A Chorus Line No. 12 - Nancy Lane
- Lauryn Johnson
- Jul 9
- 2 min read
“For a month, Nancy Lane, the Jewish girl from New Jersey, had understudied Priscilla Lopez as Diana Morales and Jane Robertson as Bebe Nichols. "I wanted to do Morales. I couldn't understand why they couldn't see me as a Puerto Rican! Jane told Michael she was leaving and Michael was so pissed. 'Get out! Get out! Why didn't you tell me? You ruined everything!' Because by then it was a family.
"I went to him and said, 'Can I audition for the part?' I was real timid. But I knew I was better than she was. See, I didn't know any of these people 'cause I wasn't a gypsy. They were all like hardened criminals to me, all these gypsies-oh, God-and I was this little girl from New Jersey saying, 'Okay, I can do that.' Scared to shit. I was so scared I didn't ever talk to anybody." When the role of Bebe became available, Nancy auditioned for Michael. "And afterward he said, I knew you could do it Oh, yeah, you'll be great.' I got the part."
“Nancy brought to rehearsals a fresh, new character that was badly needed. ‘I love to make people laugh. My mom and dad are real funny people. They're real pissers. They always tell jokes and they're the life of the party, the lampshade on the head. It's what l do best, what I like to do the most. | used to watch Ed Sullivan and say, 'But, Mom, I can do that! Id perform for everybody. Always. When we were little, my sister and I used to perform as a sister team for the Salvation Army and old-age homes and stuff.’
“The role of Bebe Nichols was changed to Bebe Benzenheimer and Nancy fit it like a glove. The old theater adage-there are no small parts, only small actors-could not have been better ap-plied. Though the role did not expand, in Nancy's hands it blossomed. She sang her portion of "At the Ballet" with touching simplicity and her one-liners got enormous laughs.”
—What They Did for Love by Denny Martin Flinn
"Nancy Lane objected the loudest to Bennett's no-pants rule for women. 'I'm bowlegged,' she said. 'They put me in tights and heels which was awful because I had a real bad back, so standing in heels for two hours did not appeal to me. She claimed that they wanted costumes that we would feel comfortable dancing in. But I hated my costume and every time I tried to tell somebody they'd tell me how fantastic my costume was. What's so great about a T-shirt and briefs and tights? So I just stayed in it and-who cared? I was working in a fabulous show. After a while it didn't bother me.'"
—On the Line: The Creation of A Chorus Line by Robert Vargas, Baayork Lee, & Thommie Walsh
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