All about EVE…RY LITTLE STEP

One singular sensation: A Chorus Line. The original production stands as America’s longest-running, homegrown Broadway musical: 15 years — 6,137 performances (a tally just slightly greater than the number of appearances on Sunday news shows by former cave-dweller Dick Cheney… in just the past month!). A Chorus Line shuttered in 1990. Then, in 2006, Michael Bennett’s song-studded testament to the tenacity of aspiring and perspiring background hoofers, was revived and directed by Tony®-winner Bob Avian who choreographed the original show.

Filmmakers James D. Stern and Adam Del Deo trace EVERY LITTLE STEP of the remounting, recounting the exhaustive audition process that tellingly mirrors the true stories that Bennett coaxed — and recorded — from friends to create this sage, stage equivalent of a reality show… with musical numbers. (NOT ON MY STAGE! Hosted by Suzanne Somers?) EVERY LITTLE STEP is a triumph of backstage access and empathy; it’s a show biz revelation for those still unable to distinguish between cattle calls and abattoirs. EVERY LITTLE STEP celebrates its source material and, more importantly, those who made it Broadway’s most honest and earnest success story.

I chatted with co-director Adam Del Deo a couple of months ago, encouraging him to present EVERY LITTLE STEP at The Seattle International Film Festival. He did and the documentary was a runner-up for The Golden Space Needle Award for Best Documentary. Watch the podcast below, if you please.