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As is often the case with great Broadway musicals, there are great songs that, for various reasons, get dropped as part of the creative process. One of those songs, Marvin Hamlisch and Ed Kleban's "Shoes," from the Tony and Pulitzer Prize-winning A CHORUS LINE, was only recently discovered and introduced to a live audience for the first time.
Hamlisch and Kleban based their score for the groundbreaking musical on tape-recorded conversation sessions director/choreographer Michael Bennett held with a group of Broadway dancers, telling of their childhoods and their lives on the stage.
As described on Facebook by Jennifer Ashley Tepper, Director of Programming at Feinstein's/54 Below and author of "The Untold Stories of Broadway" book series, a tape recording of "Shoes" was found by Linda Kline, co-librettist of the 2001 Broadway musical about the life and career of the late Kleban, A CLASS ACT, and was given its first live performance May 16, 2016, at the nightclub's presentation of "Remember Me: The Songs of Edward Kleban."
Performing "Shoes" was HAMILTON's multi-talented Ariana DeBose, who proudly carries the hashtag #TheBullet, for her vital role in the climactic scene of Lin-Manuel Miranda's Broadway smash.
DeBose was featured in last night's BROADWAY BARES: On Demand, the 26th Annual Broadway Bares benefit fundraiser where the hottest ensemble dancers in town show their stuff in sexy striptease production numbers to support Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS. Click here for her fundraising page, which is still accepting donations.
With book, music and lyrics by Lin-Manuel Miranda, direction by Thomas Kail, choreography by Andy Blankenbuehler and musical direction and orchestrations by Alex Lacamoire, Hamiltonis based on Ron Chernow's biography of Founding Father Alexander Hamilton.
HAMILTON is the story of America's Founding Father Alexander Hamilton, an immigrant from the West Indies who became George Washington's right-hand man during the Revolutionary War and was the new nation's first Treasury Secretary. Featuring a score that blends hip-hop, jazz, blues, rap, R&B, and Broadway, Hamilton is the story of America then, as told by America now.
HAMILTON's creative team previously collaborated on the 2008 Tony Award Winning Best Musical In The Heights.
HAMILTON features scenic design by David Korins, costume design by Paul Tazewell, lighting design by Howell Binkley, sound design by Nevin Steinberg, hair and wig design by Charles G. LaPointe, and casting by Telsey + Company, Bethany Knox, CSA.
The musical is produced by Jeffrey Seller, Sander Jacobs, Jill Furman and The Public Theater.
The Hamilton Original Broadway Cast Recording is available everywhere nationwide. The Hamilton recording received a 2016 Grammy for Best Musical Theatre Album.
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