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The 2006 revival of A Chorus Line has come and gone, having done moderately well without beginning to approximate the excitement of the original production. Producer/directors James D. Stern and Adam Del Deo stood by with cameras rolling through the audition process of the musical about the audition process, and have come up with a surprisingly gripping documentary that seems to have been intended to support the revival but — coming after the production's early demise — serves to illustrate both the revival and original productions, memorializing Michael Bennett along the way. The directors start their film with the original tape recordings that Bennett made with a select group of dancers in a 12-hour marathon therapy session in the winter of 1974 — tape recordings that contain the roots of the characters and numerous phrases later incorporated by lyricist Ed Kleban into song. We hear Bennett, mostly, at first; as they move onwards, the film directors cannily contrast the young 21st century actors' auditions with corresponding words from the original. ("I've run out of unemployment," explains the Connie-to-be, seemingly unaware of the plaint "my unemployment is gone" in the opening number.)

"Every Little Step" fascinates on many levels. To begin with, it is as accurate a view of the Broadway audition process as you're likely to see. A Chorus Line itself is a theatricalization of the process, but carefully sculpted by a master showman and his writing staff. Here the central characters are Bob Avian, Bennett's longtime artistic partner, co-choreographer of the original Chorus Line, and director of the revival; Jay Binder, a veteran New York casting director who specializes in musicals; and Baayork Lee, one of the original cast members whose autobiographical tale was lifted off the tape and who has been restaging Bennett's choreography for years now. These are not actors performing scripted roles, but behind-the-scenes workers caught by omnipresent cameras.

Also on camera are composer Marvin Hamlisch, offering informative comments; John Breglio, Bennett's attorney/executor and producer of the revival; and original star (and Bennett muse) Donna McKechnie, who along with Avian offers interpretations of the late director-choreographer. What's more, there is a fair amount of footage of Bennett himself, which borders on the mesmerizing. Here you have actors getting callbacks and other actors not getting callbacks; called-back actors getting the part, or losing the part; and the especially difficult scenes of the creative staff trying to chose between final contestants. One wonders at the level of participation of the auditioning actors, who are generally labeled only by their surnames; in some cases, audition cards with their full names are clearly visible. (Among those unceremoniously cut is Andy Blankenbuehler, who has since choreographed In the Heights and 9 to 5.)

The film is accompanied on the DVD release by commentary from Hamlisch and directors Del Deo and Stern; a Donna McKechnie featurette; and a new interview with Breglio, Avian and Lee. Bonus material also includes some extended sections of the original tapes, which are understandably fascinating. There has been a fair share of discussion over the years about whether the original storytellers were properly recompensed for their stories, and that's not something we can comment upon without facts, figures, and contracts. "Every Little Step" helps point out, though, that these mini-biographies have become little legends within the annals of the Broadway musical; not Aesop's Fables, but Bennett's Fables. Let the original non-fictional prototypes know that that they have encouraged, consoled and otherwise inspired two generations of kids who have followed in their footsteps, or rather dance steps. That doesn't help pay the mortgage or health care premiums, no; but they have each of them made a difference, in real life, to numerous people in and out of show business. And continue to do so.

The most remarkable moment in the film, perhaps, is the audition of Jason Tam (who won the role of the "pony"-dancer Paul, relating the true-life tale of co-librettist Nick Dante). Tam was very strong in the revival, and Sammy Williams gave an unforgettable performance in the original Public Theater and Broadway productions. But Tam's final audition, on film, is absolutely shattering; Avian, Binder and Lee, who by this point had seen and heard the monologue hundreds upon hundreds of times, are sitting in the rehearsal room literally in tears. That, my friends, is the magic of Broadway; and it can be seen in "Every Little Step." Continued...