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.

Related posts:

1. WWTW Interview: ‘Every Little Step’ co-director Adam Del Deo
2. WWTW Interview: James Watkins (Eden Lake, The Descent 2)
3. WWTW Interview: Director Nick Tucker (‘Do As I Say’)

The new documentary “Every Little Step” chronicles that singular sensation, the birth of Broadway’s “A Chorus Line.”

The film’s co-director, Adam Del Deo, says you don’t have to be a dancer to relate to those struggling hoofers – or the battle to bring the show to life back in 1975.

“It’s about committing yourself fully to try to achieve something, and the passion that goes into that process,” Del Deo says.

The meta-documentary recalls how hundreds of dancers tried to land a role in the original Broadway show, “a mirror of what the show itself is,“ Del Deo says.

And none of it would be possible with the passion and artistry of the show’s creator, the late Michael Bennett.

The key to “Step” was gaining access to long-buried audio tapes of Bennett discussing the show from a very personal perspective.

“No one had ever heard the tapes,” he says, adding the 20-30 hours of audio were locked in a vault until recently.

“Step” features talented artists auditioning for the role of a lifetime before a panel of cynical judges. Sound familiar?

But Del Deo didn’t want to piggyback onto a certain cultural zeitgeist.

“We were very sensitive to make it not like ‘American Idol,’” he says.

Tomorrow: “Every Little Step” co-director James D. Stern shares how “A Chorus Line” impacted his own career.

Related posts:

1. WWTW Interview: Director Nick Tucker (‘Do As I Say’)
2. WWTW Interview: ‘Choose Connor’ writer/director Luke Eberl
3. WWTW Interview: ‘The Class’ director Laurent Cantet