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A Chorus Line: The Complete Book of the Musical |
Author: James Kirkwood
Published: 2000-05-01 |
List price: $14.95
Our price: $11.21
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As of: October 11th, 2008 06:56:50 AM
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Customer comments on this selection.
 Missed so much info until I read this book.
I attended the Broadway run of "A Chorus Line" in 1975 as well as it's revival in Los Angeles in 2008. I loved the music, but for the first time I was able to read and understand the book and the lyrics and realized how much I didn't hear or comprehend when I sat there in the audience. Reading "A Chorus Line-the book of the musical" was a revelation and is now prominent among my Broadway reference library. Special thanks to James Kirkwood, Nicholas Dante for their book and Edward Kleban for his lyrics and their contribution to the music of Marvin Hamlisch and the vision of Michael Bennett.
 Fascinating (If Implausable) Musical
A Chorus Line is what many people (with the exception of this reviewer) considers the best musical ever written. I feel that the best musical ever written wa Chorus Line's original Tony award competitior, Chicago (which alas, won no awards that year.) That isn't to say that I don't like the show. I think it has one of the best musical books ever written and some nice songs.
The show tells the personal stories of dancers auditioning for an unknown musical in 1975. The stories range from hysterical to sad to disturbing. I'm sure that the actor\dancers that told these tales were exceptional. Some of them, like Kelly Bishop and Donna McKechnie, have gone on to great success.
The show's score is nice, but nowhere near the calibur of Chicago's excellent music and lyrics. Marvin Hamlisch supplies nice tunes with a soft rock beat. The most memorable is "One" which is sort of like a Jerry Herman showtune. "Dance: Ten;Looks: Three" is also charming. The montage, which includes two good songs "Hello 12, Hello 13, Hello Love" and "Nothing" also has nice music.
Ed Kleban's lyrics are conversational and blend well with the dialouge. They are sometimes funny and sometimes touching. However, they are sometimes rather predicitable and nowhere near the brillance of Fred Ebb's ironic, cynical lyrics for Chicago.
However, the book is so superb, it makes the okay score nearly perfect for the show.
I do think that A Chorus Line is an important piece. It's extremely well written. However, I doubt if any busy director would take the time to personally talk to eac auditioner about their life. The story is slightly implausable.
However, the great director- Michael Bennet, the great writers and cast made this show a singular sensation that brought tourism and prosperity back to New York.
Good but not worth the price!
C'mon! A chorus Line is THE best musical ever written! Now you can have the chance to own a wonderfully published script to this amazing music. I also suggest buying the cd to the musical to go with the script. It's just a pity that this script can not encapsulate the performances of the original cast as well. But I guess you can't have your cake and eat it too. But you can buy this script... and for a severely discounted price!...Congratulations. Jump at this deal immediately.
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