“A Chorus Line” is set in a serious, limited space. A monumental Broadway masterpiece that overturned the conventional wisdom of musicals.

"A Chorus Line" synopsis

Zack (Michael Douglas), a popular director, holds auditions to select four male and four female chorus dancers for his new show. Zach relentlessly asks the 16 young people selected from hundreds of young people, revealing their true faces about their upbringing, parents, family, sexual experiences, sexuality, plastic surgery, etc. Meanwhile, Zack's ex-girlfriend Cassie (Alison Reed) rushes to the audition venue. She left him to become a Hollywood actress, but her dreams were shattered and she returned. Zack dismisses her, saying, ``There's no way she can handle the chorus,'' but Cassie pleads with her to participate in the audition, saying, ``Dance is the only thing I can do.'' The audition progresses as the lives of the 16 people and the relationship between Zack and Cassie intertwine.

Index

• An original play that achieved unexpected success
• A musical genius whose life was short-lived
• It is ironic that the film did not create a star.

An original play that achieved unexpected success

In 1981, a new record was set on New York Broadway. ``A Chorus Line '' exceeded the number of long-running performances that `` Grease '' had up until then. `` A Chorus Line,'' which premiered on Broadway in 1975, had a long run of 6,137 performances until 1990. Although the longest-running record has since been broken by ``Cats'' and ``The Phantom of The Phantom of the Opera,'' it is still considered a monumental work on Broadway.

Speaking of musicals, ``A Chorus Line'' was a groundbreaking work at a time when most musicals were dream stories or comedies (although that trend is still strong today). Of course, up until then, in addition to glamorous songs and dances, there had been great musicals centered on serious dramas such as ``West Side Story'' and ``The King and I.'' However, what was special about ``A Chorus Line'' was that the story was limited to the dancers' audition scenes. The space that the audience sees is the ``theater stage'' where auditions are held, so the equipment is quite simple. Although giant mirrors are used in some scenes, the main focus is on watching the dancers themselves as they audition.

Who would have thought that a musical like this would become so popular? The performance, which began in April 1975 at the 299-seat Joseph Papp Public Theater, quickly became a hit and was moved to a theater with more seats. Furthermore, in July of the same year, he moved to the Shubert Theater, which is famous in Broadway's theater district, and continued his long run.

A musical genius whose life was short-lived