The revival — produced by John Breglio, the entertainment lawyer who represented A Chorus Line's chief creator Michael Bennett during his life and now handles his estate — began previews on Sept. 18. A pre-Broadway San Francisco run ended on Sept. 2.
The Schoenfeld was known as the Plymouth Theatre when the groundbreaking A Chorus Line enjoyed a 15-year stay at the nearby Shubert Theatre from 1975 to 1990. The show — which has a book by James Kirkwood and Nicholas Dante, music by Marvin Hamlisch and lyrics by the late Edward Kleban, who later became the subject of the Broadway show A Class Act — began life at Joseph Papp's Public Theater. The musical is about a collection of Broadway gypsies who tell their stories and reveal their fears as they go through the fraught and trying process of auditioning for the chorus of a new show. It was revolutionary not only for the long workshop process that created the show (and which birthed a workshop ethos which has persisted — for better or worse — in commercial and nonprofit theatre to this day), but for epitomizing the "concept musical," a genre represented by such diverse works as Love Life, Cabaret, Company and Follies. Many consider Line as the peak of the concept musical era.
The revival is directed by Bob Avian, the co-choreographer of the original production, which was helmed by the late Bennett. Original cast member Baayork Lee is handling the choreography. The design team includes Robin Wagner (sets), Theoni V. Aldredge (costumes) — both of whom worked on the original — and Natasha Katz and Tharon Musser (lighting) and Acme Sound Partners (sound).
The cast is headed by frequent Chicago star Charlotte d'Amboise and The Light in the Piazza's Michael Berresse. D'Amboise plays Cassie, the down-on-her-luck dancer created in the original production by Tony Award winner Donna McKechnie. Berresse plays Cassie's former lover Zach, who is now the director of the show for which Cassie has come to audition.
The rest of the ensemble runs as follows: Ken Alan (as Bobby)
Brad Anderson (Don)
Natalie Cortez (Diana, who sings "Nothing," "What I Did for Love")
Mara Davi (Maggie, "At the Ballet")
Jessica Lee Goldyn (Val, "Dance: Ten; Looks: Three")
Deidre Goodwin (Sheila, "At the Ballet")
Tyler Hanes (Larry)
James T. Lane (Richie, "Gimme the Ball" section of "Hello Twelve, Hello Thirteen, Hello Love")
Paul McGill (Mark)
Heather Parcells (Judy)
Michael Paternostro (Greg)
Alisan Porter (Bebe, "At the Ballet")
Jeffrey Schecter (Mike, "I Can Do That")
Yuka Takara (Connie)
Jason Tam (Paul)
Chryssie Whitehead (Kristine, "Sing!")
Tony Yazbeck (Al, "Sing!")
The original cast included such then-unsung performers as Wayne Cilento, Robert LuPone, Priscilla Lopez, Kelly Bishop (then called Carole Bishop) and Donna McKechnie, many of whom contributed their own stories to the show's plotline. (To look back at the original production and read McKechnie's thoughts, visit the Playbill Archives feature.)
The cast recording of the new production will be released on Oct. 10.
The 2006 recording will feature more complete versions of "I Hope I Get It," "The Music and The Mirror" and "One." In addition, bonus karaoke tracks of "What I Did For Love" and "One (reprise) / Finale" will be available as an exclusive iTunes download. Also, the previously unrecorded musical number "And" will be available as an exclusive rhapsody download.
David Caddick, Marvin Hamlisch and Jonathan Tunick will produce the album.
