Oh Lord, I need a shower now

[litlover12]

I'm currently reviewing the new biography of choreographer/director Bob Fosse. So to get some background or atmosphere or whatever, I thought I should watch All That Jazz, the movie he made about his own life.

Um . . . don't do that. Ew. EW EW EW.

There was something very dark and twisted about that man. I don't mean to be melodramatic or over the top, but the word "demonic" actually came to mind at one point.

Comments

[digne.livejournal.com]

Oh yes, I know just enough to know that he was a very dark man.

I'm currently reading Defying Gravity: The Creative Career of Stephen Schwartz and I just finished the Fosse section. I felt so sorry for Schwartz!

Yes, Fosse was a genius and his contribution to Pippin was invaluable, but he was impossible to work with.

[allisnow.livejournal.com]

Hmm, I think all I know about the guy is that he gets mentioned on SYTYCD a couple times a season :)

[litlover12.livejournal.com]

Oh, he was a genius and a legend, there's no doubt about that. But he was also a MAJOR mess.

It comes out in both the book and the movie that he was sexually abused as a young man, and felt that his parents had failed to protect him. It seems to have done some very weird things to his psyche. So I feel sorry for him, but also very disturbed by what he became. It's a shame he couldn't have found some genuine help.

[mosinging1986.livejournal.com]

I remember the name and the title of that movie, but that's it. I guess I'll stay away if I ever have the opportunity!

[jobey-in-error.livejournal.com]

Have not heard of the guy or the movie. Sounds like I haven't been missing out.

[litlover12.livejournal.com]

He choreographed a lot of Broadway shows ("Chicago," "Sweet Charity," "Pajama Game," etc.) He was a very talented guy and actually did a lot of good shows -- but putting his own screwed-up life on film . . . not such a great idea.

[digne.livejournal.com]

He invented a whole style of dance for his shows. The moment you see anyone slouching with a hat (usually a bowler hat) they are imitating his style.



Edit: the embed didn't work I'm trying it again and if it doesn't work use this link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7uIPkwCYxKU

[litlover12.livejournal.com]

That leap right at the beginning from the Alley Dance -- I love that. When I first saw it I rewound it, like, four times. That may be my favorite thing Fosse ever did. :-)

Interesting video, thanks. Holy cow, those "Chicago" costumes! I saw the current Broadway revival of the show, and while the costumes for that aren't exactly what you'd call Amish, they're nowhere near that revealing. I didn't realize they were practically wearing bikinis in the original.

See, I always knew Fosse was into that seductive, suggestive style, especially later in his career. But the ballet in "All That Jazz" was on a whole other level. It crossed ALLLLLL kinds of lines. I had not expected even Fosse to go that far.

[digne.livejournal.com]

That leap is amazing! Gwen Verdon, always said the most challenging thng about dancing with Fosse was that he could leap and she couldn't.

I'll pull a few things out of my books that might be of interest. This may seem a little random but here it is:

1.) The books on Schwartz I'm reading that I mentioned earlier is fascinating. Fosse was very hard to work with. He nearly drove Schwartz crazy. Fosse had many conflicts with the writers he worked with and he probably quit more shows that he actually directed. The book quotes Dean Pitchford (actor, songwriter) on Fosse and I think he may have a point. He says, "Bob is notorious for being loved by his cast members and loathed by his collaborators. That's a pretty broad statement, but across the board he had famous feuds with co-writers." Pitchford thinks that it is because Fosse was not a words man, he needed to talk with his body.


2.) In the original production of Chicago, as Martin Gottfried observed, "Gwen Verdon and Chita Rivera were no longer ingenues, and were deliberately costumed to look like underdressed, older chorines … [they] ignored vanity to achieve power."

He says that Fosse was interested in the "decadent, grotesque look" and used it in Chicago. (Broadway Musicals, Martin Gottfried, page 120)


3.) Some humor:

Forbidden Broadway: Chicago-Glossy Fosse
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_9DEgThPPM4

[litlover12.livejournal.com]

That song is a scream. "Twist and contort and throw some trash in it" -- that's about the size of it! :-)

I didn't know there was ANYTHING Gwen Verdon couldn't do!

[mosinging1986.livejournal.com]

Oh, how I wish I could dance!

[spiderorchid81.livejournal.com]

Thank you for the link, this was very interesting! ^_^

[spiderorchid81.livejournal.com]

I only know his work for "Cabaret" and "Lize with a Z" and have seen him in "Kiss me Kate". I like his style very much but didn't know he had such a troubled private life - it's sad how many artists seem to produce great things out of a difficult or even cruel start in life.

[ever-maedhros.livejournal.com]

Oh, dear. Guess it's time to read a little Dickens to calm your nerves, too.