Every Little Step is a Singular Sensation
A touching, self-reflexive exposé on the Broadway audition process, “Every Little Step” chronicles several actors as they spend almost a year auditioning for the recent Broadway revival of “A Chorus Line.” Mirroring the Pulitzer Prize winning musical, the documentary shows the tears, exhaustion, thrills and devastations that performers endure.
Documentarians Adam Del Deo and James D. Stern weave three episodes in the “Chorus Line” epoch: the casting process for the recent revival, the original 1975 production, showcasing the original performances by Tony winners Sammy Williams and Donna McKechnie, and finally snippets of a landmark recording. The history of the classic musical began in at midnight in January 1974 when phenom director Michael Bennett gathered together a group of theater gypsies to discuss what made them tick. From these taped conversations came dialogue and musical lyrics that make the show so endearing. To hear the original words from the actual models for the characters is a major treat. Though many of those attending, including McKechnie and Baayork Lee, eventually played themselves in the original cast, it is a gem to hear the play’s co-author Nicholas Dante recall intimate details of being a drag queen before it was fashionable, which formed Paul’s heartbreaking monologue almost word for word.
The entangling of these 1974 tapes, where actors admit their foibles and their doubts, juxtaposes with thousands of hopefuls in 2005, living the lyrics “I Hope I Get It” and “What I Did for Love” personally as they read lines, perform dances and sing the same lyrics over and over for months. Digging into the lives of these vulnerable troupers clarifies just how timeless the musical is. Though the casting process would have been similar for “Les Miserables,” “Phantom Of The Opera” and “Cats,” it’s more poignant to see the story of “A Chorus Line” reflected in these true stories.
The documentary grants an all access pass, showing the progression for eventual victors like Charlotte d'Amboise and Deidre Goodwin along with novices Jessica Lee Goldyn and Chryssie Whitehead who beat out veterans to join the cast. Original cast member Lee not only revealed her own life story when she played Connie in 1975, but now has choreographed the revival. Her choosing of the new Connie will not only replace her original role but will voice lines that she herself inspired.
When the big moment arrives, the casting directors share good news with the champions and break the bad news to those dismissed. The documentary illustrates how even a Tony nominee like d’Amboise, the daughter of ballet legend Jacques, had to sweat it out with everyone else, battling four other very talented actresses for the role, only winning it at the last minute. No one is safe from the rejection that these actors find daily.
A lively, informative, stirring movie, “Every Little Step” reminds us mortals what hell these gypsies go through to bring us 2 ½ hours of entertainment. Even for those force-fed reality TV, there’s something very personal about the stories told here. Tales of ego that shatters one hopeful’s chances and reminders at this time when much of America is “auditioning” for new jobs that the choices made, are nebulous. Someone can have a spark on day one, and lose it on day two, only to be out in the cold. We all audition: for jobs, for relationships, for the universe as we try to prove our decency and worth in the spiritual plane. For this reason, “A Chorus Line” and by extension, “Every Little Step” speaks to even those who have never walked onto a theater stage. Grade: A |
