Staples Players strives to offer audiences Broadway-quality productions.
To do that, director David Roth gives his actors Broadway-quality experiences.
Two years ago, before “Curtains,” Tony Award-winner Rupert Holmes told the cast how he wrote the play.
Last year, for “Into the Woods,” Tony winner Joanna Gleason described her role in that Stephen Sondheim show.
Last week — with rehearsals for “A Chorus Line” kicking into high gear — Roth welcomed Baayork Lee to the stage.
Talk about one singular sensation!
Baayork Lee, hard at work with the Staples Players. (Photo by Kerry Long)
Lee first danced professionally at age 5, in Yul Brynner’s “The King and I.” She gained fame in “Flower Drum Song,” “Golden Boy” and “Promises, Promises.”
But “A Chorus Line” was — and still is — her true love. She was assistant choreographer to Michael Bennett; he based the character of Connie Wong on her, after she participated in the development workshops.
Lee danced in the original Broadway company — where she met Bradley Jones, the 1975 Staples grad who co-choreographs Players’ current spectacular production. She also toured with it, in Europe and South America.
In the high school auditorium last week, she sat with the cast and crew to talk about the show that remains so dear to her heart.
Baayork Lee (center), surrounded by appreciative and enthralled Staples Players. Bradley Jones kneels in front, next to her. (Photo by Kerry Long)
“I care deeply about passing along the ‘Chorus Line’ tradition, with integrity, passion and care,” she told 100 or so high school students
“You are a very special group. This show changed the face of theater. Now you too will be able to pass on Michael Bennett’s legacy, to a new generation that watches you perform.”
Lee told the teenagers about the New York of the 1970s — the cradle from which “Chorus Line” grew. She described the 2 taping sessions Bennett held, gathering tales of 52 prospective dancers.
She talked about disco dancing every night, then coming back with new steps to incorporate into the show.
It took a lot of hard work — but “A Chorus Line” made history.
If your browser does not link directly to the YouTube video below, click here.)
Before dancing with the cast on stage — and giving them Broadway-and-Bennett-style critiques — Lee told the enthralled teenagers:
“When you’re a pioneer, you don’t know you’re blazing a trail. At the time, we did not realize the difference we made in theater.
“Appreciate everything you do,” Lee concluded. “Appreciate the moment you are in. You never know when it will end.”
For Staples Players, the moment begins March 15. It ends March 23.
But thanks to people like Baayork Lee and Bradley Jones, they’ll carry “A Chorus Line” with them the rest of their lives.
Their audiences will, too.
(“A Chorus Line” shows are Friday and Saturday, March 15, 16, 22 and 23, at 7:30 p.m.; Sunday, March 17 at 3 p.m., and Thursday, March 21 at 7 p.m. Click here for tickets and more information.)
