'A Chorus Line' turns 50: A look at how it changed Broadway forever
Friday marks the 50th anniversary of the iconic Broadway musical “A Chorus Line,” which opened at the Shubert Theatre on July 25, 1975.
The story of dancers auditioning for the chorus of a new musical became a singular sensation. The show picked up nine Tony Awards and the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1976. It ran for 15 years – the most performances of any Broadway show up to that time – and had an enormous influence on today’s Broadway, including how musicals are created.
“It really shouldn't have worked on any level,” said theater historian Laurence Maslon, “because it took every convention of the American musical and turned it inside out.”
The barebones staging of “A Chorus Line” was novel at the time. When audiences entered the Shubert Theatre, they didn’t see an elaborate set or a red velvet curtain – instead they saw a black box, with a white line at the front, and performers in rehearsal clothes doing a dance routine.
