A Chorus Line Musical

BROADWAY Opened Shubert Theatre: July 25, 1975. Scheduled Broadway closing: March 31, 1990. Total performances, as of March 31: 6,014. Total members of the Broadway company over 15 years: 511. Total N.Y. attendance: 6,543,058 (as of Feb. 19). Producers: New York Shakespeare Festival, Plum Prods. (Michael Bennett).

Marvin Hamlisch promises to light up the sky in a unique way this weekend at the Hollywood Bowl. The composer, who has won three Oscars, four Grammys, two Emmys, a Tony, three Golden Globes and the Pulitzer Prize, is conducting the Los Angeles Philharmonic and Tony Award-winning actor Nathan Lane in a concert of movie music and musicals.

Broadway said goodby Saturday to "A Chorus Line" in an emotional final performance that included tears, cheers and a standing ovation for the musical's cast, both past and present. "This show is dedicated to anyone who has ever danced in a chorus or marched in step anywhere," producer Joseph Papp said as the show ended a 15-year run of 6,137 performances, the longest in Broadway history. "Take a final bow 'Chorus line,' " Papp said.

The main reason for mounting a new production of "A Chorus Line" in Los Angeles was to present it in a smaller-than-usual theater--on more of the intimate scale that its creator Michael Bennett originally envisioned. But after only eight weeks, the show, which opened to many rave reviews, is set to close on Sunday. As the co-producer of this production, it's been a sad lesson in Big Squeeze economics of mid-size theater today.

Whenever an ensemble of players so connects with audiences the way "A Chorus Line's" performers did in 1975, there is a bond created that never seems to loosen. They came onto the scene unexpectedly, a group of unknown Broadway gypsies whose on-stage characters seemed to represent the aspirations and cynicism of the era.

Marvin Hamlisch promises to light up the sky in a unique way this weekend at the Hollywood Bowl. The composer, who has won three Oscars, four Grammys, two Emmys, a Tony, three Golden Globes and the Pulitzer Prize, is conducting the Los Angeles Philharmonic and Tony Award-winning actor Nathan Lane in a concert of movie music and musicals.

It may have been the last night of Broadway's longest-running show, but the atmosphere was far from funereal. As the sun went down, the Shubert Theater's marquee for "A Chorus Line" went on turning the theater once again into the show business landmark it had been for the last 15 years. This time there was a new feature, the lyrics to the musical's most popular tune.

Seldom has the Inevitable come with such surprise. After a record 15 years on Broadway, "A Chorus Line" is closing on March 31. "The End of the Line" was the headline of its last advertisement. Well, there are worse disasters, and 15 years "isn't bad" for a Broadway show. . . . But of course "A Chorus Line" isn't just a Broadway show. Being about a mythical kind of musical, it became a myth itself.

The main reason for mounting a new production of "A Chorus Line" in Los Angeles was to present it in a smaller-than-usual theater--on more of the intimate scale that its creator Michael Bennett originally envisioned. But after only eight weeks, the show, which opened to many rave reviews, is set to close on Sunday. As the co-producer of this production, it's been a sad lesson in Big Squeeze economics of mid-size theater today.

In an exercise sure to start arguments among music lovers, National Public Radio has created its list of the 100 most important American musical works of the century. The list started with 300 songs suggested by a group of producers, artists and experts familiar to NPR. In mid-October, NPR allowed the public to vote on the selection. More than 13,000 listeners cast their votes online and through the mail. A panel of 15 musicians considered the same 300 songs.

It may have been the last night of Broadway's longest-running show, but the atmosphere was far from funereal. As the sun went down, the Shubert Theater's marquee for "A Chorus Line" went on turning the theater once again into the show business landmark it had been for the last 15 years. This time there was a new feature, the lyrics to the musical's most popular tune.

Broadway said goodby Saturday to "A Chorus Line" in an emotional final performance that included tears, cheers and a standing ovation for the musical's cast, both past and present. "This show is dedicated to anyone who has ever danced in a chorus or marched in step anywhere," producer Joseph Papp said as the show ended a 15-year run of 6,137 performances, the longest in Broadway history. "Take a final bow 'Chorus line,' " Papp said.

Seldom has the Inevitable come with such surprise. After a record 15 years on Broadway, "A Chorus Line" is closing on March 31. "The End of the Line" was the headline of its last advertisement. Well, there are worse disasters, and 15 years "isn't bad" for a Broadway show. . . . But of course "A Chorus Line" isn't just a Broadway show. Being about a mythical kind of musical, it became a myth itself.

BROADWAY Opened Shubert Theatre: July 25, 1975. Scheduled Broadway closing: March 31, 1990. Total performances, as of March 31: 6,014. Total members of the Broadway company over 15 years: 511. Total N.Y. attendance: 6,543,058 (as of Feb. 19). Producers: New York Shakespeare Festival, Plum Prods. (Michael Bennett).

Whenever an ensemble of players so connects with audiences the way "A Chorus Line's" performers did in 1975, there is a bond created that never seems to loosen. They came onto the scene unexpectedly, a group of unknown Broadway gypsies whose on-stage characters seemed to represent the aspirations and cynicism of the era.

THE leggy blond sits at a utilitarian desk, black bodysuit revealing the long, lean lines of a dancer, repudiating her fiftysomething age. Trish Garland, between clients at her Sherman Oaks storefront Pilates studio, has just returned from the recent opening of the Broadway revival of "A Chorus Line." Garland's interest in the show was more than casual.

In the first song of the ultimate backstage musical, "A Chorus Line," the performers repeatedly sing the line, "I really need this job!" That is not true, at least monetarily, for the 23 performers of the Desert Opera Theatre's production of the musical opening tonight at the Palmdale Cultural Center. Even though they have gone through almost two months of rehearsals and are commuting from as far away as Hollywood, none of the performers are being paid. "What's money when you're having fun?"