This weekend marks A Chorus Line’s 50th anniversary of opening on Broadway, with an all-star tribute event planned for Sunday, July 27, at the show’s original home, The Shubert Theatre. Michael Bennett’s brilliantly conceived look inside the lives of Broadway hopefuls won nine Tony Awards (including Best Musical) and the Pulitzer Prize for Drama.
The New York Library for the Performing Arts hosted a special panel with members of the original Broadway company, including Donna McKechnie (Cassie), Priscilla Lopez (Diana), Kelly Bishop (Sheila), and Baayork Lee (Connie). Among the stories told was how Lopez’s song, “Nothing,” captured the aspiring dancer’s failed attempt at connecting with her teacher’s creative process.
“I remember the day I found out that ‘Nothing’ was being cut,” Lopez told the enraptured audience. “I called up Michael and asked, ‘Why are you cutting it?’ ”
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Bennett responded that the number didn’t work with the show’s progression, and Lopez pleaded with co-choreographer Bob Avian. Inevitably, the busy staging didn’t serve Ed Kleban’s narrative lyrics. Vocal arranger Donald Pippin had a different idea.
“[Don] said to them, ‘Listen, just kick everybody off the stage, put her into the center stage, put the spotlight on her, and just let her sing. And that’s what they did.” The number worked, and stayed in the show.
Diana Morales also sings the musical’s signature ballad, “What I Did For Love.”
“It had to do with the character,” recalled Lopez, who was purposefully kept from over-rehearsing the song, only hearing bits and pieces during lunch breaks. “Diana Morales— she doesn’t give up. In the last scene, she says, ‘I don’t care. I’ve come this far and I’m not giving up now.”
As for who’s cut and who’s hired for the show within the show? Bennett originally planned on each performance ending differently, but the wardrobe department complained that they couldn’t adequately prepare for the big finale costume changes, so it was set. Spoiler alert: Diana gets the gig.
