Mann, an actor who appeared in the 1985 film adaptation of A Chorus Line.)
In the end, just like in the original production, the song-and-dance numbers — and ultimately, the bodies — unify into a cohesive, showstopping whole. This unity is reflected in the finale, “One.” The show itself, as d’Amboise remarks, is about “the spirit of unknowns,” and together, all make one singular sensation. — Erika Milvy
One Day More
A Chorus Line isn’t the only Broadway stalwart returning to the Great White Way this fall. On November 9, Les Misérables, the true “master of the house,” will take the stage again.
Among notable cast members in this new production is The Producers’ Gary Beach, who is reprising his role as the comic-relieving Thenardier. Daphne Rubin-Vega (Rent) is one of four principals who are making their Les Miz debut. Rubin-Vega says this “blood transfusion” of new talent will ramp up the musical classic like never before.
Not that this latest production needs any help in capturing an audience — more than 20 years after the curtain first went up in London, the much beloved story of love and redemption during a student revolution is as compelling as ever.
“What gives Les Miz its charm is the beautiful, powerful story and the redemption in it,” says Rubin-Vega, who plays Fantine. “In this day and age, it’s not the most unlikely thing to come back to. Plus, the music is spectacular. It just pulls on your heartstrings.”
Playing in a special six-month engagement at the Broadhurst Theatre, Jean Valjean and company are sure to have audiences cheering as if not a day had gone by since the show’s initial run. — Jaclyn Greenberg
After Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans last year, native son Aaron Neville turned to the one thing that has always comforted him: music. Now he has turned 13 of the songs that inspired him into one of the most impressive albums of his long career. Bring It on Home ... The Soul Classics includes such tracks as “A Change Is Gonna Come,” “People Get Ready,” and “Ain’t No Sunshine,” all performed in Neville’s unique style.
The album, which is in stores now, also includes collaborations with Chris Botti, Chaka Khan, David Sanborn, Art Neville, and Mavis Staples. — Martin Lieberman
When 37,000 runners line up on November 5 for the start of the 37th ING New York City Marathon, many will have an additional incentive to embark on their 26.2-mile journey: a good cause.
Each year, a number of qualified entrants are guaranteed entry in the marathon. The rest have to enter a lottery drawing. For the 2006 race, however, New York Road Runners, which organizes the event, set aside some entries for runners who pledged to raise at least $2,500 for one of the marathon’s sponsored charities: NYRR’s Team for Kids, which provides children in New York with running-based physical education programs, and Fred’s Team, a group named for marathon co-founder Fred Lebow that raises funds for cancer research.
“It was so motivating and inspirational that I decided I wanted to be a part of it,” says first-time runner Jill Ackerman, a member of Fred’s Team who for eight years has watched the marathon with the patients of Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. Ackerman is the pediatric administrative manager at the hospital.
“I think it’s going to be extremely overwhelming and extremely rewarding, and something I will really look forward to,” she says of passing by the patients as she runs. “It’s something that really motivates me in my training sessions, imagining what that moment will be like.” (Continental is the official airline of the ING New York City Marathon.) — Alyson Papalia
