A Chorus Line - Lead Cast Announced

An all-new Australian production of one the most successful American Broadway musicals of all time, A Chorus Line is coming to Her Majesty’s Theatre, Melbourne in February 2012.

Direct from Broadway and a U.S Tour, this new Australian production is directed and re-staged by Baayork Lee, one of the original cast members and inspirations from the Tony Award® winning 1975 production. Lee was seen in the fabulous documentary Every Little Step, which focused on the 2007 Broadway revival of A Chorus Line.

Musical  Supervisor will be Peter Casey (Jekyll & Hyde, Topol’s Fiddler On The Roof) and the show is produced by Tim Lawson and TML Enterprises (Topol’s Fiddler On The Roof, Shout!, The Rocky Horror Show)

The producers are thrilled to announce the cast for this spectacular show will include Josh Horner (Billy Elliot on Broadway, Tivoli, Dirty Dancing, Dancing With the Stars) who will play formidable Broadway director, Zach.

Horner says “This role of Zach really speaks to me. You see people giving their heart and soul and you are in control of their dreams. I’ve been on both sides of that role so A Chorus Line mirrors perfectly my life as a dancer.”

Starring as Cassie is Australian star of the West End, Anita Louise Combe who made her first professional appearance on stage as Sillabub in the Australian Premiere Production of Cats followed by Cosette in Les Miserables. Combe is one of the few people in the world to date who has played both roles of Roxie Hart and Velma Kelly in the production of Chicago in the West End. Combe created the role of Stephanie Mangano in the World Premiere Production of Saturday Night Fever opposite fellow Australian, Adam Garcia and played Betty in Sunset Boulevard in London and Toronto.

Pictured below: Anita Louise Combe with Simon Gleeson, Christie Whelan and Martin Crewes in Manilla Street Productions' Starting Here, Starting Now.

Producer Tim Lawson says “We are thrilled with the amazing pool of talent the auditions have uncovered.

Selecting the final cast has been incredibly exciting and audiences are going to be blown away by the dynamic mix of new discoveries and highly established stars.”

Adelaide's Debora Krizak had already been revealed as playing the cynical adult character of Sheila. Dancer James Maxfield is rumoured to be playing the role of Mike, who sings the peppy "I Can Do That". 

A Chorus Line was originally conceived, choreographed and directed by the legendary Michael Bennett, featuring a book by James Kirkwood and Nicholas Dante, with music by Marvin Hamlisch and lyrics by Edward Kleban.  The original production of A Chorus Line opened at the Public Theatre’s Newman Theatre in 1975 and transferred to Broadway’s Shubert Theatre later that year. It won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama, nine Tony Awards®, including Best Musical, Score and Book, seven Drama Desk Awards and the New York Drama Critics Circle Award. It ran for 6,137 performances over 15 years, becoming the longest-running production in Broadway history until surpassed by Cats in 1997, and the longest-running American musical on Broadway until surpassed this August by Chicago.

Director Baayork Lee has been involved in A Chorus Line since 1975, when she was invited by director Michael Bennett to participate in the workshops from which the show was developed, with the role of Connie Wong in large part based on her own life. She has since directed and choreographed 35 international productions of the show.

A Chorus Line tells the tale of 17 dancers desperately auditioning for eight stage roles in a musical. In an empty theatre, on a bare stage, this audition is the chance of a lifetime. It’s what they’ve worked for – with every drop of sweat, every hour of practice, every minute of every day of their lives. This is the chance to dance. Their personal human stories are told through captivating song, riveting drama and stunning choreography.

A Chorus Line is a timeless Broadway masterpiece for a new generation that speaks to everyone who’s ever had a dream and put everything on the line.

A Chorus Line opens at Adelaide’s Festival Theatre on 31 December 2011, then opens at Her Majesty’s Theatre, Melbourne on 4 February 2012.