Licensing Company: Concord Theatricals
A Chorus Line
It's one singular sensation! The groundbreaking, Pulitzer Prize-winning concept musical set a new standard for Broadway and remains relevant, poignant, provocative and explosively entertaining. A Chorus Line examines one day in the lives of seventeen dancers, all vying for a spot in the “chorus line” of a Broadway musical. A Chorus Line provides a glimpse into the personalities of the performers and the choreographer as they describe the events that have shaped their lives and their decisions to become dancers.
A Chorus Line
PROGRAMMED INSTRUMENTS
Keyboard 1
Keyboard 2
Keyboard 3
$200.00
It’s one singular sensation! The groundbreaking, Pulitzer Prize-winning concept musical set a new standard for Broadway and remains relevant, poignant, provocative and explosively entertaining. A Chorus Line examines one day in the lives of seventeen dancers, all vying for a spot in the “chorus line” of a Broadway musical. A Chorus Line provides a glimpse into the personalities of the performers and the choreographer as they describe the events that have shaped their lives and their decisions to become dancers.
PROGRAMMING NOTES
This licensed orchestration is based on the 2006 Broadway Revival.
This show is orchestrated to be stick conducted and has 3 separate keyboard books all with programming. Book 1 is the primary piano book and has most of the iconic and familiar licks. Although there are only 5 unique instruments in the programming for Key 1, there are close to 70 different patch changes between them. These include Acoustic Piano, Celesta, Fender Rhodes, Electric Piano, and Violins. This part will require an advanced musical theater player who knows the show well and who is comfortable navigating the patch changes.
Although Keyboard 2 has a fair amount of programming and sounds, it is also the primary harp book. This book absorbed all of the important harp passages and glissandos when the harp chair was cut for the Revival orchestration. Along with the harp, the guitar book was also cut for this orchestration, and some of the iconic electric guitar passages are found in this programming. Speaking of which, the Key 2 player will need a MIDI volume or expression pedal connected to their keyboard to control the iconic Wah Wah Electric Guitar in the opening number and in a couple of other spots throughout the show. Other sounds include Fender Rhodes, Harpsichord, Harp, Strings, Banjo, Celeste, and Organ. This book can be easily played by an advanced level high school student and is not technically difficult.
Keyboard 3 is primarily a string reduction for the live strings that were cut from the original orchestration. Other instruments and sounds include B3 Organ, Fender Rhodes, Harpsichord, Organ, Synth Bass, and Tuba. This chair can easily be played by a high school student.
ORIGINAL MUSICAL EQUIPMENT USED
Kurzweil K2600 Keyboard Controller
ORIGINAL MUSIC TEAM
Music by: Marvin Hamlisch
Book by: James Kirkwood and Nicholas Dante
Lyrics by: Edward Kleban
Music orchestrated by: Bill Byers, Hershy Kay, and Jonathan Tunick
Musical Director: Donald Pippin
Vocal arrangements by: Donald Pippin
2006 Broadway Revival Orchestra
Musical Supervisor: Patrick Vaccariello
Conducted by: Patrick Vaccariello
Associate Conductor: Jim Laev
Keyboard 1: Greg Anthony
Keyboard 2: Jim Laev
Keyboard 3: Maggie Torre
Reed 1 (Saxophone/Woodwinds): Ted Nash
Reed 2 (Saxophone/Woodwinds): Lino Gomez
Reed 3 (Tenor sax/Oboe/English horn/Clarinet): David Young
Reed 4 (Saxophone/Woodwinds): Jacqueline Henderson
Trumpet 1/Flugelhorn: John Chudoba
Trumpet 2/Flugelhorn: Trevor Neumann
Trumpet 3/Flugelhorn: Scott Wendholt
Trombone 1: Michael Seltze
Trombone 2: Ben Herrington
Bass Trombone: Jack Schatz
Acoustic & electric bass: Bill Sloat
Percussion/Mallets/Latin/Timpani: Dan McMillan
Drums: Brian Brake
Musical Coordinator: Michael Keller
Music Copying: Emily Grishman Music Preparation
SHOW DESCRIPTION
A Chorus Line is a stunning concept musical capturing the spirit and tension of a Broadway chorus audition. A brilliantly complex fusion of song, dance, and compellingly authentic drama, A Chorus Line was instantly recognized as a classic. Exploring the inner lives and bittersweet ambitions of professional Broadway performers, the show features one powerhouse number after another. Memorable musical numbers include “What I Did for Love, “One,” “I Can Do That,” “At the Ballet,” “The Music and the Mirror,” and “I Hope I Get It.”
After the first round of cuts, Zach, the director and choreographer, asks each dancer to speak about themselves. Discomfort opens into revelation, confession leads to redemption, and within the bright, outwardly homogenous chorus, the audience begins to see each dancer’s individuality. From Cassie, the star who just needs the “music and the mirror and the chance to dance,” to Val, a small-town girl with a brand-new big-town body, to Mike, who took his sister’s place in dance class, saying “I can do that.” Based on real Broadway dancers’ stories, as told to fellow dancer and choreographer Michael Bennett, A Chorus Line is funny, heartbreaking, and refreshingly honest.