July 25, 1975: A Chorus Line premieres at the Shubert Theatre. It was directed and choreographed by Michael Bennett. It received 12 Tony Award nominations and won 9, and also won the 1976 Pulitzer Prize for Drama for "book" writers James Kirkwood and Nicholas Dante. It made Dante the 1st Latino to win the Pulitzer Prize for Drama.
Marvin Hamlisch wrote the music, Edward Kleban the lyrics. The original cast starred Robert LuPone (Patti's brother) and Donna McKechnie, who both won Tonys as well. McKechnie went on to marry Bennett, as much to cover up the fact that he was gay as anything else. The marriage didn't last.
Set on the bare stage of a Broadway theater, the musical is centered on 17 dancers auditioning for spots on a chorus line for an upcoming Broadway show, making it Broadway's most "meta" show ever. It provides a glimpse into the personalities of the performers and the choreographer, as they describe the events that have shaped their lives and their decisions to become dancers.
It was made into a film in 1985, starring Michael Douglas as the director, and Alyson Reed as the auditioning dancer who used to be his girlfriend. She's now best known as Ms. Darbus in the High School Musical films. The film was not nearly as well-regarded as the play.
The original Broadway production ran for 6,137 performances, becoming the longest-running production in Broadway history until surpassed by Cats in 1997, and the longest-running Broadway musical originally produced in the U.S. until surpassed in 2011 by Chicago.
Ironically, Chicago replaced A Chorus Line at the Shubert in 1996, although it has since moved to another theater. The Shubert, at 225 West 44th Street, is still in operation.
Sadly, like so many other gay men in New York, Michael Bennett died from AIDS, in 1987. Kirkwood and Dante also fell victim to AIDS, dying in 1989 and 1991, respectively. The disease hit the Broadway community very hard.
Edward Kleban also died in 1987, from throat cancer. Marvin Hamlisch lived until 2012. As of July 25, 2022, Robert LuPone and Donna McKechnie are still alive. (UPDATE: LuPone died of pancreatic cancer on August 27, 2022.)
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July 25, 1975 was a Friday. Kazakh hockey goaltender Evgeni Nabokov was born. And these Major League Baseball games were played:
* The New York Yankees beat the Boston Red Sox, 8-6 at Shea Stadium. This was the latter of 2 seasons the Yankees spent groundsharing with the Mets, while the original Yankee Stadium was being renovated. Rudy May outpitched Luis Tiant. Lou Piniella went 2-for-4 with 4 RBIs. Carl Yastrzemski did not play.
* The New York Mets beat the Chicago Cubs, 6-3 at Wrigley Field in Chicago. Randy Tate outpitched Rick Reuschel. Dave Kingman went 4-for-5 with a home run and 3 RBIs.
* The San Diego Padres swept a doubleheader from the Atlanta Braves, 7-3 and 8-1 at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium. Willie McCovey didn't play in the opener, but went 2-for-4 with a walk and an RIB in the nightcap. Over the 2 games, Dave Winfield went 2-for-7 with 3 walks and 2 RBIs. Mike Ivie went 3-for-5 with 2 RBIs in each game.
* The Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Montreal Expos, 6-1 at Three Rivers Stadium in Pittsburgh. Jerry Reuss went the distance for the win. Willie Stargell did not play, but Dave Parker went 3-for-4 with a solo home run.
* The Detroit Tigers beat the Cleveland Indians, 4-3 at Tiger Stadium in Detroit. Mickey Stanley went 4-for-4 with 2 RBIs. Cleveland player-manager Frank Robinson did not put himself in the game.
* A doubleheader was split at Riverfront Stadium in Cincinnati. The Los Angeles Dodgers won the 1st game, 4-3. The Cincinnati Reds won the 2nd game, 6-3. Over the 2 games, Steve Garvey went 4-for-9 with a home run and 2 RBIs; Pete Rose went 3-for-7 with a home run, a walk and 3 RBIs; and Johnny Bench went 1-for-7 with a walk.
* The Milwaukee Brewers beat the Baltimore Orioles, 5-2 at Milwaukee County Stadium. Jim Colborn outpitched Mike Torrez. Hank Aaron went 2-for-5 with 3 RBIs, raising his all-time record in that last category, but not doing so in home runs. Robin Yount went 1-for-4. Brooks Robinson went 0-for-2 with a walk.
* A doubleheader was split at Busch Memorial Stadium in St. Louis. The St. Louis Cardinals won the 1st game, 4-3. The Philadelphia Phillies won the 2nd game, 5-2. Lou Brock did not play in either game. Over the 2 games, Reggie Smith went 4-for-8 with 3 RBIs, including a home run in each game; and Mike Schmidt went 0-for-8 with a walk.
* The Kansas City Royals swept a doubleheader from the Texas Rangers, 6-3 and 6-1 at Royals Stadium (now Kauffman Stadium) in Kansas City. Harmon Killebrew, running out the string with the Royals, went 0-for-2 with 2 walks in the 1st game. George Brett went 0-for-3. But in the 2nd game, Brett went 3-for-4, and Al Cowens went 2-for-3 with 4 RBIs.
* The San Francisco Giants beat the Houston Astros, 8-1 at the Astrodome in Houston.
* The Minnesota Twins beat the California Angels, 12- 1 at Anaheim Stadium (now Angel Stadium of Anaheim). Bert Blyleven pitched a complete game, striking out 11, while Bill Singer didn't get an out in the 2nd inning. Rod Carew went 4-for-5 with an RBI.
* And the Oakland Athletics beat the Chicago White Sox, 8-6 at the Oakland Coliseum. Reggie Jackson went 4-for-7, including hitting a 2-run home run in the bottom of the 13th to win the game. Bill North went 4-for-6 with a walk and 2 RBIs.
