Review of Every Little Step (2008) by Jan M — 17 May 2009

If you're a fan of "Chorus Line," you HAVE to see this documentary about the casting of a revival of the musical. It's wonderful on so many levels. It pays homage to Michael Bennett with some great audio and video clips of the moments of creating the play and after it took Broadway by storm.

It weaves in recollections of those who worked with Bennett to bring the musical to life through the brand-new workshop process. But, most of all, it focuses on the auditions and call backs and further auditions and further call backs and final calls of what started out as thousands of dancers looking for a part.

The documentary doesn't try to do a "Chorus Line" of "Chorus Line" in the sense of building itself on the stories of these dancers, but those stories are in there. It's careful not to use the heavily manipulative approaches of reality TV that set one "character" against another, but, of course, these are people going after the same few parts.

So there is that competitive element subtly handled. What this documentary does is what the musical did and still does --- it shines a light onto the hard, hard work of creating art; the dedication that it requires; the vulnerability and thick skin that are required simulataneously; the joy of creating something; the pain of being sent home; the amazement when one's talent is recognized.

It's not just the dancers who show this, but also the producers, directors and all those involved in the process. I cannot think of another documentary at which I cried --- four times!