Film and Broadway producer James D. Stern recalls the state of musical theater circa 1975 – before “A Chorus Line” graced the Great White Way.
“Broadway was in terrible shape,” Stern says. “[“A Chorus Line“] took an entire industry by hand and lifted it up.”
The film had a similar effect on Stern, who credits it for getting him involved in the dramatic arts.
“It informed my life decisions in some way. It galvanized me,” says Stern, whose Broadway credits include “Hairspray” and “Legally Blonde.”
So he jumped at the chance to co-direct “Every Little Step,” the documentary about the creation of the Broadway sensation and its 2006 revival. Getting access to the audio tapes of show creator Michael Bennett only enhanced the project’s appeal.
The tapes Stern and co-director Adam Del Deo we able to hear – and use in the movie – are “the stuff of Broadway legend,“ he says, the true origin of the show. Bennett interviewed a number of Broadway dancers to get their innermost feelings about their line of work. Their reflections inspired the show’s audition-heavy storyline.
It’s easy to forget how much “A Chorus Line” revolutionized Broadway. The musical’s workshop approach to fine-tuning the finished musical stands as one glaring example.
“There had never been a workshop done before,” he says, adding that process is now standard for most modern shows.
Stern is fascinated by the tick-tock timing of a Broadway show, the minor tweaks which bring major dividends. For “A Chorus Line,” that meant renaming the show’s bawdiest song from “T*&% and Ass“ to “Dance: Ten; Looks: Three.”
“By not giving away the joke the whole song works,” he says. “It turned a show that’s appreciated into a show that gets a wild standing ovation.”
Stern’s proudest moment connected to “Every Little Step” came when original “Chorus Line” cast member Donna McKechnie praised the film during an early screening in Toronto.
“Donna took the microphone and said Michael would have loved this film. It’s the single greatest praise I’ve ever received,” he says.
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