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Kelly Bishop (Emily Gilmore on Gilmore Girls) earned a 1976 Tony Award for “Best Supporting or Featured Actress (Musical)” for her role as Sheila in the Broadway production of A Chorus Line. A new documentary, Every Little Step, is being released this April about A Chorus Line.
Every Little Step was produced and directed by James D. Stern and Adam Del Deo. It follows the process of casting the 2006 Broadway revival, as well as exploring the history of the musical. A Chorus Line follows seventeen Broadway dancers auditioning for spots on a chorus line, providing a glimpse into the personalities of the performers and the choreographer during the audition process. It’s only fitting, then, that the documentary do the same thing – going behind-the-scenes of a musical that essentially is about the same process.
The documentary will have a limited release in the US starting on April 17, 2009. I’m not sure if Kelly Bishop was interviewed for the DVD or not, but it’s an interesting look at a production that helped make her famous!
Hollywood Outbreak recently interviewed Kelly Bishop about being a part of Broadway history and her role on A Chorus Line (hear mp3 here). Kelly says talks about being a part of a project that can change lives, of how great it was to take part in the “earth shaking” production.
“Every Little Step” Trailer:
And here’s a photo from the 1975/1976 production of A Chorus Line that I *think* has Kelly Bishop to the back.
Images: TheWB.com / Photo taken by Martha Swope, 1975 ©, Courtesy of Sony Pictures Classics
I just saw Every Little Step last night at the Canada Square Theatre (Yonge/Eglinton) here in Toronto. What a fantastic film about the creative process and a musical that changed the face of American theatre. Bravo to the late Michael Bennett for taping a 12 hour conversation with a bunch of dancers (of which Kelly Bishop was one – you can hear her voice on the archival reel-to-reel tape recording of that conversation) and from those stories created “A Chorus Line”. Kelly Bishop’s portrayal of Sheila (whose signature song “At The Ballet” was described by composer Marvin Hamlisch as “the heart of the musical”) won her the Tony.
I highly recommend the film (or DVD) to anyone interested in the theatre, as you see the audition process for the 35th anniversary revival production from beginning to end – it’s like “A Chorus Line” within “A Chorus Line”!
955 days ago
[...] a Comment // Kelly Bishop (Emily Gilmore on Gilmore Girls) got her big break in the Broadway production A Chorus Line in the 1970s – she even won the 1976 Tony Award as [...]
I got it on DVD from Asia and there are no interview sections with her but they used some (very short exerpts) of the original tapes. So you can hear her talk for a second or two. *lol*
If you want to see more pictures of Kelly, go to my website & click on ‘media’ to access the gallery.
I am so excited about this film. I didn’t know about it. A Chorus Line the movie (1985) is one of my favorite movies of all time.