Every Little Step

"Kiss today goodbye/ The sweetness and the sorrow . . ." A Chorus Line

The business of show business, its pain and its glory, is never better depicted than in A Chorus Line, the 1974 Broadway musical smash of Michael Bennett's genius, reprised on stage and film to this day. In a sense, it is always pointed "t'ward tomorrow" with its eternal production and well-deserved acclaim for its incisive depiction of young actors trying out for the big time, with all the attendant sweetness and sorrow of competition, call-backs, rejections, and triumphs.

The documentary Every Little Step repeats that hard-won glory by recounting the process of the tryouts for the 2006 Broadway revival: The candidates go through the same Olympic-type workouts and tryouts as the characters in the fictional play, which itself was based on Bennett's interviews with young thespians. Not dull for a second, the doc watches several leading candidates on and off stage as they try for and sometimes win the roles that must fit them physically, temperamentally, and almost spiritually.

Unforgettable is Jason Tam doing Paul's monologue (a veiled Michael Bennett role) about his parents and his homosexuality. His crying is so believable that Bob Avian, the original choreographer and collaborator with Bennett, cries himself. Avian, in a sympathetic Simon Cowell role, is brilliant dealing with candidates and selecting the winners. He gives a good name to all the impresarios responsible for the productions to which we award Tony's and Oscars.

Watch out, this entertaining and tearful doc will get you looking on the web for a local revival of A Chorus Line, something that not even West Side Story could do.

"As we travel on, Love's what we'll remember! Kiss today goodbye, And point me t'ward tomorrow. We did what we had to do-- Won't forget, can't regret What I did for love . . ."

The device of looking at the creation of A CHORUS LINE through the process of the auditions for a revival of A CHORUS LINE works very well indeed, and everybody with grease paint in their veins will respond. I do think the film one of the handful of films about the theatre that gets some of the sweat of the process accurately.

My only reservation is that the names of some of the writers of the show aren't spoken in the film. I am glad to learn that this will be adjusted in the DVD release. And this shouldn't discourage anybody from the pleasure of seeing it in a theatre. I saw it surrounded by actors, and they broke into applause several times during the run.

I think some of the reviewers have mistaken Every Little Step for a documentary on the creation of A Chorus Line. It was a documentary on casting the 2006 revival of A Chorus Line with some archival information. The archival information did focus on Michael Bennett and Marvin Hamlisch was interviewed extensively, but to say that it excluded others is, I think, way off base. This was not a documentary on the creation of A Chorus Line. The contributors were all listed at the end of Every Little Step.

Having said that I thought the archival information was very interesting. Some of the original recordings were played and they appeared to be included in the play almost verbatim, not to diminish the fine work of Kirkwood and Kleban. They showed the various singer/dancers competing side by side, or singing a song line by line with one doing the 1st line, another doing the next and so one. You did hear some songs multiple times but certainly not to the point where it became annoying or anything.

Very interesting and entertaining to see how the cast was put together, who they chose and who they didn't. I HIGHLY recommend this film.

Greetings again from the darkness. A Chorus Line is a mainstay and iconic piece of Broadway history. Now we get a documentary on the behind the scenes process of auditioning for a revival of a musical about the process of auditioning for a musical stage production. Luckily, Michael Douglas is not involved in this one. Sadly, Kirkwood and Kleban seemed to be overlooked while the genius of Michael Bennett is the focus. His original co-choreographer Bob Avian is directing the revival.

While American TV viewers have been brainwashed into believing American Idol and Dancing with the Stars are somehow what show business is all about, directors Adam Del Deo and James D Stern show us what the world of a singer/dancer/actor is truly like. The pressure and stress of having to compete for sometimes only a few seconds against hundreds of other talented people ... sometimes while rushing to one's "real" job are just excruciating. These people are trying to realize dreams and relentless hard work for their entire lives and so few actually "make it".

This documentary approach is centered on the famous audio recordings that Michael Bennett held with the initial group back in the early 70's. Marvin Hamlisch recalls going through those transcripts and creating the songs that would become Broadway staples. Mr. Hamlisch also brings us insight into the impact that actress Marsha Mason had on the success of the play after she attended (with her husband Neil Simon). Good stuff.

Sure the auditions tug at the viewer's emotions a bit, but that is because we are rarely exposed to the pressure cooker of what happens prior to the curtain rising. Jason Tam's audition is worth the price of admission alone.

Were egos involved in making this film? Absolutely. But in reality, ego is what drives these creative forces. When it is damaged, it immediately impacts the talent. We get a first hand look at that. If you are fan of A Chorus Line, this is a must see. If you are intrigued by the Broadway process, then you will certainly see aspects you have never seen before.

While "Every Little Step" is hardly cinema verite, it certainly seems to be a credible effort to document the Broadway process--from the first cattle call audition to the final call-back 8 months later. In between the filmmaker interviews old players from "A Chorus Line"'s impressive legacy and culls bits from the original tape archives that established the framework of the '75 classic as well as the Broadway revival.

Whenever innocence and passion are combined, something sublime occurs. I suppose that is why I wept through much of "Every Little Step". I was definitely rooting for several performers, and remember how (in a former life)disappointing it can be when you're the last to be cut or the first to be forgotten.