Connie is based on Baayork Lee, who originated the role.
Baayork was one of the most experienced dancers in the show, and had worked with Michael Bennett several times before (the shows SeeSaw and Promises, Promises for example). She was the dance captain (which means she was one of the best dancers) and she had a lot of trust from Michael.
Personally, she was a little older than the other members --she was 32. She was married as well, and the other people on the line kinda looked up to her to "see how it was done" as far as being an older career dancer. (That's realtively speaking, of course) She was also somewhat of a mother hen, really taking care of the group. Think, for example, how she
"saves" Paul in his short monologue scene. This could be expanded into other areas of performance.
Connie's monologue came out of her experiences from her life. She obviously has a great sense of humor and is kinda nutty! If you've had a chance to listen to the Expanded CD, you can hear her accent and her delivery, although you wouldn't want to necessarily copy that.
(When Connie is played by a non-asian, she often does a southern accent, which adds a lot, I think)
Another interesting story about Connie is that she considers Richie to be her main competition. At the time the show was written,and even somewhat today, shows didn't generally take more than one ethnic actor. (Apparently Paul and Diana weren't considered a
threat) So, the composers wrote a number called "Confidence" for Richie and Connie, identifing the other as their main competition and each was certain that they would get the show. The punch line was that each was really "very, very...insecure!" Unfortunately, this song was cut because it was too traditional of a song and not in line with the style of the show. Hence, the 4'10 and Gimme the Ball sections of the montage were born instead.
In another scene cut from the show, it was revealed that Connie expected to be made Zach's assistant (considering their work experience in the past.) This is interesting when she doesn't make the show, but maybe she'll still be hired.
Other details: She is fourth from right. She wears a sort of jumpsuit with a white long sleeve shirt. The jumpsuit is a plum color. Alternately, she was dressed in a pink leotard. She has worked extensively and knows Cassie, Greg, Sheila, Mike, Judy, Diana, Richie etc. She would also recognize some of the others such as Don, Maggie, Al, and so on. She wouldn't know Mark, Bebe, Kristine.
Baayork Lee helped Michael Bennett extensively while the show was running on Broadway and on tour. She has continued her career as a director and has staged at least 50 productions of ACL around the world, in addition to other shows. She wrote, along with Thommie Walsh (original Bobby) and another man wrote the book "On the Line: the Creation of ACL" which is now unfortunately out of print.
