In 1974, choreographer Michael Bennett recorded a series of conversations with fellow dancers about their lives spent striving for Broadway greatness. The result was the 1975 smash hit musical A Chorus Line, directed by Bennett and co-choreographed with Bob Avian. Insightful, pitch perfect for its era and packed with witty numbers, the Tony Award–winning production was celebrated for giving voice to the countless young dancers living hand to mouth at the edge of the limelight.

Every Little Step picks up three decades later, at auditions for the 2006 Broadway revival with directors James D. Stern and Adam Del Deo capturing the exhilarating, agonizing casting process in all its nail-biting glory. The filmmakers take full advantage of this opportunity—A Chorus Line is about a grueling audition, after all—seamlessly interweaving audition scenes with vintage footage, interviews and snippets from the unearthed 1974 audiotapes. We are privy to the casting panel’s brutally difficult task of choosing actors who can both embody and refresh well-known roles. The echoes between the present-day process and the musical are endless, and the filmmakers brilliantly tease out the most telling moments.

Dancers struggle to show support for each other while fighting tooth and nail for the same part; an egotistical young man feigns nonchalance yet jumps to attention when a casting agent calls his name; a young woman, still chasing her big break, philosophizes that auditioning is like life: You must face your biggest fears in order to stand within grasp of your greatest dream.

—Laurie Koh (San Francisco International)