A Chorus Line (1985) Columbia/Musical RT: 118 minutes Rated PG-13 (language, sexual references) Director: Richard Attenborough Screenplay: Arnold Schulman Music: Marvin Hamlisch Cinematography: Ronnie Taylor Release date: December 20, 1985 (US) Cast: Michael Douglas, Alyson Reed, Terrence Mann, Michael Blevins, Yamil Borges, Jan Gan Boyd, Sharon Brown, Gregg Burge, Cameron English, Tony Fields, Nicole Fosse, Vicki Frederick, Michelle Johnston, Janet Jones, Pam Klinger, Audrey Landers, Charles McGowan, Justin Ross, Blane Savage, Matt West, Pat McNamara, Sammy Smith. Box Office: $14.2M (US)
Rating: ***
Add A Chorus Line to the long list of Broadway shows I’ve never seen performed on stage. If I had, I probably wouldn’t be so fond of Richard Attenborough’s (Gandhi) film adaptation of the Tony-award winning backstage musical about sixteen dancers going through an unusual audition process by a director casting his next big production. The original Broadway production opened in ’75 and ran for 6,137 performances until closing in ‘90. Over six million people saw it. The movie version of A Chorus Line came out in ’85. The studio expected it to be a big hit. It wasn’t. Critics and fans of the show weren’t exactly bowled over. Audiences didn’t show up. It bombed with a disappointing $14.2M gross against a $25M budget. It didn’t deserve this fate. It’s really quite good.
Hundreds of hopefuls line up outside a theater on Broadway to try out for a new show. It’s an exhausting process that results in most of the dancers being eliminated until it’s down to sixteen. The director/choreographer Zach (Douglas, The China Syndrome) needs only eight dancers- four boys, four girls- for the chorus line. He can see them; they can’t see him. To them, he’s a voice echoing from the darkness of the theater. He occasionally lights a cigarette as he sizes up the nervous hopefuls standing on the stage. He asks them questions about themselves- where they were born, their ages, their dreams and what their lives have been like. Some, like Diana Morales (Borges) and Paul San Marco (English), find it difficult. Others, like Mike (McGowan, Grease 2) and Richie (Burge, The Electric Company), have fun with it. Mike explains how he first got into dancing (“I Can Do That”) while Richie recounts his first sexual experience (“Surprise”).
Meanwhile, a person from Zach’s past shows up in hopes of auditioning for the chorus line. Cassie (Reed, Skin Deep) used to be a big star on Broadway as well as Zach’s girlfriend. That was before she left both to make it in Hollywood. She didn’t and now she’s back. Still hurt and angry, Zach tries to send her away, but his assistant choreographer (Mann, Critters 1-4) convinces her to stick around.
Looking back, I always liked musicals. I can’t tell you how many times I watched Grease 1 & 2 (especially 2) growing up. I wanted badly to see popular stage shows like Evita, Beatlemania and Annie, but the parentals had little concern for my cultural development. Seeing movie versions of Broadway shows was the next best thing. I was psyched to see A Chorus Line when it opened a few days before Christmas ‘85. I went with a friend to a Saturday afternoon showing at the Wynnewood Theater. I LOVED it! I had never seen anything like it. I found it fascinating. It had interesting characters with interesting stories. It had great songs and great dancing. It’s humorous, sad and insightful in equal measures. I’ve watched it several times over the years and never get tired of it.
Douglas is one of my favorite actors. He’s such a commanding presence. He’s just right for his role in A Chorus Line. He effortlessly portrays a demanding, sometimes harsh creator capable of compassion in small doses. In one scene, he comforts Paul who breaks down after privately telling Zach about how his parents learned the truth about his sexuality. He also conveys resentment about how his relationship with Cassie abruptly ended. In the role, Reed does a tremendous job, especially when she sings her heart out to Zach (“Let Me Dance for You”). Mann, another favorite of mine, is terrific as the assistant with a heart of gold.
So who are the lucky sixteen dancers? I already told you about Diana, Paul, Mike and Richie. That leaves twelve. They are veteran dancer Sheila (Frederick, All the Marbles), 17YO newbie Mark (Blevins), Bronx native Al (Fields, Trick or Treat), his nervous, scatter-brained wife Kristine (Fosse, daughter of famous choreographer Bob Fosse), sexpot Val (Landers, Dallas), shy Maggie (Klinger), flamboyant Bobby (West), Asian-American Connie (Boyd, Assassination), super-talented Bebe (Johnston, Showgirls), openly gay Greg (Ross), married father of two Don (Savage) and spirited Judy (Jones, The Flamingo Kid).
Every auditioner has his or her own moment. Val reveals that her two…. uh, assets are the result of surgical augmentation in a naughty little number called “Dance: Ten, Looks: Three”. Diana sings about her horrible high school acting teacher (“Nothing”). Bobby doesn’t get his own number, but he has some of the best lines- i.e. “I realized to commit suicide in Buffalo is redundant.” Mark talks about mistaking his first wet dream for gonorrhea at age 12. Connie complains about how being short (4’ 10”) limits the roles she’s offered. All of them give good performances. One note, Landers is only one with no previous song-and-dance experience. She does a pretty good job of it nonetheless.
Now that I’ve told you what A Chorus Line is about, let’s talk about what it’s really about. It’s about the agony and heartbreak of trying to make it in show business. It’s hard, extremely competitive and often thankless. Anyone wishing to succeed has to have a hard shell and an unlimited capacity for rejection. Everybody’s looking for their big break. Everybody wants to be a star. Most will not make it. Some will have to settle for being part of the background, the chorus line. A Chorus Line, an accurate depiction of that life, allows us to get to know the dancers as individuals before they blend in with other dancers in a giant kickline in the finale (“One”).
The music and dancing in A Chorus Line is terrific. I’d expect nothing less from the great Marvin Hamlisch who composed the songs with Edward Kleban. My only gripe is that the show’s signature number “What I Did for Love” is reduced to a throwaway number. It should have been a showstopper. This is what I was told by a classmate who saw the stage show. Despite this minor glitch, I really love A Chorus Line. I’d even call it one singular sensation.
