Backstage stories have always been the norm ever since Hollywood discovered the musical. The most popular cliché is the one in which a girl steps out of the chorus to stand in for the leading lady and becomes a star overnight.
A Chorus Line, conceived and originally directed and choreographed by Michael Bennett is more realistic. It was the first musical to spell out how difficult it was to get into the chorus. The script has nothing to do with stardom and everything to do with demeaning grueling auditions, brutal rejections and being constantly out of work. A dancer’s stage life is short.
The show, which premiered in 1975 and won a Pulitzer Prize and multiple Tony Awards, ran for 15 years and 6,137 performances, becoming one of New York’s biggest hits. It remains a landmark in Broadway musical history. The music is by Marvin Hamilton. The lyrics are by Edward Kleban.
The present revival, which started at the Curve Theatre in Leicester, is directed by Nickolai Foster and choreographed by Ellen Kane. There are no stars, no story, no costumes, no scenery, just auditions, testimonials and dancing. The choreography is always interesting.
Adam Cooper (memorable as the Swan in Matthew Bourne’s Swan Lake) is too self-effacing in the role of Zac, the harsh director, to have any real impact. But then A Chorus Line is essentially an ensemble show in which the chorus take centre stage.
Twenty-six people compete for eight roles. The director, humiliatingly, forces them to talk openly about themselves in front of the full company. The script is a series of confessions, which were based on taped interviews with the dancers who had taken part in the original workshops. Manuel Pacific has a sad gay backstory to tell and tells it quietly and well
The exhilarating finale has twenty-six individuals transformed into the uniformity and anonymity of the synchronised, high-kicking, glitzy chorus line, all of them dressed in glittering gold and carrying hats. The number, brilliantly drilled, executed and lit, is one of the great Broadway musical finales.
A Chorus Line, exciting, sophisticated, serious, cruel and poignant, is, no doubt about it, one singular sensation, a thrilling combination.
Following its London run, A Chorus Line is touring the UK in August, September and October and visiting Norwich, Canterbury, Birmingham, Cardiff, Edinburgh and High Wycombe.
To learn more about Robert Tanitch and his reviews, click here to go to his website. 
