tgd@clyde.UUCP (Tom Dennehy) (02/16/84)
Hey kids, let's do a movie of A CHORUS LINE!!
Good luck.
For starters, let's talk about Cassie. Not old, not "over-the-
hill", Cassie embodies every gyspy's dream. She delivered a
show-stopping number in a musical and became an instant star.
(Bonnie Franklin in "Applause", Jennifer Holliday in
"Dreamgirls", Donna McKechnie in "A Chorus Line" if you can't
picture this). But movie deals sour, the public soon forgets,
and Cassie finds herself at the peak of her talent but without
any prospects. Back to the cattle call. The question now is,
can she be just another face on the line, where star quality is a
liability?
Oh, did I mention her past love affair with Zack, who's casting
this show?
Shirley McLaine as Cassie? Give me a break. As Cassie's
grandmother maybe. Anne Reinking as Cassie.
Who else can we talk about? Moralles? Sheesh, she's got the two
best songs in the show (Nothing and What I Did For Love) but as
a character she's a zero. Heavy rewrite here. Debbie Allen as
Moralles.
You may have noticed by now that there are no strong male
characters. A throwaway song at the beginning of the show (I Can
Do That - gotta give that one to Tommy Tune) and strictly window
dressing from then on. Sure, the drag revue alumnus manipulates
our emotions, but he's just a plot device, a set-up. Quick knee
injury and we're reaching for our hankies (Kiss today good-
bye...).
Novelty numbers. "Dance 10 Looks 3". Bernadette Peters.
"Sing". Who cares? Lose it.
There are no relationships between the characters. They tell
their stories one at a time and don't change a whit in the course
of the show. We are witnessing an inconsequential event.
Whether or not any of these people are hired won't change the
world (ours or theirs) and many of them confess that in a couple
of years they'll be out of the business anyway, so who cares?
Beyond characterization, it's a stagey work. One set. A pretty
boring set at that. There are no outside influences to bring in
(like "Berlin Stories" for Cabaret or the wealth or Arthurian
legends for Camelot) to enrich the story, and I'm afraid a
literal transplant to film would be given to someone like Adrian
(Flashdance) Lynne who would inject so much pornographic snap,
crackle, and pop.
All in all, putting ACL on film is a nice idea. Not a good idea,
but a nice idea.
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Tom Dennehy AT&T BL Whippany, NJ {whuxb|clyde}!tgd