A Chorus Line provides a glimpse into the personalities of the performers and the choreographer, as they describe the events that have shaped their lives and their decisions to become dancers.

An unprecedented box office and critical hit, the musical received twelve Tony Award nominations and won nine, in addition to the 1976 Pulitzer Prize for Drama.

Don Kerr remembers his first job at a nightclub and Judy Turner reflects on her problematic childhood while some auditioners talk about their parents' opinions ("Mother").

Greg Gardner discusses discovering his homosexuality and Richie Walters recounts nearly becoming a kindergarten teacher ("Gimme the Ball").

Finally, the newly-buxom Val Clark explains that talent alone isn't everything without good looks, and plastic surgery can really help improve one's image and career prospects ("Dance: Ten, Looks: Three").

However, she explains her current inability to find solo work and is willing to "come home" to the chorus where she can at least express her passion for dance ("The Music and the Mirror").

Zach calls Paul San Marco, who has been reluctant to share his past, onstage for a private talk, and he emotionally relives his childhood and teenage years, his early career in a drag act, facing his manhood and his homosexuality, and his parents ultimately discovering his lifestyle and disowning him for it, before breaking down, with Zach comforting him.

"One" (Reprise/Finale) begins with an individual bow for each of the 19 characters, their hodgepodge rehearsal clothes replaced by identical spangled gold costumes.

As each dancer joins the group, it is suddenly difficult to distinguish one from the other: ironically, each character who was an individual to the audience seems now to be an anonymous member of a never-ending ensemble.

[13] During the workshop sessions, random characters would be chosen at the end for the chorus jobs based on their performance quality, resulting in a different "cast" being selected every run-through.

"[14] Marvin Hamlisch, who wrote A Chorus Line's score, recalled how, during the first previews, audiences seemed put off by something in the story.

This problem was solved when actress Marsha Mason told Bennett that Cassie (Donna McKechnie in the original production) should win the part in the end because she did everything right.

Producer Joseph Papp moved the production to Broadway and on July 25, 1975, it opened at the Shubert Theatre, where it ran for 6,137 performances[18] until April 28, 1990.

Additional cast members Carole Schweid and John Mineo were understudies named "Barbara" and "Jarad", although they only went on covering other roles.

Open roles were recast and the play was again reviewed as the "New" New York Company which included Ann Reinking, Marsha Mason, Sandahl Bergman, Christopher Chadman, Justin Ross (who would go on to appear in the film), and Barbara Luna.

On September 29, 1983, Bennett and 332 A Chorus Line veterans gathered to celebrate the musical becoming the longest-running show in Broadway history.

[22] Since its inception, the show's many worldwide productions, both professional and amateur, have been a major source of income for The Public Theater that Papp had founded.

A London production opened in the West End at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane in 1976, initially with the International Cast from the US, including Jane Summerhays as Sheila.

It included Jean-Pierre Cassel as Zach, Diane Langton as Diana Morales, Jeff Shankley as Al, Michael Staniforth as Paul, Stephen Tate as Greg (later replacing Cassel as Zach) and Geraldine Gardner (aka Trudi van Doorn of The Benny Hill Show) as Sheila.

[27] In 1980, under the direction of Roy Smith, the Teatro El Nacional of Buenos Aires produced a Spanish version of A Chorus Line lasting 10 months (and then only to make way for an already scheduled subsequent production).

In Spain the show opened in December 1984 at Teatre Tívoli in Barcelona, directed by Roy Smith and translated into Spanish by Nacho Artime and Jaime Azpilicueta, before transferring to Teatro Monumental in Madrid.

It was performed by Ódry Színpad (the company of the Academy of Drama and Film in Budapest) translated into Hungarian by György Gebora, and directed by Imre Kerényi.

The opening night cast included Paul McGill, Michael Berresse, Charlotte d'Amboise, Mara Davi, James T. Lane, Tony Yazbeck, Heather Parcells, Alisan Porter, Jason Tam, Jessica Lee Goldyn, Deidre Goodwin, and Chryssie Whitehead.

This production featured Michael Gruber as Zach, Nikki Snelson as Cassie, Emily Fletcher as Sheila, and Gabrielle Ruiz as Diana.

It was directed by original choreographer Bob Avian, with John Partridge, Scarlett Strallen, and Victoria Hamilton-Barritt starring.

[42] For its annual fully staged musical event, the Hollywood Bowl produced a limited run of A Chorus Line from July 29–31, 2016, directed and choreographed by Baayork Lee.

The cast included Sabrina Bryan as Valerie Clark, Robert Fairchild as Mike Costa, Spencer Liff as Larry, Ross Lynch as Mark Anthony, Mara Davi as Maggie Winslow, J. Elaine Marcos as Connie Wong, Jason Tam as Paul San Marco, Leigh Zimmerman as Sheila Bryant, Mario Lopez as Zach, Sarah Bowden as Cassie Ferguson, Krysta Rodriguez as Diana Morales, and Courtney Lopez as Kristine Ulrich.

In 2019, a Spanish-language version of the musical premiered as part of the inaugural season of Teatro del Soho in Málaga, Spain, starring the theater's founder Antonio Banderas as Zach.