Playbill: Concord Theatricals is celebrating the 50th anniversary of A Chorus Line and the 80th anniversary of its late composer Marvin Hamlisch's birth with a special competition that will award free licenses of the musical's Teen Edition to 10 schools in low-income communities. One Singular Sensation: A Chorus Line Licensing Competition is open to all U.S. high schools, with Title 1 and other under-resourced schools especially encouraged to enter.
2 comments:
This is such a wonderful thing and made my heart very happy. I think it is so important to be able to provide theatre to young underprivileged students. Especially when the industry is always looking to be more inclusive, in order to do that you need more people with different perspectives, which can start with funding theatre in high schools. I also think A Chorus Line is such a good choice for this project due to its diverse cast of characters and opportunities for multiple people to have leading roles/ time in the spotlight. The show can still function just as intended with little to no set and costumes. It is a story about real artists and focuses on people, a community, and love for the art form. It is easy for teachers to apply and share their love for their students. This makes me so very happy and proud to be a part of this industry.
This endeavor is so exciting to me! It’s a great way to improve theatre equity and accessibility at the high school level. Personally, my school opted for cabarets and musical revues over full-scale musicals primarily because of licensing costs. A Chorus Line is one of my favorite musicals, and I think it is a great choice for high school theatre. The opening number provides the opportunity for a large ensemble, while the rest of the show gives way to intense acting, singing, and dancing opportunities for students looking to be challenged. Additionally, many of the characters don’t have set casting parameters. I am curious how the high school edition of A Chorus Line differs from the original. One of the most powerful parts of A Chorus Line is the intimacy that each character shows - Paul’s monologue, Cassie’s Dance, etc. What will be considered too explicit for high schoolers? I can’t think of anything from the original that doesn’t translate to high school, but have a feeling a lot of the topics on sexuality will dissapointly be cut. Overall, this seems like a great initiative and I’d be curious to see a high school production of it.
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