The characters were all based on real-life people or some mix thereof.
The inspiration for "Zach" was probably director Michael Bennett, who was supposedly bisexual (he married Donna McKechnie, the original "Cassie" on Broadway), later divorced her and then died of AIDS.
In the 1994 movie "And the Band Played On" - which sums up the history of the AIDS crisis through the 1980s, there is a character played by Richard Gere who is a well-known choreographer infected with HIV. Presumably that's supposed to be Michael Bennett, and he is portrayed as being totally gay.
The "real" Michael Bennett? Who knows? In a recent interview, Donna said there were problems in their marriage but his bisexuality wasn't one of them.
Also, Bob Fosse could be very affection to his male dancers without in any way being gay (he was a notorious womanizer).
"Zach," however, does come off as caring just a little to much for "Paul", so...
"Don't call me 'honey', mac."
"Don't call me 'mac'... HONEY!"
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db12590
8 years ago
I agree that Zach seems to have been based on Michael Bennett. I was in a stage version for about a year where I played several roles including Larry, the assistant choreographer. The back story that was handed down to me was that Zach was bi and in a relationship at the time of auditions with Larry, his assistant. They behave as professionals but when Cassie shows up it creates a spark of uncertainty and tension. I don't think the audience would ever catch that, but it is how I was instructed to approach it. Of course the movie is not a Michael Bennett production, so they may have a very different back story.
As far as how Zach reacts to Paul, it's a major plot point which turns the story in a new direction. They don't know how bad the injury is, Paul may never dance again. It hits home with all of them and brings up the question "What do you do when you can't dance anymore?" Which leads into "What I did for Love" and the final lineup where Zach makes his eliminations.
Another interesting tidbit of backstory. When Zach is calling the women to step forward in the final cut, he calls Cassie out of sequence. She was not going to get the job, he made a last second decision.
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