On The Line - The Creation
of
A Chorus Line
by Robert Viagas, Baayork Lee and
Thommie
Walsh
Reviewed by
Brad Hathaway |
Published 1990
Updated 2006
376 Pages - 27 backstage photos
Limelight Editions, New Jersey -
List price $20 |
Click here to buy the book
 |
As the first Broadway revival of A Chorus Line
opens at the newly named Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre on New York's 45th Street, two of
the original cast members and their writing collaborator, theater maven
Robert Viagas, return to the book they produced back when the original
production was completing its legendary, record setting run of 6,137
performances at the Shubert on 44th. They have updated some of the material
but for the most part they simply give the readers a chance to refresh their
memories before heading off to hear "One" one more time. It was a fascinating
story they told the first time out, and time has not diminished the emotion
of the story. The update could have benefited from a bit more detail on what
happened after the original book went to press and a bit more attention to
the passage of time could have been paid in revising the original passages.
But still, the book provides a unique view into a unique experience. |
Contents: A different kind of "as told to"
book. Writer Robert Viagas helped two of the original cast members of A
Chorus Line gather and relate the stories of the nineteen original
members of "the line" and the eight "understudies" who performed in the
show's legendary the opening number.
The general outlines of the story are well known to most
died-in-the-wool musical theater lovers - how a group of dancers from
Broadway shows got together on the night of January 26, 1974 and told the stories of their personal and
professional lives, and how Michael Bennett turned those stories into a
musical that not only broke all the rules of a musical, it broke all the
records as well. The book lets you view the history of that effort from the personal
perspectives of the dancers who told those stories, and those who joined in the process that ended up with the opening
a year and a half later of what would become the longest running musical in
Broadway history.
The truly amazing part of the story, however,
is not quite as well known. It is the tale of how the dancers whose lives
formed the basis for the musical were convinced to sign away the rights to
the stories, and even the rights to their images, for a single dollar each
with a pittance from the royalties to be split so many ways that none ended
up making much money on the project. Of course, they did get a job out of
the deal. Still, the feeling that they were cheated out of both a great deal
of money and of recognition for their contribution to what each believed to
be the greatest musical of its time pervades the book.
Viagas provides a new preface that is useful
for those approaching the topic for the first time ever, or for the first
time in a while. Either way, his preface would be a fine stand-alone
briefing for anyone about to attend the revival, let alone to read the book.
The authors provide a new appendix titled "Their Lives To Date" meaning
through 2006. They don't seem to have revisited much in between, however.
There are still lines like "The Shuberts have said on more than one occasion
that the show might be transferred to a smaller theater" which makes no
sense at all now, after the show closed in 1990. It would also have been
interesting to have an update on what happened to the show itself in the
intervening years. These quibbles wouldn't matter as much, however, if the
story they tell were not as fascinating as it is. |
