Dancin'

Dancin' is a musical revue produced on Broadway in 1978, directed and choreographed by Bob Fosse, who won a Tony Award for the choreography. The show is a tribute to the art of dance, and the music is a collection of mostly American songs, many with a dance theme, from a wide variety of styles, from operetta to jazz to classical to marches to pop.

For the Guy song, see Dancin' (Guy song).
Dancin'
Playbill
Musicvarious
Lyricsvarious
Productions1978 Broadway

Productions

Dancin' opened on Broadway at the Broadhurst Theatre on March 27, 1978. It then transferred to the Ambassador Theatre and closed on June 27, 1982 after 1,774 performances (including previews). Additional choreography was by Christopher Chadman.

After the success of the dance-intensive A Chorus Line, Fosse proposed a show with little dialogue and singing. Fosse's concept for the show was to use classical and show music, popular music, rock and roll, Mozart, Bach, George M. Cohan, and contemporary music by Neil Diamond and Melissa Manchester, anything except a new score written by a collaborator. He stated publicly that the project would free him from the burden of an artistic partnership: "When you have collaborators, you have all those midnight meetings. I'm tired of those... So I just decided to meet myself at midnight."[1][2] Fosse invited choreographer Graciela Daniele to contribute a few numbers, but she declined, saying "When you are out of ideas, call me. I have the feeling that once you get into it, you're going to want to do it all."[2] Despite the lack of creative partners, Fosse still had to negotiate with his co-producer Bernard Jacobs, the president of The Shubert Organization, who objected to Fosse's risqué number depicting a tourist coping with New York City's then-notoriously seamy Times Square.[1] The show's remaining numbers impressed audiences, and because Fosse co-produced the show, it became his biggest financial success in the theatre.[3][4]

Dancin' was nominated for seven and won two Tony Awards. Fosse won for his choreography, and Jules Fisher won for his lighting design. Fisher said that sound designer Abe Jacob should have won a Tony Award, but there was no category for sound design until three decades later.[5]

The show's choreography is so demanding that small theatre companies are unable to effectively recreate it, and so the show has not been revived.[3] However, several numbers from Dancin' were recreated for the 1999 dance review Fosse, including: "Crunchy Granola Suite", "I Wanna Be a Dancin' Man", "Big Noise from Winnetka", "Mr. Bojangles", and "Sing Sing Sing".[6] A revival was scheduled to be produced by the Roundabout Theatre Company at Studio 54 for 2009, but this had been postponed until the 2009–10 season, and was again postponed indefinitely.[7]

Dancin' ran for a Limited Season in 1983 at Theatre Royal, Drury Lane in Westminster, London. Previews began on 11 November 1983, with the official opening on 14 November 1983, and closing on 28 January 1984. The revue was directed by Fosse.[8]

Song list

Opening night cast

Critical reception

In his The New York Times review, Richard Eder writes the show is designed to be a musical show — there is no story line. He states that Ann Reinking is clearly the star and she is at her best in the high point of the evening, "Benny's Number", which recreates Benny Goodman and his band using "Sing, Sing, Sing". He also mentions several other dances, such as "Dancin' Man", with the entire cast dressed in "ice-cream" suits and lavender shirts; and "Fourteen Feet", where the shoes are nailed to the floor, and the dancers proceed to move within those confines. He sums up by writing "precision and style mark the evening at its best", but they serve very little.[9]

Clive Barnes, newly moved to the New York Post, told Fosse that he thought the show was "tremendous" and "fantastic".[4]

Awards and nominations

Original Broadway production
Year Award Category Nominee Result
1978 Tony Award Best Musical Nominated
Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Musical Wayne Cilento Nominated
Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Musical Ann Reinking Nominated
Best Direction of a Musical Bob Fosse Nominated
Best Choreography Won
Best Costume Design Willa Kim Nominated
Best Lighting Design Jules Fisher Won
Drama Desk Award Outstanding Musical Nominated
Outstanding Featured Actor in a Musical Charles Ward Nominated
Outstanding Choreography Bob Fosse Won
Outstanding Lighting Design Jules Fisher Won
gollark: What is the boiling point of most songs?
gollark: Or would be, if it wasn't just totally* sentient.
gollark: I imagine it's the JS one.
gollark: You can do that. Ish.
gollark: Oh, it's sentient.

References
  1. "Fosse, 'Dancin'" PBS.org
  2. Gottfried, Martin. All His Jazz, Da Capo Press, 1990, p. 359. ISBN 0-306-80837-4
  3. Kenrick, John."History of The Musical Stage, 1970s II: Concept Musicals, Fosse" musicals101.com
  4. Gottfried, p. 366
  5. Thomas, Richard K. (2008). The Designs of Abe Jacob. United States Institute for Theatre Technology. p. 62. ISBN 978-1-933348-14-8.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  6. Fosse Internet Broadway Database
  7. Jones, Kenneth. "Mr. No Jangles: 'Dancin' ' Will Not Step Into Broadway's Studio 54" playbill.com, August 30, 2011
  8. "UK London Theatre Royal Drury Lane" theatrecrafts.com, accessed September 7, 2019
  9. Eder, Richard. Review, The New York Times, March 28, 1978, p. 48
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