Life imitates art as cast members for A Chorus Line are chosen from open auditions
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London Theatre Direct
In addition to the previously announced Scarlet Strallen, John Partridge, Leigh Zimmerman and Victoria Hamilton-Barritt, new names have been revealed to make up the cast of the upcoming revival of A Chorus Line. In a move that reflects the basic story of the show itself, auditions were set up to find additional cast members which resulted in Marc Leslie and Alice Jane Murray being chosen from 2000 hopefuls.
The full cast is completed by Lucy Adcock, Georgie Ashford, Ed Currie, Frances Dee, Segun Fawole, Harry Francis, Simon Hardwick, Rebecca Herszenhorn, James T Lane, Vicki Lee Taylor, Daisy Maywood, Alastair Postlethwaite, Andy Rees, Adam Salter, Alexzandra Sarmiento, Michael Steedon, Gary Watson, Gary Wood, Rebecca Giocopazzi, Genevieve Nicole and Ashley Nottingham.
A Chorus Line debuted on Broadway in 1975 and later spawned a critically mauled but guilty-pleasure film adaptation in 1985. The original Broadway show was an unexpected critical and commercial smash and winning nine of its twelve Tony Award nominations. When its first run closed in 1990 it was the longest-running show in Broadway history and since then its lengthy run has only been surpassed by five other shows. It was revived on Broadway in 2006.
The production is set on a bare stage and follows performers who are auditioning for parts in a musical. It explores the various auditionees' and the choreographer's jouneys to this point which has led them to this audition. The 1985 film version was a commercial flop, failing to recoup its budget. Kelly Bishop, who played Sheila in the original stage version noted: "It was appalling when director Richard Attenborough went on a talk show and said 'this is a story about kids trying to break into show business.' I almost tossed my TV out the window; I mean what an IDIOT! It's about veteran dancers looking for one last job before it's too late for them to dance anymore. No wonder the film sucked!"
The upcoming production begins previews at the London Palladium on 5th February.
Book tickets for A Chorus Line here