| Speaking of 'A Chorus Line,' which lines did Neil Simon show-doctor into the script? | |
| Last Edit: WaymanWong 01:01 am EDT 08/27/18 | |
| Posted by: WaymanWong 12:53 am EDT 08/27/18 | |
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| In his memoirs, Neil Simon acknowledges he was an uncredited show doctor to ''A Chorus Line.'' He says Michael Bennett sent him the script, and phoned him to say that James Kirkwood and Nicholas Dante would welcome Simon's help, but they didn't want it to get around. Simon says: ''I read the script through twice that morning and then picked my spots to add or change lines. Five, 10, 20 of them, maybe more, were interspersed throughout the script. I gave most of them to [Sheila] the character played by Kelly Bishop because Kelly could deliver a funny line better than anyone in the show.'' He then messengered his additions to Bennett, not knowing if he would use any or all of his new lines. The next day, Simon says, a cast member told him that Bennett held a rehearsal, saying he'd been thinking of some new things to put in their scripts. Looking down at the pages (which contained Simon's additions), Bennett suggested new lines to the actors, giving the impression that he had thought of them on the spot. From what Simon could tell, he doesn't think Bennett told the cast that Simon wrote the new lines … or even informed Kirkwood or Dante, never having heard from them or the Dramatists Guild. For his contributions, Simon said he never received any money or small royalty, but Bennett would send him a gift of a pair of pillowcases. Even many years later, Simon wondered: ''Why pillowcases?'' I'm assuming Sheila's line ''To commit suicide in Buffalo is redundant'' is probably Simon's. Anyone know about the others? |
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