In this opening episode, there is a fascinating approach to the partnership of Gwen Verdon and Bob Fosse in the competitive world of dance. The program skips around in time through the memories of Fosse, as he reflects on his career.
The filmmakers have chosen to start with the Fosse-Verdon collaboration on the film version of "Sweet Charity." The film bombed at the box office, but many believe it was an overlooked gem. The focus in this program is that Verdon was bypassed for the lead in the film due to the casting of Shirley MacLaine. Verdon starred in the role on Broadway, but the disappointment does not seem to register in this interpretation. The careful set-ups and compositional choices of Fosse are highlighted in the lengthy opening scene.
The conceit of the film is to count down the years remaining in the pressure-packed life of the hard-driving perfectionist dancer-choreographer-director Fosse, starting with nineteen. The implication is the series will be charting the final two decades of Fosse's career. A flashback sequence suggests that little Bobby may have been an abused child in the way that he was pushed in his early training. Of course, that dictatorial manner would eventually become the style of Fosse himself as a perfectionist.
We follow the chain-smoking Fosse to Munich and the filming of "Cabaret." The program suggests that he was hired as director due to his initiative and pushiness in bypassing Cy Feuer and courting the producer Manny Woolf. A good Liza Minnelli look-alike appears in the rehearsals for "Mein Heir." Fosse scours Munich for prostitutes to provide a realistic ambience for the Kit Kat Klub.
The callousness of Fosse is apparent as he casually dismisses performers and is the dirty old man, constantly leering and on the lookout not only for fresh new dancing talent, but for opportunities for philandering. Poor Gwen is relegated to the background as the long-suffering wife. In Munich, he begins an affair with his German translator, and the program ends with Gwen arriving back in Europe with the gorilla's costume to blunder in on her husband in flagrante.
The filmmakers have chosen to start with the Fosse-Verdon collaboration on the film version of "Sweet Charity." The film bombed at the box office, but many believe it was an overlooked gem. The focus in this program is that Verdon was bypassed for the lead in the film due to the casting of Shirley MacLaine. Verdon starred in the role on Broadway, but the disappointment does not seem to register in this interpretation. The careful set-ups and compositional choices of Fosse are highlighted in the lengthy opening scene.
The conceit of the film is to count down the years remaining in the pressure-packed life of the hard-driving perfectionist dancer-choreographer-director Fosse, starting with nineteen. The implication is the series will be charting the final two decades of Fosse's career. A flashback sequence suggests that little Bobby may have been an abused child in the way that he was pushed in his early training. Of course, that dictatorial manner would eventually become the style of Fosse himself as a perfectionist.
We follow the chain-smoking Fosse to Munich and the filming of "Cabaret." The program suggests that he was hired as director due to his initiative and pushiness in bypassing Cy Feuer and courting the producer Manny Woolf. A good Liza Minnelli look-alike appears in the rehearsals for "Mein Heir." Fosse scours Munich for prostitutes to provide a realistic ambience for the Kit Kat Klub.
The callousness of Fosse is apparent as he casually dismisses performers and is the dirty old man, constantly leering and on the lookout not only for fresh new dancing talent, but for opportunities for philandering. Poor Gwen is relegated to the background as the long-suffering wife. In Munich, he begins an affair with his German translator, and the program ends with Gwen arriving back in Europe with the gorilla's costume to blunder in on her husband in flagrante.
