A special 40th anniversary tribute to A CHORUS LINE will took place on Thursday, April 16 in honor of the first performance of this legendary musical that premiered in The Public’s Newman Theater 40 years ago and went on to make musical theater history. Michael Serrecchia, KD Conservatory’s Musical Theatre Chair, was a part of this celebration as one of the original cast member of A CHORUS LINE.
To commemorate this landmark event, the cast of the critically-acclaimed musical HAMILTON, currently playing on the same Newman stage, presented original cast members of A CHORUS LINE with a plaque that will hang in the Ford Foundation Lobby of The Public. Alumni scheduled to attend this special 40th anniversary tribute include Scott Allen, Renee Baughman, Kelly Bishop, Chuck Cissel, Kay Cole, Ronald Dennis, Brandt Edwards, Nancy Lane, Patricia Garland, Carolyn Kirsch, Ronald Kuhlman, Baayork Lee, Carole Schweid, Michael Serrecchia, and Samuel Williams.
“Forty years ago A Chorus Line opened at The Public, and changed everything about the way American musicals were created. Who gets to star in this, what they could be about, and above all, how tens of millions of people could embrace them,” said Artistic Director Oskar Eustis. “Today, Hamilton is changing everything again. We want to celebrate our history and our future, what has changed and what remains profoundly the same about The Public.”
A CHORUS LINE first premiered at The Public Theater on April 16, 1975 with a book by Nicholas Dante and James Kirkwood, lyrics by Edward Kleban, and music by Marvin Hamlisch. The musical was conceived and originally directed and choreographed by Michael Bennett and later transferred to Broadway to win the 1976 Tony Award for Best Musical, as well as eight other Tony Awards, including Best Book, Best Score, Best Director, Best Choreography, Best Lighting Design, Donna McKechnie as Best Actress, Kelly Bishop for Best Featured Actress, and Samuel Williams for Best Featured Actor. Additionally it won the Pulitzer Prize in 1976 and the New York Drama Critics Circle Award, as well as a special Tony Award in 1984 for Longest-Running Broadway Musical. The 2006 Broadway revival received a Tony nomination for Best Revival of a Musical. The original production at The Public ran for 101 performances before moving to Broadway, where it ran for a record-breaking 6,137 performances. A Chorus Line has toured nationally and internationally including productions in London, Canada, Puerto Rico, Australia, Germany, Sweden, Japan, Argentina, Brazil, Mexico, Spain, and Austria.
– Original Article written by Public Theatre
http://www.publictheater.org/About/40th-Anniversary-Tribute-to-A-Chorus-Line/