A Chorus Line No. 16 - Renee Baughman
- Lauryn Johnson
- Jul 10
- 2 min read
"In the first workshop Robert LuPone was cast in the role of Al, paired with Rence Baughman as Kristine-two recently wed dancers. A new actor named Don Percassi would be hired to play the part in the second workshop when LuPone took the Bennett alter-ego role of Zach. In the first workshop, Al was developed as an aggressively macho Italian dancer. In the show's logo, Al is wearing the TKTS T-shirt and holding his wife's hand. Kristine's primary characteristics were her skittishness and her inability to sing. The characters were based roughly on Denise and Steve Boockvor, who had taken part in the tape sessions but not in the workshop. The nonsinging dimension of the character, however, was drawn from Baughman.
"At first, the parts were the largest in the show and long scenes were written for Al and Kristine. But gradually the writers' attention moved elsewhere. The characters were less musical than they seemed at first. Just about all that remains of their story today is the song 'Sing!,' which was written after the first workshop ended.
"Baughman couldn't stand doing office temporary work much longer, so she telephoned Bennett on New Year's Eve, "and begged him to get me back on the stage," she said. "He told me not to worry, that it was really going to happen. And to convince me, he played a recording of Ed and Marvin doing my song."
It proved to be a revelation to her. Baughman had nearly been cut from the first workshop because she was unable to sing. Hamlisch and Kleban had opposed her hiring but Bennett had insisted.
"Making the best of the situation, they wrote her a simple song, titled 'Sing!,' about not being able to sing. It emphasized the lyric and called for wrong notes to be sung at crucial moments. 'So I knew there would be a second workshop,' she said, 'and I knew I'd have a song in it.'"
—On the Line by Robert Viagas, Baayork Lee, Thommie Walsh
Comments