A Chorus Line, the musical about Broadway dancers set at an audition, played on Broadway for nearly 15 years, 1975-1990, closing as the longest-running musical in history (a title later usurped by Cats and The Phantom of the Opera). A Broadway revival a mere 16 years later may seem a bit soon. But that long run was an indication of the show's universal appeal. Ironically, despite the specific focus on dancers' careers, specifics based on actual dancers' tape-recorded memories, A Chorus Line put up on-stage many experiences common to all people, particularly in the lengthy montage that takes up tracks five, six, seven, and eight here, amounting to almost 19 minutes of songs and dialogue about family life and adolescent foibles. The dancing that is the main point of the show is, of course, not available on a CD, but composer
Marvin Hamlisch and lyricist
Edward Kleban's score continues to appeal.
Hamlisch provides pastiches of Broadway show music and some elements current for the mid-'70s, including disco in the long instrumental section of "The Music and the Mirror" and a power ballad, "What I Did for Love."
Kleban does not shy away from using the vulgar and vernacular to express the dancers' troubles and fears, an approach that was more shocking in 1975 than it could be 30 years later, but that still works. The 2006 cast sings effectively, and
Jonathan Tunick,
Bill Byers, and
Hershy Kay provide new orchestrations that spiff up the sound. Typical for the CD era, this album is longer than previous recordings, besting the original cast album, even in its 1998 "bonus tracks" form, by almost nine minutes. That 1975 album remains a fresher rendering, though audiences attending the revival and wanting a souvenir will get an excellent re-creation on this disc. (The 1985 movie version introduced a few new songs that have not been retained in the revival and remain exclusive to the soundtrack album.) ~ William Ruhlmann