How "Nothing" almost didn't make it into 'A Chorus Line' 🎩

The Broadway hit celebrates its 50th anniversary, and its original stars spill the tea.

A page from the working libretto of A Chorus Line. Photo by Matthew Wexler, archives courtesy of the New York Library for Performing Arts.

This weekend marks A Chorus Line’s 50th anniversary of opening on Broadway, with an all-star tribute event planned for Sunday, July 27, at the show’s original home, The Shubert Theatre. Michael Bennett’s brilliantly conceived look inside the lives of Broadway hopefuls won nine Tony Awards (including Best Musical) and the Pulitzer Prize for Drama.

The New York Library for the Performing Arts hosted a special panel with members of the original Broadway company, including Donna McKechnie (Cassie), Priscilla Lopez (Diana), Kelly Bishop (Sheila), and Baayork Lee (Connie). Among the stories told was how Lopez’s song, “Nothing,” captured the aspiring dancer’s failed attempt at connecting with her teacher’s creative process.

“I remember the day I found out that ‘Nothing’ was being cut,” Lopez told the enraptured audience. “I called up Michael and asked, ‘Why are you cutting it?’ ”

Bennett responded that the number didn’t work with the show’s progression, and Lopez pleaded with co-choreographer Bob Avian. Inevitably, the busy staging didn’t serve Ed Kleban’s narrative lyrics. Vocal arranger Donald Pippin had a different idea.

“[Don] said to them, ‘Listen, just kick everybody off the stage, put her into the center stage, put the spotlight on her, and just let her sing. And that’s what they did.” The number worked, and stayed in the show.

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