How 'A Chorus Line' Saved Broadway
An idea to help dancers helped Times Square - and New York City
Last week I was chatting with my dad, and asked if he’d been reading my newsletters.
Fatherly duty may compel him to open my emails, but I recognize that he might not naturally be drawn to my recent stories about Guns N’ Roses and the theme from Ghostbusters...
But those stories are really about my love for music – and that started with my dad.
Dad was always playing music, and he is also the person who introduced me to musical theatre – and cast recording albums.
And there was one cast recording I can remember listening to again and again and again when I was a kid:
A Chorus Line.
I can hear One in my head just by thinking of the show’s name.
(Hold on while I do a kick line…)
But, how did A Chorus Line, a show that celebrated the beauty (and pain) of professional dancing, come to be?
I was curious…
In 1974, professional dancers in New York City had a problem.
Theater attendance was at an all-time low. Times Square had become the home of pimps and prostitutes and drug-pushers. Many theaters were dark, meaning fewer shows – and fewer jobs for dancers.
Two Broadway dancers – Michon Peacock and Tony Stevens – came up with an idea to help.
They wanted to create a theater troupe of just Broadway dancers, and approached their friend Michael Bennett with their idea.
Bennett was a well-known director and choreographer, and he had a similar idea, though he wasn’t sure if it would be a play, a TV series, or a movie.
But on a snowy Saturday evening in January in 1974, the three men invited 24 other dancers to gather in an east side studio and share their stories.
“We sat around in a circle and we talked about our lives, starting with Michael,” said dancer Donna McKechnie.
“There were three essential questions: say your name, say where you were born, and why did you start dancing?
“And that set everybody off on their stories.”
The session lasted 12 hours. But there were more stories to share – and a second session was organized.
“And the amazing thing is that Michael then took the tapes to the Public Theater in New York to see if the boss Joe Papp thought we had a show,” Donna said.
“And after he'd heard only a few minutes, Joe said yes. It really fit his agenda for the theater – and he smelt a hit.”
The show started as a workshop in August 1974 – with no real script.
It told the stories of a group of dancers as they auditioned to be part of a chorus line. The roles were created organically, and several dancers played versions of themselves, while others played characters created from a combination of several dancers’ stories.
The team worked together choosing the best stories, and used them as inspiration for the show’s songs, like the poor singing audition that inspired the song, Sing.
The show they created was different from anything else that had been done on Broadway.
It was an ensemble show with no star.
It had no real set, no scenery, and no costumes (except the final number).
But when A Chorus Line opened on Broadway on July 25, 1975, it changed Broadway – and New York City – forever.
Broadway attendance soared.
A Chorus Line was nominated for 13 Tony Awards in 1976 and won nine, including Best Musical, Best Director and Best Choreography.
The hit show became the centerpiece for New York City tourist promotion – and led to the revitalization of Times Square.
A Chorus Line held 6,137 performances before closing on April 28, 1990. It became the longest-running musical in Broadway history (a title it held until 1997).
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How Can I Help?
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Get in touch to find out about my communication and creative problem-solving programs for leaders and teams.
And if you know someone needs help with team or personal development, please get in touch and check out my website for more information.
Keep Smiling - and Stay Curious!
-Beth