

Mario Lopez, who plays the role of Zach, the exacting director of “A Chorus Line,” is apparently very proud of his biceps. So proud, in fact, that he’s making demands to ensure he faces no challengers. First he refused to wear Zach’s costume, a tan sweater with long sleeves.
It’s an iconic outfit, based on that worn in real life by “A Chorus Line” creator Michael Bennett, and it’s been worn by countless Zachs in productions of “A Chorus Line” all over the world for the past 30 years.
But Lopez wanted to wear a brown shirt with short sleeves so that he can show off his biceps.
The only problem is, Mario shares the stage with Nick Adams (photo right), who plays Larry, the assistant choreographer. Nick has a pair of biceps larger than Mario’s.
Larry’s iconic costume is a navy blue tank top with the number 17 on it. For “A Chorus Line” affectionatos, that number is significant, there are 17 performers auditioning for the eight spots in the chorus.
Mario, sources say, was concerned that Adams’ biceps would upstage his, so he requested that Adams wear a hoodie over his tank top, which Adams does whenever he’s next to Mario. Bicep envy?
This may seem like a small deal,but this revival of “A Chorus Line” is based on the 1975 masterpiece with staging, scenery and, yes, the costumes, near replicas of the original production. So it’s all about tradition.
After a second year on Broadway, long running shows often depend on TV stars like Mario to fill the house. And so if Mario wants to wear a short-sleeve shirt, he can wear a short-sleeve shirt, i.e. whatever Mario wants, Mario gets.
Officials with “A Chorus Line” insist that director Bob Avian made the decision to throw a hoodie over Adams.
“When they stood side by side, you couldn’t tell them apart,” one person says. “They looked too similar.”
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