Nicholas Dante

Nicholas Dante, born Conrado Morales on November 22, 1941, in New York City, was an American dancer and writer of Puerto Rican descent. He worked on Broadway as a performer from 1968 to 1973 and later became a book writer, earning recognition as the first Latino to win a Pulitzer Prize for Drama.

Dante built his early career as a chorus dancer in Broadway productions, appearing in musicals including Applause, I'm Solomon, and Smith, as well as the play The Ambassador. His work as a performer gave him firsthand experience of life as a Broadway "gypsy," the chorus dancers who support leading performers, an experience that would later shape his most significant creative work.

In 1974, director and choreographer Michael Bennett, a friend of Dante's, invited him to participate in a series of sessions in which Broadway dancers shared their personal stories. That material became the foundation for A Chorus Line. Dante co-wrote the book with James Kirkwood Jr., and the show opened to become one of the defining works of American musical theater. The character of Paul, a gay Puerto Rican dancer whose early career included performing in a drag show, was drawn primarily from Dante's own life. Dante later performed the role himself, having seen it originated onstage by Sammy Williams, who received the 1976 Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Musical for the performance.

A Chorus Line brought Dante three major honors in 1976: the Tony Award for Best Book of a Musical, the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Book of a Musical, and the Pulitzer Prize for Drama, all shared with his collaborators.

Beyond A Chorus Line, Dante wrote a screenplay titled Fake Lady and developed a stage musical called Jolson Tonight, based on the life of entertainer Al Jolson. Neither project reached the level of success he had achieved with A Chorus Line. Dante died on May 21, 1991, in New York City, at the age of 49, from complications related to illness.