A Chorus Line 2013 London Poster

A CHORUS LINE (2013 London)

As Vice President of Asia Pacific for TML Enterprises, lead producer of the previous Australian tour, A CHORUS LINE with Music by Marvin Hamlisch, Book by James Kirkwood and Nicholas Dante, with Lyrics by Edward Kleban opened at the West End’s London Palladium on February 19, 2013, following previews that began February 5 and closed on August 31 2013.

Produced by John Breglio, Mark Goucher, Act Productions, Tim Lawson, Bronowski Productions, Daniel Sparrow & Mike Walsh Productions, Just for Laughs Theatricals/Tanya Link, Gale King Productions and A Chorus Line Broadway.

Directed and Choreography by Bob Avian & Baayork Lee based on Michael Bennett’s original Direction and Choreography; Set Design by Robin Wagner, Costume Design by Theoni V. Aldredge, Lighting Design recreated by Natasha Katz based on the original by Tharon Musser.

STARRING John Partridge (Zach), Scarlett Strallen (Cassie), Leigh Zimmerman (Sheila) and Victoria Hamilton-Barritt (Diana), supported by Lucy Adcock (Judy), Georgie Ashford (Trisha), Ed Currie (Bobby), Frances Dee (Kristine), Segun Fawole (Butch), Harry Francis (Mark), Simon Hardwick (Al), Rebecca Herszenhon (Val), James T. Lane (Richie), Marc Leslie (Roy), Vicki Lee Taylor (Maggie), Daisy Maywood (Bebe), Alice Jane Murray (Lois), Alastair Postlethwaite (Larry), Andy Rees (Greg), Adam Salter (Mike), Alexzandra Sarmiento (Connie), Michael Steedon (Tom), Gary Watson (Don) and Gary Wood (Paul). The company also includes Rebecca Giocopazzi, Genevieve Nicole and Ashley Nottingham.

TML EnterprisesFor TML Enterprises: Tim Lawson (CEO); Toby Simkin (VP Asia Pacific); Adrian Storey (Associate Producer); Gabi Overton (General Manager); Frank Harlow (Production Manager); Robbert Van Der Zwaag (Company Manager); Jay Lawrence (Ticketing); Damien Chambers (Production Associate); Tom Lambert (Production Associate); Pitcher Partners (Accounts); Peter Hourigan (Insurance); William Mulholland (Legals); AKA Australia (Marketing) and Julie Cavanagh, Bruce Pollack (Publicity).

Formally Broadway’s longest running show, A CHORUS LINE has gone down in history as being one of the most popular musicals ever. Having won 9 Tony Awards, 1 Laurence Olivier Award and the 1976 Pulitzer Prize for Drama, the original production of the show was vastly well received.  The West End production of A CHORUS LINE was the first London revival of the show since it closed 34 years prior.

The story is simple; it is based on the real life experiences of dancers auditioning for parts in a Broadway show. With a cast of 26 and 15 principal roles there is certainly a lot on in the show with many different strands of action. Stand out characters include Broadway director Zach, aggressive tap dancer Mike, fallen star Cassie, homosexual Puerto Rican Paul and preppy but provocative Val. The show demonstrates the brutality of choosing a career as a performer and the perils of the job, such as being cut from a show and dealing with the image obsessed culture.

The show hangs on a simple dramatic device; scenes take place in front or behind a vast white lane across the stage. Scenes behind the line are representative of offstage action, scenes in front are considered to be onstage.

Although there are serious and heartfelt moments, such as the classic music numbers “What I Did For Love” and “The Music and the Mirror”, there are also amusing moments in the show, such as Val’s “Tits and Ass” rendition. Above all the show is known for its whole company dance and musical numbers such as “I Hope I Get It” and “One.”

More Information

Opening Off-Broadway at The Public Theater on April 15, 1975, A CHORUS LINE, originally starring Donna McKechnie, Sammy Williams, Robert LuPone and Carole Bishop, transferred to the Shubert Theatre on Broadway on July 25, 1975 and ran for 6,137 performances before closing on April 28, 1990. On September 29, 1983, A CHORUS LINE became the longest-running show in Broadway history. In London it played 903 performances at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane. It was revived at the Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre on Broadway in 2006 and played for 759 performances.

A Chorus Line (2013 London)

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TV AD

The London TV Ad for A CHORUS LINE at the Palladium Theatre in 2013

PROMO

The London promo video for A CHORUS LINE at the Palladium Theatre in 2013

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A CHORUS LINE

A CHORUS LINE examines one day in the lives of seventeen dancers, all vying for a spot in the “chorus line” of a Broadway musical. After the first round of cuts, Zach, the director and choreographer, asks each dancer to speak about themselves. Discomfort opens into revelation, confession leads to redemption, and within the bright, outwardly homogenous chorus, the audience begins to see each dancer’s individuality. From Cassie, the star who just needs the “music and the mirror and the chance to dance,” to Val, a small-town girl with a brand-new big-town body, to Mike, who took his sister’s place in dance class, saying “I can do that.” Based on real Broadway dancers’ stories, as told to fellow dancer and choreographer Michael Bennett, A CHORUS LINE is funny, heartbreaking, and refreshingly honest.

This production transferred from the Australian tour of A CHORUS LINE in 2011/2012…

A Chorus Line 2012 Australia

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