Legally Blonde's Chorus Wins Award from Actors' Equity

Actors' Equity Association's Advisory Committee on Chorus Affairs ACCA has named Legally Blonde the winner of an award for "Outstanding Broadway Chorus" for 2006-2007, the first industry award to honor the talents and contributions made by the chorus. The award ceremony will be held at the fall ACCA meeting at Equity's headquarters in New York City.

The winners of the ACCA Award, all of whom were part of the chorus on Legally Blonde's opening night, are: April Berry, Paul Canaan, Lindsay Nicole Chambers, Beth Curry, Tracy Jai Edwards, Amber Efé, Gaelen Gilliland, Jason Gillman, Becky Gulsvig, Rod Harrelson, Manuel Herrera, Andy Karl, Nick Kenkel, Michelle Kittrell, Rusty Mowery, Kevin Pariseau, Matthew Risch, Jason Patrick Sands, Noah Weisberg and Kate Wetherhead.

Five choruses out of the 11 musicals that opened in the the 2006-07 season were nominated for the award: Curtains, Legally Blonde, Mary Poppins, The Pirate Queen and The Times They are A-Changin'. "All the choruses on Broadway are incredibly talented and versatile, and it was a tough decision," Equity 2nd Vice President and ACCA Chair Jean-Paul Richard said in a statement. "The chorus of Legally Blonde really exemplified for us what it takes to be outstanding in a Broadway musical."

In judging the award, the ACCA discussed what was required of each of the choruses from the director, the choreographer and the musical director and the skill used to execute those requirements. The Committee, comprised of Equity members who work under Chorus contracts, then deliberated on the technical skill required by the chorus actor and the contributions the entire chorus makes to the overall production.