The cast of Staples Players’ “A Chorus Line” was not expecting their closing show to be anything more than a closing show.
But when Terre Blair, widow of the composer of the original “A Chorus Line,” Marvin Hamlisch, walked into the Staples auditorium to view the performance for the second time that day, she had other plans in mind.
“It’s a moment that I will never forget,” August Laska ’13, who played Gregory Gardner in the production, reflected.
Blair has friends in Westport who had seen the lawn signs around town, advertising the Staples production. They encouraged Blair to come, and after seeing the Saturday matinee show, she came back for the closing performance, according to Danielle Frost ’13 who spoke with Blair.
“Ms. Blair told us she had a surprise but didn’t reveal it until it was announced in front of the entire audience of Saturday night’s performance,” Laska explained.
After the cast had finished their final show, Blair stood on stage and announced her big news: the cast of “A Chorus Line” is invited to perform at the Hudson Theater during a memorial celebration in honor of Marvin Hamlisch on June 3, 2013.
Katie Platt ’13 was in the audience that night, and explained the immediate thrill that the entire auditorium felt: “Everyone was just in shock. I immediately saw a couple of Players start to tear up and everyone was laughing they were in such shock of what happened.”