A Chorus Line No. 35 - Ron Kurowski

Bobby - Original London Company

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"I saw the original company of ACL three times at the public theater in 1975. It was thrilling and I wanted so much to be a part of the show. When it moved to Broadway, I saw it another 5 times. When auditions were announced I asked an agent to submit me.  He said I was not right for the show, saying I was too tall and too young. So I went to an open call. Many auditioned and I got a callback for Bobby. Michael had hired me to play the Tommy Tune role in Seesaw. He remembered me and I was hired to play Bobby in the Original London Cast in 1976.  

"I was as happy as I have ever been and my loyalty to the show never wavered.  We rehearsed in the basement of City Center for 6 weeks along with the LA company.  We opened in Toronto and then went to London for 6 months. It was a dream come true for me. After London, we returned to the USA and we started touring. As my year and half contract came up, I was transferred to the Broadway company. 

With Susan Danielle (Sheila) under the stage at the Shubert on Broadway 1989

"After a year, I left the show and moved to LA. A couple of months later a company was being formed to play Hawaii in the summer of ’79. Baayork was directing and she hired those who had left the show. I was ecstatic to return to the show and Hawaii was so beautiful.

"On my return to LA, my understudy in London, Michael Austin, was injured playing Bobby in the LA company and Michael Bennett asked me to return to the show and I gladly accepted. I was in the National Company 1979 and 1980.

"That company became the Bus and Truck and I left, and I was brought back to the International company 1980-1983. When it closed I was the only one in the first and last performances in that company.  I moved back to NYC and when Matt West got the role of Bobby in the movie in 1984, he left the show, and I went into the Broadway company again, where I stayed until the show closed in 1990. Along the way I married Sachi Shimizu who played Connie for 14 years. We were friends for 15 years and then married for 21 years until her death in 2010. 

London 1976. Sandy Roveta (Cassie) Jane Summerhays (Sheila) Miriam Welch (Bebe) Yvette Mathews (Judy)

"I have many memories of Michael and Bob Avian. When the International Company closed in Chicago, Michael gave speech onstage after the Finale.  He called my name and had me step forward and he said I was in the original London company and asked how many performance I had done. I said the number, which was like 2,630.  The audience applauded and I knew Michael  was proud of me.

"When the show closed on Broadway, I had done over 4,800 shows as Bobby."

This is a picture from London taken by Troy Garza. Timothy Scott as Mark, Mark Dovey as Greg Jeff Hyslop as Mike and Ron Kurowski as Bobby. This is the first leap of the boys ballet combination in the opening number.