A Chorus Line No. 30 - Scott Allen

Lauryn Johnson
Jul 17
2 min read

A Chorus Line 1975, 76, 77

This was my first Broadway show. Thank you Michael Bennett. He told me he felt real simpatico with me.

I was in the workshops at the Public Theatre before we moved to the Shubert. When we moved to the Shubert Michael put me in a stage manager position. ACL is such a fun show for calling light cues, etc. The Tony Awards were awesome. The energy for the opening number, we opened the show, it seemed like we all danced 3 inches off the floor. Jane Fonda sat in the male understudies dressing room to watch and listen to the awards. I had a little, TV with sound, the size of a pack of cigarettes. I understudied Al

Five of us shared that space which we carpeted, oversized throw pillows, soft lighting gel on all the lights, a deer head over the door with a joint in it’s mouth. We also had a telephone, our number listed in the NY phone directory under the 'Westside Five'. I learned a lot about about people and the workings of casting, directing, and the community known as Broadway.

Many anecdotes. Too many. A bomb scare, various celebrities, Betty Ford and her Secret Service protocols that threw our lighting programs into chaos. The day after opening night Don Percassi was sick and I went on as Al. A school mate from high school was attending. She played Fiona to my Tommy Albright.

I later joined the company in 1977 at the Shubert in LA to understudy Zack then transferred to the International Company. The rest would amount to an autobiography.