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Post by anthony40 on Jun 11, 2020 9:29:36 GMT
I always like those two lines or so from Paul at the end of the opening number (God I Hope I Get It) where he sings Who Am I Anyway?
Exposes his vulnerabilities straight up front.
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Post by tysilio2 on Jun 11, 2020 15:32:27 GMT
Groban! 😍😂 seriously the Stages concert was one of the best things I ever did see. Agreed. Remember I was at the front in Birmingham. His vocal was outstanding and the orchestra was fantastic. Wholeheartedly agree. One of the best nights ever in a theatre/concert hall
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Post by Jon on Jun 11, 2020 19:49:35 GMT
It's interesting that A Chorus Line went to Drury Lane when it open originally in London, I wonder if it would have run a bit longer had they opted for say the Adelphi.
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Post by distantcousin on Jun 11, 2020 19:59:33 GMT
Originally I was very wary about the hype over it - I knew little about it other than it sounded too American for me!
However, I went to see it at the Palladium in 2013 and my mind was blown! I literally became obsessed with it. Something about it really tapped into something. It was funny, poignant, exciting, daring, authentic, thought provoking - everything I love about a musical.
I went back to see it again within weeks, and then when news came of it's premature closure, a third time.
Played the cast recordings to death and rate it probably top 15 favourite musicals.
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Post by paulbrownsey on Jun 12, 2020 16:30:24 GMT
I interviewed Marvin Hamlisch (um, mumbledy mumble years ago) and I asked him about "What I Did for Love" because, to me, it just seems out of place Yes, because the whole point of the show is NOT 'what they do for love' but what they do to get in a show! The sentiment comes out of nowhere and is throughly gratuitous. It would have been no less relevant had they sung, say, "Have Yourself A Merry Little Chrisdtmas."
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Post by ABr on Jun 15, 2020 14:51:58 GMT
On the recommendation of this thread we watched 'Every Little Step' last night, and thoroughly enjoyed it! Such an amazing insight into the very complicated and long process to cast the revival! Well worth a watch!
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Post by sf on Jun 15, 2020 17:56:10 GMT
I watched Every Little Step as well last night - not for the first time, but for the first time in a few years.
The sequence showing a succession of auditionees for the role of Maggie murdering the big climactic note in At The Ballet made me really, REALLY appreciate Kay Cole's glorious performance on the original cast recording.
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Post by BurlyBeaR on Jun 15, 2020 19:00:18 GMT
I interviewed Marvin Hamlisch (um, mumbledy mumble years ago) and I asked him about "What I Did for Love" because, to me, it just seems out of place Yes, because the whole point of the show is NOT 'what they do for love' but what they do to get in a show! The sentiment comes out of nowhere and is throughly gratuitous. It would have been no less relevant had they sung, say, "Have Yourself A Merry Little Chrisdtmas." Doesn’t it make more sense in the film when Cassie sings it though? She’s had the history with Zak, someone moved on, her most likely because she loved him but it wasn’t right. I can see how Morales singing it would seem off.
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Post by sf on Jun 15, 2020 19:13:11 GMT
Yes, because the whole point of the show is NOT 'what they do for love' but what they do to get in a show! The sentiment comes out of nowhere and is throughly gratuitous. It would have been no less relevant had they sung, say, "Have Yourself A Merry Little Chrisdtmas." Doesn’t it make more sense in the film when Cassie sings it though? She’s had the history with Zak, someone moved on, her most likely because she loved him but it wasn’t right. I can see how Morales singing it would seem off. It's absolutely wrong when Cassie sings it, and that's one of the worst choices in a very, very bad film. When Cassie sings it - partly because Ed Kleban was pressured into writing a somewhat generic lyric so that the show would have an extractable hit song - it becomes about the relationship as much as the career, and that's not what the show is about.
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Post by BurlyBeaR on Jun 15, 2020 20:14:14 GMT
Richard Attenborough and I would disagree 🙂
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Post by sf on Jun 15, 2020 20:31:03 GMT
Richard Attenborough and I would disagree 🙂 Richard Attenborough didn't understand the material at all. In a film full of very bad choices, reassigning that song was one of the worst. The moment is not - or should not be - about a romantic relationship. It's about dedication to a craft.
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Post by anthony40 on Jun 15, 2020 20:56:26 GMT
I think it was such a shame to cut the song "I really Couldn't Sing" from the film.
That said, it was performed well in Glee!
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Post by Deleted on Jun 15, 2020 21:37:06 GMT
They made some terrible choices for the film version.
They cut all of Michael Bennett's iconic choreography in the opening 'I Hope I Get It' and replaced it with some bad MTV video routine.
And Cassie's wig in the flashback scenes is a crime all of its own.
Though i do admit to really liking the new song 'Surprise'
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Post by sf on Jun 15, 2020 21:43:34 GMT
They made some terrible choices for the film version. They cut all of Michael Bennett's iconic choreography in the opening 'I Hope I Get It' and replaced it with some bad MTV video routine. And Cassie's wig in the flashback scenes is a crime all of its own. Though i do admit to really liking the new song 'Surprise' And 'Let Me Dance For You' isn't a patch on 'The Music And The Mirror'.
I don't mind 'Surprise', but the montage it mostly replaces is better.
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Post by ncbears on Jun 15, 2020 22:50:31 GMT
Richard Attenborough and I would disagree 🙂 Richard Attenborough didn't understand the material at all. In a film full of very bad choices, reassigning that song was one of the worst. The moment is not - or should not be - about a romantic relationship. It's about dedication to a craft. Attenborough that it was just a standard backstage musical - he said it was about a group of "kids" trying to get their first break. Um, no. And he brought back the original discarded idea of Cassie showing up to confront Zach and not to be part of the audition. In the film, Cassie gets her own entrance in a cab - as I recall. Bennett knew that was wrong and that idea was discarded early in the creation of A Chorus Line. And, I know, if you hire Michael Douglas, you have to show his face, but Zach being almost exclusively on the GodMike in the stage show is a whole different story than one where Zach is a "person". That's why you don't cast Michael Douglas.
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Post by Someone in a tree on Oct 9, 2020 16:31:59 GMT
Has anyone read any of the books about this show? If so could you recommend one over the other
Please and thanks 😁👍
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Post by musicalmarge on Oct 17, 2020 13:59:02 GMT
They made some terrible choices for the film version. They cut all of Michael Bennett's iconic choreography in the opening 'I Hope I Get It' and replaced it with some bad MTV video routine. And Cassie's wig in the flashback scenes is a crime all of its own. Though i do admit to really liking the new song 'Surprise' The Chorus Line film is my guilty pleasure. They made some mistakes but ALSO made some great additions. Some wonderful performances too.
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Post by TallPaul on Jan 2, 2021 10:57:36 GMT
One of the presents Father Christmas very kindly left under my tree was the "40th anniversary celebration newly remastered original cast recording."
"This definitive, remastered new edition is taken from the surround sound remix and features eight bonus tracks that - for the first time - allow the listener to eavesdrop on the creative process of composer Marvin Hamlisch and lyricist Edward Kleban."
Bonus tracks:
It's all in here I can do that At the ballet Sing! Joanne Shoes One Finale ballad (What I did for love)
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Post by Oleanna on Jan 2, 2021 16:37:22 GMT
One of the presents Father Christmas very kindly left under my tree was the "40th anniversary celebration newly remastered original cast recording." "This definitive, remastered new edition is taken from the surround sound remix and features eight bonus tracks that - for the first time - allow the listener to eavesdrop on the creative process of composer Marvin Hamlisch and lyricist Edward Kleban." Bonus tracks: It's all in here I can do that At the ballet Sing! Joanne Shoes One Finale ballad (What I did for love) Oh do enjoy, TallPaul. It’s a wonderful remastering, and the bonus tracks are sublime. In fact, I listen to “It’s All In Here” more often than the rest of the actual score. I wish more of it had made it in. It’s beautiful and melancholic as performed by Kleban and Hamlisch, too.
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Post by alece10 on Jan 2, 2021 17:18:43 GMT
I've got this on Apple music but it says released 2015. Is this the same one or is there a more recent version?
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Post by Oleanna on Jan 2, 2021 18:14:22 GMT
I've got this on Apple music but it says released 2015. Is this the same one or is there a more recent version? Same version, alece10. It was originally released to mark the show’s 40th anniversary in 2015.
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Post by paddy72 on Jan 3, 2021 3:43:48 GMT
Floating around on YouTube is a very grainy black and white recording of the original cast performing at The Public in New York. What struck me about seeing the original again after all these years is how beautifully soft and gracefully fluid the dancing was. So different from the coldness of more recent productions with all the aggressive strutting step kick knee kick step stuff. The steps are the same in the film but you can see dance interpretation instead of imitation. What was also so powerful was the realisation that the actors weren’t acting. They were telling their own stories or those of their friends so there were no parodies or pretence. It made me remember how genuinely moving it was as it was giving you an insight on the reality of what a dancers life was like on Broadway. The only show for me that has ever come close in capturing such honesty was London Road at the National. Totally different subject matter but equally as captivating in its honesty. A Chorus Line never was the big, brassy, high energy, definitive knock em dead block buster, show off, Broadway musical that it is so often mistaken for. It was just a chorus line of dance loving dancers telling their stories openly and at times devastatingly. The tragic aftermath is of course that as you watch the YouTube copy you realise that you are actually watching ghosts of people some of whom died way to soon.
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Post by alece10 on Feb 7, 2021 10:05:56 GMT
Found a very interesting documentary on Amazon Prime last night called "Every Little Step". It focuses on the original Michael Bennett tapes that recorded the 12 hour session with actors that formed the musical, interviews with some of the original cast and creatives and the audition process for the last Broadway revival. The auditions are wonderful with lots of singing and dancing and rejections. Its almost like watching A Chorus Line in real life. Thoroughly recommend to anyone who likes the musical and has Amazon Prime
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Post by distantcousin on Feb 7, 2021 13:44:53 GMT
Floating around on YouTube is a very grainy black and white recording of the original cast performing at The Public in New York. What struck me about seeing the original again after all these years is how beautifully soft and gracefully fluid the dancing was. So different from the coldness of more recent productions with all the aggressive strutting step kick knee kick step stuff. The steps are the same in the film but you can see dance interpretation instead of imitation. What was also so powerful was the realisation that the actors weren’t acting. They were telling their own stories or those of their friends so there were no parodies or pretence. It made me remember how genuinely moving it was as it was giving you an insight on the reality of what a dancers life was like on Broadway. The only show for me that has ever come close in capturing such honesty was London Road at the National. Totally different subject matter but equally as captivating in its honesty. A Chorus Line never was the big, brassy, high energy, definitive knock em dead block buster, show off, Broadway musical that it is so often mistaken for. It was just a chorus line of dance loving dancers telling their stories openly and at times devastatingly. The tragic aftermath is of course that as you watch the YouTube copy you realise that you are actually watching ghosts of people some of whom died way to soon.
How interesting.
And I SO wish I'd seen London Road. Gutted.
Did the film measure up to the stage production? (I've seen that)
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Post by danb on Feb 7, 2021 14:39:07 GMT
Is London Rd available to watch on any bbc online service at all?
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Post by Deleted on Feb 7, 2021 18:29:01 GMT
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Post by danb on Feb 7, 2021 20:08:20 GMT
Thank you.
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Post by fossil on Dec 18, 2022 17:10:36 GMT
ArtsEd 7 - 11 February 2023. Booking opens Tuesday 10 January, 1pm
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