Second Chorus
Every Little Step is a good idea for a documentary: following the audition process for the Broadway revival of A Chorus Line (which, as I'm sure you know, is about dancers auditioning for a Broadway show).
It's also a second movie, about the making of the original production. Some of the best stuff comes from composer Marvin Hamlisch, the only living member of the original creators. For instance, "Dance: Ten; Looks: Three," one of the big comic numbers, wasn't getting any laughs and director Michael Bennett was threatening to cut it. Then Hamlisch and lyricist Ed Kleban figured out the problem--the title, which at the time was "Tits And Ass." There it was, right in the program, giving away the punchline. They changed it and from then on the number worked.
They also noticed the show was going well, but there was still something missing in the audience reaction at the curtain. Then Marsha Mason told them after a preview what was wrong--Cassie, the central character (if there is one), who had the audience rooting for her, was cut at the end. Next day Bennett let her make it, and the show worked perfectly.
The movie not only puts you in the place of the auditioners, but also the people in charge. Most of the time, you can pick out who's going to make it. They all have talent, but some simply stand out.
Hopefully, Every Little Step will wipe away the bad taste that the disastrous film version of A Chorus Line left in everybody's mouth.
The funny thing is I'm not really a fan of the musical. Let's say I'd see it for free, but I wouldn't pay. The trouble is the story's not strong. It's almost a revue--a bunch of separate routines, some quite good, but each telling its own story. Yet, obviously, the show strikes a deep chord in people. It ran 15 years on Broadway. There aren't enough gypsies in the world to keep something running that long.
posted by LAGuy @ 12:18 AM
3 Comments:
Do you know anything about why the movie is such a poor transation. In particular, why did they remove two or three songs? I think the movie in't overly long - and usually it seems to me they add songs when filming a broadway musical (like "You Must Love Me" in Evita).
It's pretty normal to cut songs when adapting a musical. Musicals are often two and a half hours and you want the movie to be around two. (The Chorus Line movie, by the way, is an hour and 53 minutes--that's plenty long.) They also cut because it's a chance to take out the weaker material.
It's also normal to add a song or two for commercial reasons. It gives the studio a chance own the copyright, gives them something that can win an award (you don't get Oscars for songs that were introduced elsewhere) and helps in promotion, partly by giving people who've already seen the show something new.
In general, of course, there are movies and there are stage musicals. They're not really the same thing. I agree with Stephen Sondheim that very few good stage musicals have been successfully adapted to screen. (Arthur Laurents latest book excoriates the movie version of West Side Story, and that won a bunch of Oscars.) Sure, plenty are enjoyable, but that's because they captured some of the quality of the original, not because they've turned a stage piece in a real movie. Movies are simply a different format--even the idea of characters breaking out into song is still faintly embarrassing to a lot of people.
A Chorus Line presented specially big problems of adaptation. There's always the question of how much to "open up" the story, but most musicals at least change scenes a fair amount. A Chorus Line consists of people in rehearsal clothes standing around on a bare stage doing monologues. Either you keep it as it is, which will seem boring to most audiences (which the movie was anyway) or you change it so much it's no longer A Chorus Line (and probably a different, weaker movie).
I don't know if there's much they could have done, but I have two suggestions. First, don't hire Richard Attenborough to direct. He was as bad a choice as John Huston for Annie. What were they thinking int he 80s? (Michael Bennett left when he wasn't given enough control.) Second, don't concentrate so much on the director. They hired Michael Douglas to play the part and it became the lead. The director is just a voice--the story is about those people on the stage.
The girl can dance but her singing is a bit pitchy.
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