Catch the Extended Run of A CHORUS LINE at San Francisco Playhouse

Due to popular demand, San Francisco Playhouse announces that it will extend A Chorus Line, adding a full week of 8 performances to its run. Critics and audiences have loved the Playhouse’s production of the hit Broadway musical. BroadwayWorld lauds it as “a WOW production” and The Mercury News heralds the dancing as “sharp, tight and beautifully in sync.” San Francisco Chronicle deemed the show “a pandemic-recovery triumph…If you’re looking for hope for a pandemic-battered industry, San Francisco Playhouse’s production supplies it.” Directed by Bill English with music direction by Dave Dobrusky and choreography by Nicole Helfer, A Chorus Line will now perform through Saturday, September 16, 2023 at San Francisco Playhouse, 450 Post Street. For tickets ($15-$100) and more information, the public may visit sfplayhouse.org or call the box office at 415-677-9596.

 

In A Chorus Line, twenty-four hopeful dancers undertake a grueling audition for eight coveted spots in the back-up chorus of an unnamed Broadway show. Exploring the inner lives and bittersweet ambitions of performers, this groundbreaking musical captures the spirit, tension, and hope of a high stakes audition. A Chorus Line was created from the real-life stories of working Broadway dancers, including eight who appeared in the original cast. Their deeply personal tales, shared in workshop sessions hosted by dancers Michon Peacock and Tony Stevens, caught the attention of director/choreographer Michael Bennett who had also been considering a show centered on the singular life of chorus dancers. A Chorus Line’s 1975 Broadway debut changed the face of musical theatre, with The New York Times proclaiming, “It is an occasion of joy, an affirmation of Broadway and a smoke‐signal to the world that the musical can touch unexpected depths in the human heart.” The show has also been credited with literally saving Broadway, which was struggling with attendance at an all-time low of 6.6 million before the show premiered. A Chorus Line helped bring in 8.8 million playgoers the following year, became the centerpiece of a New York City tourist promotion, led to the revitalization of Times Square, and went on to run for an unprecedented 15 years. In 1983 it became the longest running musical in Broadway history, a title it held for another 14 years until it was finally surpassed by Cats.  The show won nine Tony Awards, the Pulitzer Prize for Drama, four Drama Desk awards, and three Obie Awards. Of this enduring classic, Time Out said, “The show remains an enormously powerful and affecting piece of work: one of Broadway’s all-time greats, with more kick than most other shows combined.” San Francisco Playhouse’s new production is several years in the making—it was originally scheduled to be presented in its 2020-21 season before being cancelled due to theatre closures during the pandemic.  

 

PRODUCTION TEAM:

A Chorus Line features direction by Bill English, assistant direction by Louis Parnell, music direction by Dave Dobrusky, choreography by Nicole Helfer with Keith Pinto as associate choreographer and Clint Calimlim as assistant choreographer, scenic design by Heather Kenyon and Bill English, lighting design by Mike Oesch, costume design by Abra Berman, and properties design by Keili Elliott.   

 

SAN FRANCISCO PLAYHOUSE:

Founded by Bill English and Susi Damilano in 2003, San Francisco Playhouse has been described by The New York Times as “a company that stages some of the most consistently high-quality work around” and deemed “ever adventurous” by The Mercury News. Located in the heart of the Union Square Theater District, San Francisco Playhouse is the city’s premier Off-Broadway company, an intimate alternative to the larger more traditional Union Square theater fare. The Playhouse provides audiences the opportunity to experience professional theater with top-notch actors and world-class design in a setting where they are close to the action. The company has received multiple awards for overall productions, acting, and design, including the SF Weekly Best Theatre Award and the Bay Guardian’s Best Off-Broadway Theatre Award, as well as three consecutive Bay Area Theatre Critics Circle Awards for Best Entire Production in the Bay Area. KQED/NPR recently described the company as “one of the few theaters in the Bay Area that has a mission that actually shows up on stage. Artistic director Bill English’s commitment to empathy as a guiding philosophical and aesthetic force is admirable and by living that mission, fascinating things happen onstage.” The Playhouse is committed to providing a creative home and inspiring environment where actors, directors, writers, designers, and theater lovers converge to create and experience dramatic works that celebrate the human spirit.

Photo Credit: Jessica Palopoli

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