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Apr 9, 2019 · Bob Fosse was a dancer and choreographer who, with his distinct style, reshaped the aesthetics of modern musical theater. When you see a Fosse dance move, you know it’s a Fosse move....
- Elena Nicolaou
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- Overview
- Early life and work
- From Broadway to Cabaret
- Later work
Bob Fosse (born June 23, 1927, Chicago, Illinois, U.S.—died September 23, 1987, Washington, D.C.) American dancer, choreographer, and director who revolutionized musicals with his distinct style of dance—including his frequent use of props, signature moves, and provocative steps—and was well known for eschewing light comedic story lines for darker ...
Fosse, who was the son of a vaudevillian, attended dance schools as a child and began dancing professionally at the age of 13. Following high school, he enlisted in the U.S. Navy and was assigned to an entertainment unit. After his discharge in 1947, he moved to New York, where he studied acting at the American Theatre Wing while dancing as a team with his first wife, Mary Ann Niles, onstage and in such TV shows as Your Hit Parade. After participating in some national tours, he made his Broadway debut in the chorus of Dance Me a Song (1950). In 1952–53 he was the understudy for the title role in Pal Joey and took over the part on tour.
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In addition to his stage work, Fosse continued to appear on television, and in 1953 he made his big-screen debut, dancing and singing in the musicals The Affairs of Dobie Gillis, Kiss Me Kate, and Give a Girl a Break. In 1954 he returned to Broadway to choreograph The Pajama Game, which was directed by George Abbott and Jerome Robbins. Fosse earned acclaim—and his first Tony Award—for his clever angular groupings of dancers and fresh stylistically exaggerated staging. He then reteamed with Abbott for Damn Yankees (1955–57), earning another Tony for his choreography; the musical starred Gwen Verdon, who became Fosse’s third wife in 1960. When Abbott and Stanley Donen later adapted the two musicals for the big screen, Fosse served as choreographer.
In 1959–60 Fosse directed his first Broadway production, Redhead, a murder mystery set in 1880s London; Verdon was cast in the title role and stipulated that Fosse serve as director. The production was a success, and Fosse’s choreography won a Tony. He also received Tonys for his choreography in Little Me (1962–63), which starred Sid Caesar, and Sweet Charity (1966–67), which centred on a hard-luck dime-a-dance hostess (played by Verdon); both were written by Neil Simon. Fosse also helmed the productions—he codirected (with Cy Feuer) Little Me—and when Sweet Charity was acquired for filming by Universal, Fosse was invited to direct (although Verdon was not asked to reprise her role). The film was a box-office disappointment when released in 1969. Many found it overly long and the dramatic scenes lacking. Although several numbers highlighted Fosse’s energetic choreography, many sequences suffered from an in-your-face staging that marked it as the work of a director not yet wholly aware of how stylized theatrical productions need to be muted for film. In addition, Shirley MacLaine earned mixed reviews for her portrayal of the title character.
Fosse’s next film was Cabaret (1972), an ambitious adaptation of the Fred Ebb–John Kander stage success that itself had been based on the nonmusical play I Am a Camera—all of them derived from Christopher Isherwood’s The Berlin Stories. The musical, which was set in 1930s Berlin during Adolf Hitler’s rise to power, starred Liza Minnelli, who was a revelation as the “divinely decadent” Sally Bowles, an ambitious nightclub performer who becomes involved with a British writer (Michael York). Joel Grey was unforgettable as the leering cadaverous master of ceremonies, and the new songs (“Mein Herr” and “The Money Song”) by Ebb and Kander were especially notable. Fosse, however, was clearly the film’s creative centre. Cabaret featured imaginative showstopping numbers and, like most of Fosse’s work, dealt with the seamier side of show business, presenting adult themes rather than the lighthearted romantic fare typically associated with musicals. Fosse’s expressive, sometimes exaggerated use of camera movement, editing, and garish colour and lighting visually accentuates the decay and ugliness of the story. The film won eight Academy Awards, including best director for Fosse. Minnelli and Grey also received Oscars.
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Fosse took a break from film for his next projects. He reteamed with Minnelli on the TV special Liza with a Z (1972), which earned him Emmy Awards for direction and choreography; the show itself also garnered an Emmy. In addition, Pippin opened on Broadway in 1972, and the following year Fosse won Tonys for best director (musical) and choreographer for his work on the production, which centred on the young king of Italy and his quest to find meaning in his life. Fosse became the first person to win an Oscar, a Tony, and an Emmy in the same year (1973).
In 1974 Fosse returned to the big screen—and left musicals—with Lenny (1974), a biopic of tragic comic Lenny Bruce, whose controversial routines resulted in charges of obscenity and various arrests. Julian Barry adapted and expanded his own play, and Fosse elected to shoot the film in black and white. But the core of the movie is Dustin Hoffman’s performance, which earned the actor an Oscar nomination. Valerie Perrine was also notable as Honey, Bruce’s stripper wife. However, the unrelenting misery and uncompromising honesty that permeate the acclaimed drama make viewing the film more of a task than a pleasure. The film earned six Oscar nominations, including a nod for best picture. In addition, Fosse was nominated for best director.
Following open-heart surgery, Fosse directed All That Jazz (1979), a self-indulgent though hardly self-serving autobiographical film. In a career-defining performance, Roy Scheider starred as the driven, womanizing, self-destructive director-choreographer. The musical featured notable dance numbers and a strong script, but Fosse frequently interrupted the fast-paced story for hallucinations about death that stretched for unforgivably long stretches. Like a madman showing off his family album, Fosse bared his soul, which is at first fascinating but eventually becomes difficult to watch. The film drew acclaim, and it was nominated for nine Academy Awards, including best picture. Fosse earned Oscar nods for best director and best original screenplay (with Robert Alan Aurthur).
Fosse’s last picture was Star 80 (1983), a biopic of Dorothy Stratten, a Playboy magazine model whose nascent acting career ended when her husband, Paul Snider, brutally murdered her after she left him and began an affair with film director Peter Bogdanovich. Although some argued that Mariel Hemingway was miscast as Stratten, Eric Roberts was riveting as the jealous and manipulative Snider, who feared a return to obscurity after losing Stratten. Although disturbing, Star 80 earned largely positive reviews for its unflinching exploration of the pursuit of fame and the downside of celebrity.
- Michael Barson
Apr 2, 2014 · Bob Fosse is a choreographer, dancer and director best known for Tony Award-winning musicals including 'Chicago' and 'Cabaret.' Updated: Jul 24, 2020. (1927-1987) Who Was Bob Fosse? A...
Mar 22, 2023 · Special offers, reviews and release dates for the best shows in town. The choreographer behind *Chicago*, *Cabaret*, *Pippin*, and more is known for sultry jazz hands and black hats, but his range spans a wide array of dance styles. Read more on New York Theatre Guide.
Apr 10, 2019 · To get at the Fosse style, a dance critic breaks down “Who’s Got the Pain?,” the only film number Bob Fosse and Gwen Verdon performed in together. Share full article. Warner Bros. By Brian...
