I still have my dog-eared Vocal Selections from A CHORUS LINE that I bought back in 1975 and of course the record album. When I think back at the number of times I sang "What I did for Love" at the piano or tap danced to "I Can Do That" or strutted my stuff in my bedroom to "Tits and Ass", I can't believe I never saw the show when it originally opened on Broadway. So the whole family had to go see the revival that is currently in previews at the Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre. My oldest daughter is twelve, the same age I was when the show opened originally! Now that's the circle of life!

A CHORUS LINE was conceived and originally choreographed and directed by Michael Bennett with Book by James Kirkwood and Nicholas Dante, Music by Marvin Hamlisch and Lyrics by Edward Kleban (as if you didn't know...).

Amazingly, Marvin Hamlisch is the only member of the original creative team still alive, with AIDS and cancer exacting their toll on the rest.

The revival is staged as if it is the 1970s, complete with those wonderfully awful tight beige sweaters worn by the men, and the lyrcra wrap dance skirts! (I had a lyrica leotard and dance skirt and would often pretend to be Cassie and dance around in my character shoes...)

We had great seats for the Saturday night 8pm show. It was, in a word, thrilling! When they take their positions on the line -- that iconic visual -- it's so exciting! The dancing and the music together take your breath away. Although the stories are strong, intimate and still compelling 30 odd years later, it is the pure physicality of the dance and the magic of the music that blew me away.

The whole cast is amazing, but my favorite three were:

Charlotte d'Amboise (of course) as Cassie -- she is emotional and superhuman. After the "Music and the Mirror" number my oldest daughter turned to me and the look on her face was pure amazement. I can't believe it was ten years ago that I saw her dance Lola in DAMN YANKEES with Jerry Lewis! I wish I had seen her in SWEET CHARITY! [BTW, isn't it an odd coincidence that Jerry Lewis' character in DAMN YANKEES is named "Applegate", and then a few years later Charlotte d'Amboise would step into the production of SWEET CHARITY for the injured Christina "Applegate". How weird is that?]

Michael Berresse as Zach -- he is so powerful and exact in his dance, wow! I loved him in the KISS ME KATE revival, and he was awesome in THE LIGHT IN THE PIAZZA. Did you know he directed and choreographed [title of show]!

And Mara Davi who played Maggie -- WOW what a voice. When she sang that last "at the ballet" she got a huge round of applause! And that girl can dance!

At the end of the show we went to the stage door to get autographs and the whole cast came out and signed our Playbills. It's so A CHORUS LINE that they come piling out of the stage door in their sweats, dance bags over their shoulders, sign some autographs and then disappear into the subway...

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