Learning aim B-Learning about Bob Fosse

Robert Louis Fosse (June 23, 1927 – September 23, 1987) was a musical theatre choreographer and director.

He was born in Chicago, Illinois to a Norwegian family, the youngest of six children.

Bob Fosse timeline

• 1927 Fosse Born
• Early 1940’s The Riff Brother’s
• 1947-1953 Stared in may Broadway musicals and had a 7-year contract with MGM (“Call me Mister”, “Pal Joey”, “Give the Girl a Break”).
• 1953 “Kiss Me, Kate” Fosse choreographed a small section in this movie.
• 1954 Choreographed is first musical “The Pyjama Game”
• 1955 Choreographed “Damn Yankee”
• 1957-1960 had a number of hits as choreographer and director (“New Girl in Town”, “Redhead”)
• 1966 “Sweet Charity” opened and in 1968-9 Fosse became a film director for Sweet Charity, however the movie was a flop.
• 1966 Fosse choreographed “Cabaret”
• 1972 Cabaret became a movie, very popular and well directed by Fosse
• 1972 “Pippin” was directed and choreographed by Fosse
• 1972 “Liza with a Z” was a concert film directed and choreographed by Fosse
• 1975 “Chicago” premiered and ran for 2 years

Early Life:

• Born July 23^rd 1927 on the not very affluent North Side of Chicago to Sadie and Cyril (Cy) Fosse.
• Parents were sweating out the depression years, at least his father did have a job selling insurance.
• He was one of five children.

Chicago Academy of Theatre Arts:

• When grand names were used, the place in fact only consisted of two small rooms.
• He initially went to accompany his sister at the age of 8, but started to take dance lessons at the age of 9.
• The director was Fredric Weaver, a man who would become a lifelong friend, and a second father figure.
• Weaver had attended the Chicago Music College when Florenz Ziegfeld was the director.
• Weaver was into show business, and alongside the dance classes was looking for acts to promote. He loved vaudeville, and so the curriculum at the school was based around tap, toe and acrobatic dance.
• In the depression years the cost of the dance lessons became unbearable to Cy and Sadie Fosse, and so Weaver offered a scholarship loan to Bob in return for 15% of all Bob’s earning to the age of 21. 

The Riff Brothers, Dancers Extraordinary:

• The Riff Brothers were Bob Fosse and Charles Glass. They looked alike.
• ‘Riff’ – fast tapping of the toe without body movement.
• The boys wore formal clothes and aimed to be a younger version of the most famous vaudeville tap team “The Nicholas Brothers”.
• Bob Fosse led a secret life; Bob Fosse, just another kid at school doing well in his studies, and Bob Riff, dancing, performing and rehearsing all evening.
• Their first show was them as ringers in an amateur competition, they won. The competition took place after the showing of the movie “Swing Time” starring Fred Astaire. Astaire would become Fosse’s idea of the world’s most beautiful dancer for the rest of his life.
• While the Riff Brothers existed they performed in shows from mixed Revues, Amateur shows, American legion clubs, small nightclubs, Vaudeville houses and the more seedy Burlesque houses and striptease clubs.
• This early exposure to sex, the female form and sleazy underworlds would make a lasting effect on Fosse and be evident in much of his later work.
• In 1942 George Abbott, the famous New York director came to Chicago and The Riff Brothers auditioned for him. They didn’t get jobs, but 12 years later Fosse would work with the same George Abbott as choreographer in “The Pajama Game”.
• Weaver had a huge influence on Fosse, not only on his work ethic, and perfectionism,  but also on his lifestyle. When Weaver started to smoke, so did Fosse, and Fosse observed Weaver courting girls half his own age.
• In 1945 Bob left school with his mind made up that he wanted to be a dancer, but also that he wanted to join the Navy.

In The Navy:

• Fosse went into the Navy’s entertainment branch, and performed in the Revue “Tough Situation”. It underwent a gruelling tour of 96 performances in three months.
• Fosse had a show stopping solo, that he rehearsed tirelessly, and it became the star turn in the show.
• In 1947 he got the dance lead in a show called “Call Me Mister”. It was a show made entirely of veterans. It was in this show that he met his first wife Marian (Mary-Ann) Niles, and they started performing and choreographing as a couple.
• However the affairs started with other female members, and Marian could not take it, and the final straw came in 1949 when she realised he was having more than an affair with Joan McCraken, he was in love with her.
• Joan McCraken would become Fosse’s second wife.
• By the end of this period in his life Bob Fosse was becoming a versatile and established choreographer.

Pal Joey 1951

• Bob Riff’s aspirations reappear and Fosse wants to be the dancing star again.
• He gets the lead in the off-Broadway Summer production of Pal Joey.
• The character Joey Evans was close to Bob Riff – a dancing master of ceremonies, in seedy joints, romancing older women.
• This role was the single greatest dancing role in all of Broadway musical comedy, and had made Gene Kelly a star, and so why not Fosse?
• However disappointment was to face Fosse as he was not hired for the lead in the Broadway production, but just the understudy.

MGM:

• Fosse was offered a screen test for MGM, and in 1952 was offered a 7 year contract. Still aspiring to be a famous performer Bob leaped at the opportunity, but 1952 proved to be a lonely, infertile and frustrating year.
• He was not warmly welcomed as a newcomer, and had few friends.
• However he was given a good sized role in “Give A Girl A Break”.
• It was to prove to be his biggest speaking and dancing part, and best MGM opportunity, but he did not impress the musical-movie producers, and it was they who decided whose careers to push and whose not.
• In an idle chat one day at a table in the MGM café with a group of actors, many more well-known than him Fosse said, “Listen, I may be directing all of you one day”. Many of the actors felt this to be pretentious, and until this time these directing aspirations had not surfaced.
   
• The MGM movie that would mean the most to him was the one with his smallest role “Kiss Me, Kate”.
• He asked to choreograph his own section, which Joan McCraken 3,000 miles away on Broadway would make sure that people noticed.
• The section was the song “From This Moment On”, and Carol Haney’s dance.
• She makes a strippers entrance leading from the pelvis, then Bob enters from the wings in a slide that lands him on his back at her feet. As he rises they freeze for three beats.
• Fosse’s style continued to develop and become recognisable.
• There are many influences in his style, one that entered here was that of the choreographer Jack Cole.

Jack Cole:

• Was one of the most influential and prominent choreographers in Hollywood in the post WW II years.
• He was a ‘dancers choreographer’ and seemed only to work for the dancers alone. This bread a great respect from his dancers, one which Fosse would also achieve.
• He had nightclub acts as well as choreographing for the stage and screen. Carol Haney was the lead dancer in this act.
• His style was stylistic and unique.
   
• “From This Moment On” – when the music stops the begin snapping their fingers rhythmically, a device which would be repeated on Broadway (West Side Story 1957).
• The rhythm was syncopated; there were shoulder swivels in unison, slight knee bends, toes and knees inverted, small steps and the use of a hat. All of these elements would become stock stylistic qualities of Fosse’s work.
• At the end there was the big Bob Riff finish – a back flip.
• In the aftermath of Oklahoma (1943) choreographers took themselves very seriously. Dancers swept across the breadth of the stage, leaping and lifting. In contrast Bob started to create humorous, twittering choreography borrowing from tap, but also small gestures and mannerisms. (Martin Gottfried)
   
• After this Bob broke his contract with MGM, which was unheard of.

The Fosse Phenomenon: Dance, Sex, and Detail

His techniques

    American choreographer Bob Fosse reflected his vaudevillian dance techniques on Broadway, setting the stage for the modern film Chicago.  His physical shortcomings in dance did not limit him, but strengthened his artistic ability.  Shoulder rolls, pelvic thrusts, and snapping fingers emerged from Fosse’s body, bringing dance to another level.

    Fosse created his own dance movements, which set him apart from other choreographers.  He used specific techniques to convey his message to his audience.  Dance movements usually consisted of unique and provoking details such as shoulder rolls, quick kicks, or pelvic thrusts.  Taking the “less is more” approach, Fosse told his audience how to feel through the burlesque jazz interchange.  He worked his idiosyncrasies into his dancing; he wore a black bowler hat to hide his bald head and turned his knees in to account for his lack of turnout (Partridge 68).

    When dancing with hats, he utilized even small hand movements such as the splaying of fingers and snaps.  Splaying of the fingers refers to the spreading out of fingers (Partridge 68).  Fosse states, “The energy doesn’t end at the hands.  I want such intensity that it feels like light is streaming from every finger” (Beddow 65).  He incorporated such detail that audiences took notice of sharp hand movements during dance interchanges.

    Through his exclusive dancing, Bob Fosse made every movement count for something.  His dancers usually did not have a perfect figure, but he worked with them to incorporate their strengths.  He believed in putting meaning behind his movements; dances in musicals were continuations of previous scenes.  His one of a kind masterpieces capture the audience’s attention from the start (Mettler 62).

    Working with Fosse, Margery Beddow was able to pick up details and habits in his choreography.  An original tap dancer, Fosse often used a great deal of emotion in his jazz interchanges.  Beddow recalls Fosse saying, “You can’t be a good dancer unless you’re a good actor.  Otherwise it’s all just wallpaper” (65).  In search for perfection, Fosse challenged all of his dancers and actors to the extreme.  He drilled routines, details, and emotions into their movements.  Many dancers who worked with him feel that he pressed them to surpass their own abilities.  To help them convey emotion in their dance, Fosse gave them images to visualize.  By doing this, he brought meaning behind the movements (Beddow 65).
    The son of a vaudevillian, Robert Louis Fosse was born on June 23, 1927 in Chicago, Illinois.  By age thirteen, Fosse began acting in a number of burlesque variety shows.   By age fifteen, Fosse became an emcee at a small local nightclub, where he choreographed his first number.  The number involved four girls swaying ostrich fans to the music of Cole Porter.    In 1950, he made his Broadway debut in Dance Me a Song.  Two years later, he became Harold Lang’s understudy for the play Pal Joey.  In 1953, MGM signed a contract with Fosse to sing in Hollywood.  There, he starred in plays such as Kiss Me Kate and My Sister Eileen (Zaremba).

    His career in Broadway turned around when Fosse returned to New York.  Notorious Broadway producer George Abbott hired him to choreograph dance numbers for The Pajama Game, for which Fosse received the Donaldson Award and the Tony Award (Zaremba).

    During the next few years, Fosse arranged dance routines for Damn Yankee and Redhead.  In 1969, Fosse began film directing for Sweet Charity.  Although, box office attendance remained low, the film did not go unnoticed by critics.  The film that followed, Cabaret, became a Fosse phenomenon.  Cabaret was nominated for several Oscars; it won eight, including Best Director, Best Supporting Actor (Joel Grey), and Best Actress (Liza Minnelli) (Zaremba). 

    Set in the 1930s in Berlin, Germany, Cabaret portrays the nightlife of the young movie bound actress, Sally Bowles.  Fosse made the film as true to real life as possible.  The film begins in a dark nightclub and the overall feel of the movie is dark.  Germans flee to the Cabaret at night to escape the relentless dictatorship of Hitler and the Nazis.  Fosse flawlessly captures the nightlife of the middle class during the war through floor dance routines and singing acts.  Sally is always seen wearing black and lots of make-up, both Fosse’s trademarks.  She struts around the stage in a black halter leotard, sheer black thigh highs, and high heeled shoes.  A black bowler hat hides her short, black hair and bright blue make-up saturates her eyelids accenting her large batting eyelashes.  Through this film Fosse expresses his unique style of direction and choreography.  He proves that films do not need happy endings in order to prove successful and the dance choreography is a fashion all his own (Nesbit).

    The climax in Fosse’s career came between 1972 and 1973.  Outdoing previous directors, producers, and choreographers, he won two more Tonys for his production and direction in Pippin, an Oscar, and three Emmys for his splendid production, direction, and arrangement in Liza With a Z (Zaremba).

    In 1975, Fosse directed the smash hit Chicago starring Gwen Verdon and Chita Rivera.  After running on Broadway for two years, it toured America.  In 1978, Fosse completed his last major work, Dancin.’  The dance routines in the musical revealed Fosse’s distinct and unique variety.  Without a plot, it illustrated the significance of just dancing (Zaremba).

    While rehearsing the revival of Sweet Charity with Gwen Verdon in 1987, Fosse collapsed outside the William Hotel in Washington, D.C.  He was rushed to the George Washington University Hospital and proclaimed dead due to a heart attack (Zaremba).

    One of Fosse’s Broadway spectacles, Chicago, was taken to film in 2003.  Directed by Rob Marshall, the film sticks to the original screenplay while making use of modern technological advancements.   The film won six Oscars including best picture, best sound, best supporting actress (Catherine Zeta-Jones), and best art direction (Hay 6).  Set in the 1920s in Chicago, Illinois, the film takes the audience through jazz, cabarets, sex, and liquor.  Fame seeking Roxie Hart shares the stage with Chicago-renowned Velma Kelly.  After imprisonment for murder, the two opposing jazz dancers meet the smooth-talking lawyer, Billy Flynn.  A few fibs and five thousand dollars later, Hart and Kelly fulfill their dreams and take their double act to the stage (“Chicago”).

    The film absorbs Fosse’s detailed techniques.  In the opening scene, sounds of saxophones and piano fill the smoky cabaret.  Velma Kelly seductively croons “All That Jazz” in black fishnets, high heels, and a black lacy outfit.  Fosse always preferred the color black to illustrate sexuality in the dance routines.  As Kelly sweeps across stage, other dancers join in forming a stage full of flying legs and sharp hand movements.  The male dancers wear black pants, white shirts, and black worn in bowler hats.  The dance movements are catchy and detailed.  Kelly uses her hands tremendously throughout the scene.  She often flicks her wrist, puffs a cigarette, splays her fingers, and slides her hand up her thigh.  All of these movements and settings explicitly exemplify Fosse’s techniques (“Chicago”).

    A couple flicks and taps later, “The Cell Block Tango” booms from the stage.  Six women, Kelly among them, emerge from a dark stage with a line of jail cell walls before them.  Dressed in black from head to toe the women belt out lyrics while the music roars with jazz.  Again, the male dancers wear black pants and bowler hats.  The women use red scarves during the dance, adding a touch to their wrist flicks.  Many of the duet dances with the males are highly suggestive.  Some examples include a woman straddling a man on the floor and a woman putting her leg up on a man.  The six murderesses end the scene in the splits.  This routine obviously shows Fosse’s sexual style in choreography and shows the dancers in black again (“Chicago”).

    Fosse believed that fame glorified life.  In order to become famous, one must acquire money and possess talent.  Fosse quotes, “Directors are never in short supply of girlfriends.”  This quotation describes Fosse’s personal life.  Stumbling over three marriages and many mistresses, he never settled down for long (Zaremba).

    In the next scene of Chicago, the audience meets the “silver-tongued” lawyer, Billy Flynn.  The stage glows with women in sparkling, red revealing outfits.  Billy Flynn appears in a white shirt and suspended black pants singing “All I Care About.”  The dancers strut about the stage shaking their hips and thrusting their pelvis.   This scene parallels to Fosse’s lifestyle.  Flynn parades around with multiple women as does Fosse.  Flynn lives a rich life and exudes popularity in Chicago.  Fosse also makes money and obtained his notoriety for his Broadway choreography and direction (“Chicago”).

     The last scene of the film reveals a dance routine with more Fosses techniques than any other scene in the production.  Hart and Kelly sing and dance together in white, sparkling flapper skirts.  The routine involves sharp arm and hip thrusts as well as pelvic thrusts and splayed fingers.  During the routine, Hart and Kelly perform a hat trick with white bowler hats.  The dance also involves numerous toe taps, knee cocks, and hat tilts.  All of these dance movements clearly express Fosse’s burlesque style of dance (“Chicago”).

    Fosse uses several details in his dance movements.  Although small, these movements make a dance step glow.  He set the stage for modern choreographers through self-expression and dedication.  He never let his imperfections stop him from achieving his dream.  By reaching his goals, he opened a door for many dancers whose idiosyncrasies may have kept them from dancing.  With his unique sense of style, he continues to capture audiences and box offices all over America.

Bob Fosse “Chicago”

Creation:

• Opened 46^th Street Theatre, June 5^th 1975 and ran for two years.

• Fosse and Fred Ebb wrote the book for “Chicago”. More and more Fosse was doing the writing on his projects (“Lenny”, “Star 80” and “Big deal”).

• The lyrics were written by Fred Ebb and the music was composed by John Kander. These had both worked with Fosse on “Cabaret” and “Liza with a Z”.

• Gwen Verdon had wanted to adapt a 1926 play called “Chicago” into a musical. She brought the rights to the play in 1973.

• Fosse brought Kander and Ebb on board, and it wasn’t until they decided to turn it all into a “musical vaudeville” that it all started to come together.

• “(The vaudeville format of Chicago) enabled us to present the characters in a fresh and unusual way by drawing an analogy between them and their vaudeville counter-parts.” (Fred Ebb)

• On the first day of rehearsals in 1974, Fosse felt woozy, he was driven to hospital – he had suffered a heart attack.

• The show was postponed while Fosse recovered (he would turn these events into the very popular musical film “All That Jazz”).

• The emotional toll of the heart attack sent Fosse into a dark and cynical mood, and the show started to go out of control, with its view of corruption and sexual exploitation and that all the world is pretense.

• He was eventually persuaded to scale back his more aggressive effects by the time the show reached New York, June 3^rd 1975.

The Show:

• Chicago takes place in the roaring 20’s, and is based on a book inspired by the death sentence given to a woman for killing her man.

• Roxie hart shoots her lover dead and ends up in jail where she realises that she could be hanged for her crime. She gets her husband Amos to hire the lawyer Billy Flynn. Another prisoner who has killed her lover and sister also awaits trial for murder – Velma Kelly. The two women compete for the limelight and use the publicity brought from Matron to keep their dreams of being big vaudeville stars after their release alive. Roxie is acquitted and the two murderesses team up in a vaudeville double act.

• Fosse’s favourite projects were about show biz, and he often found some way of making whatever he was working on feel like show biz (“Cabaret”, “Sweet Charity”). He frequently used hats and canes in his work, a holdover from his soft-shoe days, and constantly recycled a vaudeville vocabulary – emcees, slatternly showgirls, stage bands, and working the crowd.


• Some of the chorus work in “Chicago” has an organic quality. Fosse’s assistant Kathy Dolby taught the female dancers three movement combinations, each lasting for four measures of music. Two dancers start combination A, two B and the third pair C. The combinations start on different measures of music and create overlaps that, as Kathy Dolby said “made it look like a moving organism”. (relate to sound in Big Spender)


• This song is cut with the dramatic action of Roxie shooting Fred.


• Themes are overlapped and the scene builds with the chorus dancing with Velma. Lots of unison is used as the song progresses.


• Heavily rhythmic stuff appealed to Fosse, so Ebb added finger snaps and a “Da-dum, da-dum” that Fosse loved.

• In “Razzle-Dazzle” Billy Flynn stands beneath the scales of justice and begins the defence.

• In one of his darker moments Fosse decided to surround Jerry Orbach (Flynn) with a chorus of couples simulating sex on the steps of the courthouse.

All That Jazz:

• Some of the chorus work in “Chicago” has an organic quality. Fosse’s assistant Kathy Dolby taught the female dancers three movement combinations, each lasting for four measures of music. Two dancers start combination A, two B and the third pair C. The combinations start on different measures of music and create overlaps that, as Kathy Dolby said “made it look like a moving organism”. (relate to sound in Big Spender)


• This song is cut with the dramatic action of Roxie shooting Fred.


• Themes are overlapped and the scene builds with the chorus dancing with Velma. Lots of unison is used as the song progresses.