I noticed this in A Chorus Line: It was alway “Boy in the back” or “Girl on the left.” I’ve also heard it referenced in other places, which are escaping me at the moment.
Is it just one of those weird traditions? Or is there a specific reason?
Traditionally, the kids in the chorus really were kids. Girls of sixteen - or even fourteen if they got away with it - ran away from home to get to the footlights. You didn’t grow old in the chorus either. If you didn’t go up to better parts you were replaced by younger and fresher bodies. The boys weren’t much different.
Things may be different today but that tradition dates back a long way.