A Fabulous 50th: Chicago and A Chorus Line! at Renée and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall

In the summer of 1975 in New York City, two musicals opened on Broadway. Each would become American masterpieces and forever earn a place in popular culture: A Chorus Line and Chicago. With music by Marvin Hamlisch, A Chorus Line became an unprecedented box office and critical hit! The musical won 9 Tony Awards and became the longest running production in Broadway history. Just a few blocks away, featuring an opening night cast of Chita Rivera, Gwen Verdon, and Jerry Orbach, Chicago debuted with music by Kander & Ebb. Initially, Chicago lived in the shadow of A Chorus Line and it wasn’t until the 1996 revival that the musical truly took off. That revival won 6 Tony Awards and it continues to play to this day on Broadway, where it now owns the record for the longest running American musical in history. These contributions alone would be enough to earn the songwriter’s hallowed status, but thankfully these men gave us so much more! Marvin Hamlisch is not only a member of the illustrious EGOT club (the winner of Emmy, GRAMMY, Oscar and Tony Awards), but he is in rare air as a Pulitzer Prize winner as well. Hamlisch started as a rehearsal pianist for Barbra Streisand, which led to a long history together, including their iconic song “The Way We Were.” Other career highlights include the James Bond theme “Nobody Does it Better” and theme song from The Sting, “The Entertainer.” Composer John Kander and lyricist Fred Ebb are Broadway legends, of course. They had already written Cabaret before they struck gold again with Chicago! And the two continued to create hits throughout their storied career, including Kiss of the Spider Woman, Steel Pier, the Scottsboro Boys, and The Visit! As amazing as this resume is, their most famous song wasn’t originally for the stage, but rather “New York, New York” which became a signature song for Frank Sinatra, Liza Minelli, and more! For the 50th anniversary of these seminal musicals, we have gathered a cast of Broadway luminaries to celebrate and perform the wonderful music of Marvin Hamlisch and Kander & Ebb!