THEY’RE THE ONES: THE ORIGINAL CAST PERFORMS THE FINALE OF “A CHORUS LINE.” NEW YORK CITY, 1975. PHOTO BY MARTHA SWOPE, BILLY ROSE THEATRE DIVISION, NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY.

“A Chorus Line” (1975)

Michael Bennett had spent the late 1960s and early '70s building one of the most undeniable track records on Broadway: "Promises, Promises" (1968), "Coco" (1969), "Company" (1970), "Follies" (1971), "Seesaw" (1973). Still, nothing could have prepared anyone, not even Michael himself, for what would emerge in 1975. When a roomful of dancers told the truth about their lives, something was set in motion that didn't just change the form; it changed everyone who was part of it, none more profoundly than the man on the other side of the footlights. "A Chorus Line" put Michael Bennett in a different stratosphere entirely.

Filmmaker and screenwriter Paul Schrader has said that "Taxi Driver" (1976) is called "Taxi Driver"—not "The" or "A"—because anonymity is the point. The title isn’t meant to capture the main character. A similar irony lives in "A Chorus Line." Michael wanted the "A" so the show would appear first in the Broadway directory of shows; the kind of pragmatic trickery only he would think of. But there's something deeper. A chorus line is, by definition, a faceless thing. Interchangeable. And yet the entire point of the show is that these dancers are anything but.

More than 50 years later, the artists who shaped the show's legacy still have plenty to say. More stories from the collaborators and creatives who made the show what it is, and the ones making sure it's never forgotten, are on the way. Subscribe for free on the Mirror Man Substack to stay in step.

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MICHAEL WOULD JUST COME IN AND JUST DANCE. IT WAS LIKE HE WAS FROM OUTER SPACE.

— BAAYORK LEE, BROADWAY VETERAN, "A CHORUS LINE" ORIGINAL AND LEGACY KEEPER

MICHON PEACOCK AND TONY STEVENS, NYC, 1966. THE DANCERS WHO GAVE BROADWAY GYPSIES A ROOM TO TELL THE TRUTH AND UNKNOWINGLY LIT THE FUSE FOR "A CHORUS LINE." PERSONAL COLLECTION OF MICHON PEACOCK.

THE ORIGINAL CAST OF "A CHORUS LINE," NYC, SPRING 1975. MARTHA SWOPE, BILLY ROSE THEATRE DIVISION, NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY.

"A CHORUS LINE" CREATIVE TEAM, 1975. L-R: JAMES KIRKWOOD, JR., ED KLEBAN, MICHAEL BENNETT, MARVIN HAMLISCH, NICHOLAS DANTE. MARTHA SWOPE, BILLY ROSE THEATRE DIVISION, NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY.

MICHAEL BENNETT, 1975. "A CHORUS LINE" HAD JUST BEEN NAMED BEST MUSICAL. IT WAS HEADED TO THE SHUBERT. HE WAS 32. MARTHA SWOPE, BILLY ROSE THEATRE DIVISION, NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY.

JEFF HAMLIN, BOB AVIAN, MICHAEL BENNETT, AND BAAYORK LEE REHEARSE THREE COMPANIES OF "A CHORUS LINE.” NEW YORK CITY CENTER BASEMENT, SPRING 1976. PHOTO BY HERBERT MIGDOLL.

“A CHORUS LINE” SHUFFLES ALONG: THE ORIGINAL TORONTO/LONDON INTERNATIONAL COMPANY, SPRING 1976. PERSONAL COLLECTION OF MICHELLE GREGORY.

SEPTEMBER 29, 1983. THE NIGHT "A CHORUS LINE" BECAME BROADWAY'S LONGEST-RUNNING SHOW. JOE PAPP AND MICHAEL BENNETT, CENTER STAGE. MARTHA SWOPE, BILLY ROSE THEATRE DIVISION, NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY.

JOHN BREGLIO, MICHAEL BENNETT’S FRIEND AND ATTORNEY, AND THE PRODUCER OF THE 2006 BROADWAY REVIVAL OF “A CHORUS LINE.” PHOTO BY CHESTER HIGGINS, JR.

BACK ON THE LINE. THE ORIGINAL 1975 BROADWAY CAST AT THE SHUBERT THEATRE FOR THE "ACL 50" GALA, DIRECTED BY BAAYORK LEE, JULY 27, 2025. PHOTO BY JENNY ANDERSON.

BAAYORK LEE AS CONNIE WONG, 1975. THE LEGACY BELONGS TO MICHAEL, BOB, AND EVERY DANCER ON THAT LINE. BAAYORK HAS SPENT 50 YEARS MAKING SURE NONE OF IT IS FORGOTTEN. PHOTO BY MARTHA SWOPE.

Spotlight on Baayork Lee

BAAYORK LEE ORIGINATED THE ROLE OF 4'10" CONNIE WONG IN "A CHORUS LINE" (1975), DRAWING FROM HER OWN EXPERIENCES AS AN ASIAN-AMERICAN DANCER ON BROADWAY. SHE SERVED AS MICHAEL BENNETT AND BOB AVIAN'S ASSISTANT CHOREOGRAPHER ON THE SHOW AND WAS ITS ORIGINAL DANCE CAPTAIN. FOR OVER FIVE DECADES, SHE HAS BEEN THE WORLDWIDE SUPERVISOR OF "A CHORUS LINE," DIRECTING AND CHOREOGRAPHING PRODUCTIONS ACROSS THE GLOBE. MOST RECENTLY, SHE HELMED THE SOLD-OUT "ACL 50" GALA PERFORMANCE IN JULY 2025, MARKING THE SHOW'S GOLDEN ANNIVERSARY. THROUGH HER NON-PROFIT NATIONAL ASIAN ARTISTS PROJECT (NAAP), BAAYORK HAS SPENT DECADES CULTIVATING AND AMPLIFYING ASIAN-AMERICAN ARTISTS AND AUDIENCES, PRODUCING ACCLAIMED ALL-ASIAN-AMERICAN PRODUCTIONS OF CLASSIC MUSICALS. A DIRECTOR, CHOREOGRAPHER, EDUCATOR, AND AUTHOR, SHE IS THE RECIPIENT OF NUMEROUS HONORS, AMONG THEM THE ISABELLE STEVENSON TONY AWARD AND THE PAUL ROBESON AWARD FROM THE ACTORS' EQUITY FOUNDATION. EVERY PERSON WHO HAS EVER WORKED WITH HER WILL TELL YOU THE SAME THING: SHE’S ONE OF ONE.

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'Dreamgirls' newspaper clipping, The Boston Globe, October 25, 1981

'A Chorus Line' newspaper clipping, Philadelphia Inquirer, September 30, 1983

'A Chorus Line' newspaper clipping, The Montreal Gazette, August 16, 1980

'Dreamgirls' newspaper clipping, The Newark Star-Ledger, December 21, 1981

Michael Bennett newspaper clipping, The Buffalo News, November 22, 1987

'A Chorus Line' newspaper clipping, The New York Times, September 25, 1983

'A Chorus Line' newspaper clipping, The Minneapolis Star Tribune, September 7, 1980

Young Michael Bennett DiFiglia in Mrs. Dunn's 'Little Stars of Tomorrow,' circa 1952; re-published in The Buffalo Evening News, June 28, 1979

“A JOYFUL NOISE” (1966)

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The Master of Emotionally Driven Movement

Jerome Robbins's ambitious heir apparent. Bob Fosse's precocious professional rival. Hal Prince and Stephen Sondheim's sure-footed collaborator. Our eternal influence.

Divinely gifted, charming, sensual, wry, and maniacally driven. With every production, Michael Bennett pushed further, demanded more, and delivered something entirely fresh. Show by show, he gave us new things to see.

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