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Synopsis
After raking in awards at several major film
festivals, EVERY LITTLE STEP reaches movie audiences and
Broadway fans alike. A film about a musical that is itself
about the casting of a musical, the documentary takes fans
inside the makings of A CHORUS LINE. Much of it focuses on the
casting process for the musical’s 2005 revival, though it also
takes fans through the show’s many incarnations and to its
original inspiration. Back in 1974, choreographer Michael
Bennett saw the potential for a spectacular show in the
recorded late-night conversations of several stage performers.
One year--and a lot of labor--later, A CHORUS LINE premiered
to high acclaim, introducing the world to what would turn out
to be a timeless work. EVERY LITTLE STEP takes viewers through
the next few decades with rare footage and fresh interviews,
showing the show’s history unfold in a world filled with war,
anxiety, and political change. As casting is done is for the
2005 revival, audiences see how much the times have changed in
the light of media outlets like My Space and AMERICAN IDOL. As
viewers get to know the actors behind the production, the
realms of theater and reality blur. With its underdog heroes
and self-reflexive narrative, A CHORUS LINE is understandably
appealing to today’s reality-show audiences. The film is the
joint effort of directors James D. Stern and Adam Del Deo,
whose backgrounds as theatre producers, filmmakers, and
documentarians combine well to create a film that manages to
be not only educational but as entertaining as its subject.
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