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 . . ."

A Chorus Line and I came of age right around the same time, so it has not only an aesthetic appeal for me but a nostalgic one as well. I've seen several live versions and of course the movie, which could never measure up to any live performance just because of the nature of the subject, but made the show accessible to those who couldn't see it live. I did not know what to expect upon viewing Every Little Step, but how could I be disappointed given the subject matter and its irresistible music?

Reviewers here have criticized a variety of omissions in the film, charging that it is inaccurate and/or incomplete. However, I see Every Little Step as more of a multi-media magazine piece than a documentary. How amazing to listen to the interviews with the dancers back in 1974 which provided the inspiration for the musical! I thoroughly enjoyed the blending of footage of original auditions and performances in the 70s with the current audition process for the 2006 revival. Though I was disappointed not to see auditions for Morales and wondered why some of the stories were not completed, I did learn some things in retrospect that I had never known back then (eg, the Kelly Bishop I always enjoyed in Dirty Dancing is the Sheila I have been listening to all these years on the Broadway cast album). The film successfully engaged me emotionally and made me realize that it is A Chorus Line which inspired my interest in American Idol throughout these years and why that show continues to be a separate entity from these other wannabe reality shows. ELS also sent me right to the internet to dig up more Chorus Line history and cast info and You Tube performances to keep me involved and singing all afternoon, even after finishing the extra features on the DVD (there are plenty). What a lovely way to spend an afternoon.

I didn't set out to be a critical viewer of this film, only to find out more about this timeless piece, and I enjoyed every little step of it.

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.

A documentary on the revival of "A Chorus Line" on Broadway in 2006. It goes over the rehearsals and has interviews with the casting directors, the dance instructor and Donna McKechnie (going over the original production). It focuses on various performers and shows their auditions. At the end we find out who gets the job--or doesn't. There's also some very grainy b&w footage from the original show.

I saw a "Chorus Line" on stage multiple times in the 1980s. I found the play funny, sad, touching and just brilliant. I haven't seen it in ages but I clearly remember all the songs and characters. This documentary only focuses on the characters who have songs. Nothing wrong with that but it gets repetitious. I don't think I can ever listen to "Dance Ten, Looks Three" or "At the Ballet" again--they're done virtually nonstop here! Also some of the scenes look very staged, the direction is clumsy and some people appear and disappear at an alarming rate. Still the interviews are fun and there are little facts dropped throughout the movie that some people might not know. The best acting done here is by Jason Tam. He doesn't sing but he has a monologue about coming out to his parents and breaks down crying (it's in the play). His acting in that was just perfect and more than a few people in my audience were crying along with him. That alone was a highlight. Worth seeing if you're a gay man or a lover of "A Chorus Line". Slightly recommended.

When I go to the movies, usually I watch the action-adventure, thrills and chills-type films, but i decided to take a break from them and focus on something like documentaries. Because sometimes the mind desires peaceful things. I need to balance my Yin and Yang.

Usually documentary movies are focused on big issues, like AN INCONVENIENT TRUTH, BOWLING FOR COLUMBINE and FAHRENHEIT 9/11. But as of recently, I ran into documentaries based on thing no one has ever seen or heard of. Like THE KING OF KONG: A FIST FULL OF QUARTERS about two video game champions and EVERY LITTLE STEP.

Now about that film, I found it interesting to watch and I learned about not only the story of the revival, but the story of how the show itself got started back in the 70's. And I found out how tough it is to be in showbiz ("Eat nails!"). The surprising fact is the the people in charge of the 2006 revival of A CHORUS LINE were actually veterans of the 1975 production and it was based on the lives on some of the stars. Surprising eh?

I can't wait to watch the DVD of this film, I can't wait to see what the film-maker was thinking.

All in all, I highly recommend it.