The audience will go nuts!’”Īs luck would have it, Bennett was good friends with a young, rising star composer who lived here in L.A. “And Michael said, ‘I can’t keep doing this all night long. We’ll write the show on its feet!’ So we started by transcribing the original tapes.”Īvian recalls how workshop actors would take the transcriptions and recite them as never-ending monologues. “Joe said, 'You can come down to our space and play here - $100 a week.' And we’re going, Oh God! Alright, laughs Avian.
#Like getting kicked in the head by the chorus line professional#
With Papp’s assistance, Bennett created the first of what is now commonly known in professional theatre as a "workshop." That was his vision.”Īvian says Bennett asked Joseph Papp at New York’s Public Theater for help. (The choreographer died in 1987 at the age of 44.) “But Michael always knew he wanted to created a show about dancers. “Well, you don’t know what you are creating at the time," recalls Bob Avian, a longtime collaborator of Bennett's. He still had tons of tape and stories to get though from the other interviews. He created the classic Connie Wong character in the show based on Lee. But it was her career challenges early on as a petite, Asian woman fighting to work in the American theater that captured Bennett’s attention. In fact, she’s directing the Hollywood Bowl production. Lee is now an esteemed choreographer and director. Just being at his house and just talking to him.” He just put the tape on and I just started talking. “And he said, 'You know, I really think your story is interesting.' And so I just started talking.
I love to dance,” Lee says at a rehearsal for the Bowl show. But Bennett was her close friend and choreographer colleague.
She preferred to take a break in her country home outside the city. “The only thing I can do is 'King and I' and 'Flower Drum Song.' That was it.” “Why would somebody want to put my life on the stage?” asked dancer Baayork Lee. He explained to the dancers about his idea to stage a musical based on them. Meanwhile, Bennett recorded every word - for 12 hours. So he invited a small group of dancers to a downtown Manhattan studio to share a cheap jug of wine and to talk about their lives. It would be set inside the real world of Broadway. It started with nothing more than a tape recorder and a circle of dancer friends in New York City, circa 1974.ĭecades before MTV’s "Real World" or even "Real Housewives," a young choreographer named Michael Bennett had an idea for a reality show, of sorts. But gold top hats and high-kicks aside, the show has much more humble roots. Philharmonic presents a new production of one of Broadway’s flashiest hits. After a few more kicks and turns, the director shouts out: “From the top - five, six, seven, eight!” And with that, the classic 1975 stage story about the hardscrabble life of dancers unfolds.įrom July 29-31 at the Hollywood Bowl, the L.A. “Step, kick, kick, leap, kick, touch - again!” Fans of the iconic Broadway hit musical, “A Chorus Line,” already know what famous song lyrics come next. Production Supervisor Bob Avian and Director Baayork Lee were part of the original cast and creative team for “A Chorus Line” when it premiered on Broadway in 1975.ĭancers in “A Chorus Line” give their characters a moment for quiet thought anytime they are "above the line." Seen here with original creative team member Bob Avian, the duo is adapting Michael Bennett's original choreography to fit the huge Hollywood Bowl stage.ĭancer Robert Fairchild cools off during rehearsal for “A Chorus Line.” Phil production of “A Chorus Line” is directed and choreographed by original cast member Baayork Lee. Ten years later, she revived the role on Broadway and now she returns to play the role inspired by theater icon Baayork Lee at the Hollywood Bowl.
Elaine Marcos started her professional career playing Connie Wong during a national tour of "A Chorus Line" in 1996. Phil’s production of “A Chorus Line” features veteran Broadway dancers such as Spencer Liff (far left) and Robert Fairchild (next to Liff). The cast of “A Chorus Line” warms up for rehearsal in the gym at Hollywood United Methodist Church.