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| Every Little Step - A Chorus Line Revival Casting Documentary Premier at Toronto Film Fest | |
| Posted by: | Snowman (mrubinoff@mrubinoff.com) 09:09 pm EDT 09/06/08 |
| The documentary about casting the revival of A Chorus Line made its world premiere late this afternoon at Toronto's Winter Garden Theatre as part of Toronto's International Film Festival and what an experience it was. Producers/Directors James D. Stern and Adam Del Deo were on hand with John Breglio, Donna McKechnie, Baayork Lee, Charlotte d'Amboise, Jessica Lee Goldyn and Natalie Cortez. If you love the musical theatre and you were touched by ACL, you will love this film. It is a real life A Chorus Line and it was fascinating. It did not just chronicle the casting but documented so much of the A Chorus Line history and mythology. It was incredible hearing the original tapes of the Bennett interviews the show was based on. It was hearing such a big part of Broadway history. There was some old interviews with Bennett and Bob Avian and fantastic reflections from McKechnie, Lee, Breglio, Avian and Hamlisch. It put you in the casting room and allowed you to feel the euphoria of clinching the part and the heartbreak of not being cast. From the open call to the final call back you were on the journey. It was an emotional roller coaster and captured on film that indescribable and palpable feeling of making it. We all know what that is and if we don't we all know what it is like to crave that. I must state emphatically that the film has enormous integrity and handles people with care. No one is put down or treated poorly. Anyone who may be portrayed negatively is the maker of their own misfortune and only one is a main culprit of that. But he has landed okay as a certain choreographer on So You Think You Can Dance. This could have been a sleazy reality type show process and it is not, it is A Chorus Line on film. Handled with care by people who love the musical theatre as much as many of us on this board. It is fascinating to see who didn't make the cut and realize they are now Tony Award winning choreographers or stars in new shows. Those given a lot of camera time, who were not cast in the Broadway revival include Nikki Snelson (bucking for Val) and Natascia Diaz (bucking for Cassie). I think the most moving moment, and there are many, is Jason Tam's call back for Paul. Extraordinarily heart breaking for all the right reasons and interspersed with clips from the original interview with Nicholas Dante and video of Sammy Williams performance . At the end of the film they all came on stage. Donna stated Michael would be so proud of the film and Charlotte gushed that she was finally sharing a stage with Donna. It was such a special theatrical and cinematic experience to be in that theatre. We are all fortunate that John set out to do this type of film, that the producers and directors took it on with such integrity and that AEA and its members allowed the public to get a glimpse of how special this business means to all of us who are a part of it. If you are in Toronto there are two more screenings. Michael Rubinoff | |
