Pop Culture in A Chorus Line
One of the elements of A Chorus Line that really aids in setting it firmly in the 1970s is the multiple references to pop culture scattered through the lyrics. These allusions make it difficult to set the show outside of 1975, but also pose challenges for audiences in 2017 who might not get the references. In addition to providing historical specificity, the references to television shows, movies, books, and famous personalities inform the stories of the characters in A Chorus Line and intersect with a wide range of thematic concepts, such as desire (whether the burgeoning sexual desire of adolescence or the desire to be a dancer), success, conformity and rebellion, and the power of art.
"I'm gonna be a movie star..."
Troy Donahue (left) is an actor primarily known for being much better looking than he was at acting. In "Montage," Bobby sings, "If Troy Donahue can be a movie star, than I can be a movie star," a motif that illustrates Bobby's refusal to let go of his dreams to be a star while
simultaneoulsy recognizing that talent and fame do not always go hand-in-hand.
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George Hamilton (right), like Troy Donahue, is known more for his good looks than for his acting skills. Bobby's "movie star" motif references Hamilton - "If George Hamilton can be a movie star, than I can be a movie star."
"My God, Robert Goulet..."
Robert Goulet (left) was a singer and actor, known for playing Lancelot in "Camelot." He was known as a matinee idol - a handsome actor. Bebe's rapturous invocation of his name in "Montage" establishes him as the first of many in a line of her teenage crushes.
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Steve McQueen (center) was an actor, known for his Westerns and action movies, where he typically rode motorcycles or drove nice cars. He is Bebe's second "Montage" crush - "My God, that Steve McQueen's real sexy. Bob Goulet - Out! Steve McQueen - In!" Bebe's shifting interest from the romantic idol Goulet to the "sexy" McQueen captures a sense of her move from pre-pubescent romance fantasies to a more visceral teenage desire.
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Rudolf Nureyev (right) was a Russian ballet dancer and choreographer who danced with London's Royal Ballet and the Paris Opera Ballet. He is the third and final teenage crush Bebe immortalizes in "Montage" - "Steve McQueen out, Nureyev in!"- her desire now focused on a ballet dancer.
"I looked like Anna Mae Wong."
"I had this fabulous extension."
Anna Mae Wong was a Chinese-American movie star. Her career spanned silent films to talkies, plus TV, stage and radio. In Paul's monologue, he references Wong when describing how he was dressed for a number at the Jewel Box Revue, a drag show.
Cyd Charisse was an actress and dancer. She starred in many films with Fred Astaire and Gene Kelly. She stopped dancing in films in the late 1950s, but it's likely where Paul saw her dance. In his monologue, he used to dance after seeing movie musicals; he "was always being Cyd Charisse."
"I was just... This peanut on pointe!"
"My father had this fabulous library in the back of the house..."
In "Montage," ACL's paean to adolescence, Mark recalls being "Locked in the bathroom with Peyton Place!"--a book Thomas Mallon describes as being purchased “for one thing only.” Grace Metalious' novel, published in 1956, and subsequently adpated for film and television, served up steamy storylines about the scandalous lives of three New England women and includes scenes of incest, abortion, adultery, lust and murder.
Maria Tallchief was the first prima ballerina of the New York City Ballet, working with (and at one point married to) George Balanchine. The Native American Tallchief originated roles that propelled ballet into the mainstream, such as The Firebird. In "Montage," Connie sings "I was never gonna be Maria Tallchief," a reference to her height and crushed dream of being a prima ballerina.
"But I've got to dance!"
The Red Shoes is a 1948 film written and directed by Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger about a girl who, when putting on a pair of red toe shoes, must dance and never stop dancing, even if it kills her.
The film comes up twice in A Chorus Line. First, Sheila cites it as a reason she wanted to be a prima ballerina. Later, Val says she "didn't give a fuck about" the film, prompting a reaction from her fellow auditioners. This iconographic fable about dancing as if one's life depended on it--embodied in a famous exchange between two characters in the film: “Why do you want to dance?” / “Why do you want to live?”--resonates with the questions the auditioners in ACL face near the end of the play.