An empty stage awaits dancers auditioning for a part in the chorus line of a big show, gradually being whittled down from twenty two as eventually the lucky eight are chosen.
This is how A Chorus Line starts and ends, a show in which we are taken on a journey through the potential stars' trials. By way of musical numbers and monologues, they try to impress a director who wants more out of them than just their dance history – he wants a history of their lives!
We are given snapshots of each dancer's personality as they "put themselves on the line to get a job on the line", illustrating their emotional drive and where it came from. Skipping between heartbreaking and funny, A Chorus Line was originally choreographed by Michael Bennett and won the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Musical in 1976. It won 9 Tony Awards, was awarded with the Pulitzer Prize for Drama – a rare honor for a musical – and is the fourth longest running musical on Broadway.