LGBTQ news and entertainment
I am a fan of the fab Julie Andrews. What a talent.
Rather than post something obvious, like the opening of “The Sound of Music” – I found this rather rare, and unusual clip from a 1979 TV special where Julie sings all three parts of “At The Ballet” from the then fantastically popular A Chorus Line.
It gets a little surreal as she tries to interpolate all three parts, but you get the idea.
Gotta love 1970s TV specials….
I can’t imagine my life without the impact of A Chorus Line. Both professionally as an actor and personally as a gay man.
Ground-breaking, innovative, genius – the superlatives for the 7 time Tony Award winning Broadway musical go on and on.
Thanks to Michael Bennett and company for opening so many doors and taking the next step.
In advance of tonight’s Tony Awards show on CBS at 8PM, I wanted to reflect back on the days when the Tonys would pay tribute to the giants of the Broadway world.
From the 1970s through the 1980s the telecast, in addition to handing out the awards for excellence that year on Broadway, would deliver world-class numbers and entertainment honoring the artists of the Broadway genre.
In 1988, a year after 7-time Tony Award winner Michael Bennett’s death, original cast members of A Chorus Line and Dreamgirls came together for a terrific montage to remind of his genius.
More than any other director or choreographer, I think (in my mind) I’ve hoped to aspire to the kind of vision Michael brought to his work. Breaking ground time after time with Company, Follies, A Chorus Line and the breathtaking Dreamgirls, I’ve had a visceral connection to his genius ever since I can remember understanding who he was.
Watch below – AND don’t forget to watch the Tony tonight!
Thanks to my blogger buddy Wicked Gay Blog for reminding me of this fab clip.
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| Sasha Hutchings, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Baayork Lee, Kay Cole, Donna McKechnie and Phillipa Soo |
The cast of the ground breaking off-Broadway show HAMILTON at The Public Theater – currently the hottest ticket in NYC – pays tribute to A CHORUS LINE on the 40th anniversary of its first performance in the Newman Theater at The Public.
Upon the conclusion of curtain calls, the Hamilton cast recreated the finale of the senior show’s opening number, lining up across the stage of the Newman Theater, holding their real-life resume photos in front of their faces and singing, “Who am I anyway/Am I my resume?…”
Led by their composer/star Lin-Manuel Miranda, the cast of HAMILTON then performed “What I Did for Love” in its entirety for the Chorus Liners, who had been invited to attend that evening.
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| Lin-Manuel Miranda (L), Leslie Odom (C) and Jonathan Groff (R) from the cast of HAMILTON |
Think of the theater history made 40 years ago today when A Chorus Line opened off-Broadway at the Public Theater on April 16, 1975.
How to write about a show so special it would go on to move uptown to Broadway and win every major theater award possible including 8 Tony Awards, 7 Drama Desk Awards and the Pulitzer Prize?
Every thing about the show was new and fresh. From the stark realism of the “audition” setting, to the exuberant and cinematic choreography, to the raw and emotional performances that anyone who’s ever applied for a job could relate to.
Give me somebody to dance for, give me somebody to show. Let me wake up in the morning to find I have somewhere exciting to go…
I can remember listening to the Original Broadway Cast Recording of the show in my bedroom in Fort Worth, Texas, at age 12. What I would give to recapture the awe and images conjured in my mind listening for the first time to songs like “What I Did For Love,” “At The Ballet,” and “The Music and the Mirror.” Did I really understand it? No. But I was organically drawn to the material.
There’s a lot I am not certain of. Hello twelve, hello thirteen, hello love.
I had just begun my journey as a performer, with no clue that 10 years later I would perform in my first professional production of the show. And just a few years after that I would be in a National Touring company of the show with the original star and Tony Award winner Donna McKechnie.
(True story – I got the offer for the tour via my “phone service” at the time. I called the casting folks from the subway. They made the offer and said “take a day and think about the offer.” I said, “I’ll take it.” They said, “No, feel free to think about it.” And I said even more emphatically, “I’LL TAKE IT! MARK ME DOWN AS YES!” Can you imagine saying “no” to doing A Chorus Line with Donna McKechnie???)
The show became very important to me, as I think it does everyone who’s ever stood on that line. It is a show about “us.” We may not know who we are, but we know it’s about us.
Who am I anyway? Am I my resume? That is a picture of a person I don’t know.
It was one of those shows that just “fit” me. From my first rehearsal I felt so comfortable with the steps; with the concept; with the music; with the open, honest approach of the stories.
I made sure it was the first show I ever saw on Broadway. A breathless experience. I’ll never forget how it moved so fast. Number after number. It just kept coming at you.
Kind of like life.
After two National touring companies, twice I almost replaced in the Broadway company. But fate had other plans.
The sweetness and the sorrow.
I went on to be in other Broadway shows I never dreamed of. And that’s a part of the life of a Broadway dancer.
But the show continued to impact my life as I performed the show under the direction of many original cast members. And eventually, I passed that wisdom on in companies I’ve staged. I think at last count, I’ve put 9 companies on the boards across the country; the most recent being last summer at Sacramento Music Circus.
Over the years I got to know and work with many of the original cast members: Donna McKechnie, Thommie Walsh, Baayork Lee, Kay Cole, Priscilla Lopez, Kelly Bishop and more. Can you imagine? What a gift. All of them sharing this tribal experience.
Wish me luck, the same to you.
I always loved hearing what the “originals” had to say about the show and how to approach it. I hate to say “how it should be done” because the one constant in every “original’s” recounting was that Michael Bennett – the original director/choreographer – always brought the focus back to each performer. And each replacement got that respect. Because THAT’s what the show was about – the individuals who make up the chorus of a Broadway musical.
We’re all special. He’s special, she’s special. And Sheila, and Richie and Connie. They’re all special.
If a new cast member had a different line reading or thought on a line, they didn’t have to just regurgitate their predecessors performance.
So, when I stage the show now, I let every cast and creative team member know that while I want to honor the integrity of the show, and the choreography will be as close to the original as possible, it’s important to not get caught up in starting on this foot or that foot. The tiny details that everyone might swear they know as the “original” way, but no one seems to have a flawless memory of what it really, really was. The point is the intention behind it. It’s about US.
Gone. Love is never gone. As we travel on, love’s what we’ll remember.
And that lesson informs me now every time I approach a new production. It’s never “what was this?” It’s “what is this about?”
And ultimately, it’s about “what we did for love.”
Happy birthday A Chorus Line.
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| Press pic of me as “Mark” in the National Tour of A Chorus Line |
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| Archival photo of Michael Bennett directing the original cast of A Chorus Line |
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| “Who am I anyway?” (Click to enlarge) |
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| Seth Rudetsky “deconstructs” A Chorus Line |
This just kills me.
As many readers of The Randy Report know, I was an actor and dancer on Broadway for many years.
Along that journey, I got to work with the fab Seth Rudetsky on a couple of projects – most notably the off-Broadway hit Pageant.
Seth has this wonderful series of “deconstructing” recordings of Broadway show recordings – and this one is perfection.
In this video, Seth “deconstructs” the original Broadway cast recording of A Chorus Line‘s “At The Ballet.” To perfection.
I’m especially impressed that Seth includes in his analysis that the story of “Maggie” was actually based on Tony Award-winner Donna McKechnie’s life story.
I’ve directed A Chorus Line several times and the show is near and dear to my heart. This song, though, is usually where someone in rehearsals comes to me and says “Randy, you’ve got to stop crying.”
I don’t know why but the story of “At The Ballet” resonates deeply for me.
Watch Seth do his brilliant thing below:
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| The Finale of A Chorus Line at Sacramento Music Circus |
Finally getting a chance to exhale as I’ve spent the past two weeks in Sacramento choreographing what feels like a new, fresh and creative A Chorus Line for Sacramento Music Circus.
Uber-proud of the fab cast and crew there. We opened Tuesday night this week to excellent reviews (thank you, thank you, thank you – grateful), and now I’m back at home in Las Vegas with hubby Michael, Bruno the wonder dog and the rest of the pups.
I can only describe this as a truly calm, creative and collaborative experience working with one of the best and most respected directors in theater today – Stafford Arima. The producers of the theatre thought we would make a good team, and I’m happy to say it was a joy from beginning to end. I think it’s rare you walk into an experience with a new “team-mate” and find such a solid connection and unified artistic vision. Everyone connected to the production from Stafford to our music director Valerie Gebert to the designers who brought the show to life were all on the same page.
I will admit there was a tiny amount of trepidation on my part in taking the job since, as you can guess, A Chorus Line makes “the line” an integral part of the show. Staging a show that is iconically about a line – IN THE ROUND – can make for some big creative leaps in order to honor the Pulitzer prize-winning material.
I’ve been associated with the show for 29 years, performing it for the first time in 1985. Since then, I’ve been a part of the show as an actor in many national and regional productions (with original cast members Donna McKechnie, Baayork Lee and Kay Cole), and as director/choreographer of several productions in my own right.
Releasing my decades of experience with the show could have been much more difficult, except for our secret weapon – director Stafford Arima. Stafford did not have a history with the show. And that, coupled with his innate talent for questions and creativity moved the show from just another “step, kick, kick, leap, kick, touch” to a very new, “out of the box” production.
When my muscle memory would sometimes kick in, and I’d think “how do we…?,” Stafford would ask “do we have to do it that way…? What if we…? Could we…?” and suddenly new ideas became reality.
Do we have to form a single line in the finale? Can “At The Ballet” spread out to the entire theater? Can we use mirrors in the production without blocking the audiences view?
“Deconstructed” became the catch word. And as Martha Stewart would say, “This is a good thing.”
The only things I made sure I brought to the production were ideas/concepts that I had learned over the years from original Broadway cast members that honored the integrity of the piece. The voice of the individual; that everyone is special. The further and further we got into the rehearsal process, the more comfortable I was that we were doing Michael Bennett (the original Tony Award winning director/choreographer) proud in sharing the intent of the piece. It was never about starting on the right or left foot – it was about what were we saying. As Stafford would say over and over “Trust the text.” I would add, “the Pulitzer Prize-winning” text.
I did find one special place with which to land the iconic “logo” line of the show. That made me happy. To find out where, come see the show 🙂
Sacramento Music Circus photog Charr Crail (production pics) and cast member John Williford (rehearsal and opening night pics) shared several photos with me that I’ve posted here to give you a sense of the journey that is this A Chorus Line.
Should you be interested in what the critics had to say, you can read the Sacramento Bee and Broadway World reviews by clicking those links. I’m very grateful for the kind words all around.
And, there’s a video montage from the production featuring this fab cast below.
Thanks to all at Sacramento Music Circus.
Kick, ball, change and thanks to everyone for doing “what you do for love.”
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| “Hello 12, Hello 13” with the company |
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| Jen Foote (“Sheila”), Juliane Godfrey (“Judy”) and Katie Huff (“Kristine”) |
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| Eric Sciotto as “Zach” and Kate Levering as “Cassie” |
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| The Finale |
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| Opening ballet combination with Courtney Iventosch (“Lois”) and Kate Levering (“Cassie”) |
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| Nick Varricchio as “Mike Costa” |
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| Adam Fleming and Katie Huff as “Al” & “Kristine” |
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| Xavier Cano as “Paul San Marco” |
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| The Opening of A Chorus Line at Sacramento Music Circus |
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| Zach (Eric Sciotto) rehearsing “One” |
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| Taking a break with the cast during rehearsals |
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| In rehearsal: “At The Ballet” |
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| Drew Humphrey (“Don Kerr”), Kat Murphy (“Laura” & my associate choreographer) with me and hubby Michael at the opening night party. More wine! |
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| The exceptionally attractive cast of A Chorus Line at the opening night party |
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| Even more of the gorgeous cast of A Chorus Line at the opening night party |
KINKY BOOTS Tony Award winner Billy Porter shared shots of himself and fellow Broadway headliners Zachary Quinto, Jonathan Groff, Jessie Tyler Ferguson and more at last night’s celebration of Marvin Hamlisch and the 40th anniversary of the birth of A CHORUS LINE.
The event was held at The Public Theatre in New York City.
Celebrating The GREAT Marvin Hamlisch wit da homies @PublicTheater! @ZacharyQuinto @jessetyler Jonathan Groff! pic.twitter.com/IgOHsbkCXV
— Billy Porter (@theebillyporter) June 23, 2014
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| Teaching the cast “Shit Richie” with my associate choreographer Kat Murphy |
Hard to believe, but it was 29 years ago this summer that I first performed in A Chorus Line – “in the round” at Casa Manana in Fort Worth, TX.
And here I am choreographing the show “in the round” now in Sacramento. Carly Simon once wrote “I know nothing stays the same, but If you’re willing to play the game, you know it’s coming around again…” Glad to know she was right.
Sacramento Music Circus had a photographer at a recent rehearsal, so I thought I’d share a few of the pics. Way proud of this cast.
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| Please note my open wide jazz hands 🙂 |
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| With our director Stafford Arima |
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| Kate Levering (“Cassie”) and I rehearsing “Music and the Mirror” |
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| The cast dancing “Shit Richie” |
Thanks for indulging me, faithful readers. I’m currently staging A Chorus Line at Sacramento Music Circus.
This is the closest thing to a “temple” in my life.
This is seriously where I love to be.