The Original Design Team
Theoni Aldredge (Costume Designer)
Theoni Aldredge (1922-2011) worked on the costumes for over 300 productions in over 50 years. She has fifteen Tony nominations and three awards, for Annie, Barnum, and La Cage aux Folles, and three Academy Award nominations with one win for The Great Gatsby (1974). She was the designer-in-residence at the New York Shakespeare Festival, now known as the Public Theater, where A Chorus Line started, for years. Joseph Papp, the founder of the New York Shakespeare Festival, described her work as “real clothing that develops out of character” rather than costumes. In A Chorus Line, although the characters are all auditioning for a show, the differences in their costumes help the individuality of each character shine. Some of her other theater credits include 42nd Street and Dreamgirls. Her movie credits include Annie (1982), Ghostbusters (1984), and Addams Family Values (1993).
Photo: http://www.playbill.com/article/a-five-six-seven-eight-a-new-chorus-lines-up-for-broadway-com-132248
Robin Wagner (Scenic Designer)
Robin Wagner (1933-) designed the sets for both the original Broadway production and revival of A Chorus Line. He has ten Tony nominations and three awards for The Producers, City of Angels, and On the Twentieth Century. His first big Broadway job was the scenic design for Hair. He believes that the key to scenic design is to become thoroughly immersed in the text of the show before designing begins. Throughout the creation of A Chorus Line, the set designs became smaller and smaller until the collaborators realized that the heart of the show is the titular line, so the design should focus on that and only have a few key elements, such as the mirrors, that suggest a conventional dance studio. He has also designed sets for the Broadway productions of Dreamgirls, 42nd Street, and Angels in America.
Abe Jacob (Sound Designer)
Abe Jacob (1944-) created the modern sound design on Broadway. He became involved in the Broadway production of Jesus Christ Superstar, stepping in after multiple performances were cancelled because of sound problems. He was then asked to redesign the sound for Hair, while it was still in performances. He moved the sound from backstage into the house, where the audience sits, and made sound design into an integral element of theater. A Chorus Line was one of the last shows where the actors did not use body mics, and instead Jacob collaborated with the choreographer and integrated the idea of actors having to use shotgun mics at the front of the stage into the concept of the show. He has also worked on the sound for musicians such as Jimi Hendrix and the Beatles, on their last ever concert. On Broadway, he has worked on Rain (the Beatles tribute), Evita, Les Misérables, Chicago, and Pippin, among others.
Tharon Musser (Lighting Designer)
Tharon Musser (1925-2009) revolutionized the way theater uses lighting. Often called the “Dean of Broadway Lighting” and “the most prolific lighting designer in American theater history,” Musser’s design for A Chorus Line included the first ever computerized electronic lighting board. This design, which won her one of her three Tony Awards, improved on the old manual system by speeding up cues and making them more consistent. She also helped make the role of lighting designer important in the theater, showing that they are more than just electricians and that they are, in fact, artists. She designed more than 150 Broadway shows, including Dreamgirls, Follies, The Wiz, and 42nd Street.
