Zach calls Paul, who has been reluctant to share his past, onstage for a private talk, during which the dancer emotionally recalls his childhood and high-school experience, his early career in a drag act, coming to terms with his manhood and his homosexuality, and his parents' ultimate reaction to finding out about his lifestyle.

During a tap sequence, Paul falls and re-injures his surgically repaired knee. The other dancers stare in disbelief as Paul is carried off to the hospital, realizing that their careers could also end in an instant.

During a run-through of the number created to showcase an unnamed star ("One"), Zach criticizes Cassie for "dancing down," and they rehash what went wrong in their relationship. Zach points to the machine-like dancing of the rest of the cast, who have blended together and will probably never be recognized individually, demanding to know if that is what she wants. Cassie defiantly defends the dancers: "I'd be proud to be one of them. They're wonderful.... They're all special. I'd be happy to be dancing in that line."

After Paul's injury, Zach asks the remaining dancers what they will do when they can no longer dance. Led by Diana, they reply that whatever happens, they will be free of regret ("What I Did for Love").

The final eight dancers are selected: Mike, Cassie, Bobby, Judy, Richie, Val, Mark, and Diana.

The book by James Kirkwood and Nicholas Dante is solid and often funny, though rumor has it that Neil Simon actually wrote some of the best lines.

An unprecedented box office and critical hit, the musical received twelve Tony Award nominations and won nine, in addition to the 1976 Pulitzer Prize for Drama.

The original Broadway production ran for 6,137 performances, becoming the longest-running production in Broadway history until surpassed by Cats in 1997.