The third episode opens with a dynamic fantasy sequence of Bob Fosse as the Emcee in "Cabaret" dancing into the editing room in New York to the tune of "Willkommen!", where he will assemble the film footage and redo the incompetent editorial work on his masterpiece. The directorial approach to this series is consciously imitating a style that Fosse would have utilized himself to tell his life story.
But main focus of this program is the story of Gwen's first marriage and the birth of a beautiful baby boy. As a teenager in Culver City, Gweneth Evelyn Verdon was seduced by Jim Henegan, a friend of her family. When it clear that Gwen was pregnant with Jim's child, her family forced her to marry him. Jim was abusive, an alcoholic, and a deadbeat dad. Gwen left him and placed her son under the care of her parents. Her work for the Jack Cole dancers led to her first great Broadway success in "Can Can." The adulation she received at a curtain call is contrasted by the trauma of separation from her child.
The program implies that even Bob Fosse was unaware of Gwen's first marriage and the son she supported from afar. The memories come in a flood to Gwen after she is cast in the Jack Horrigan play "Children! Children!" in 1972. The play's director, Joseph Hardy, is portrayed in this program as incompetent and insensitive in his treatment of Gwen. The play ran for exactly one performance on Broadway.
Gwen is sorely needed by Bob in his editing of "Cabaret." When he sees the first cut, Bob exclaims, "I feel sick. It's unwatchable. I'm going to throw up." But he perks up when Gwen is in the editing room. He also wants her creative input on his new stage directorial project of the musical "Pippin." It is clear that the Fosse-Verdon team is inseparable artistically, even if they are living separate lives in 1972.
But main focus of this program is the story of Gwen's first marriage and the birth of a beautiful baby boy. As a teenager in Culver City, Gweneth Evelyn Verdon was seduced by Jim Henegan, a friend of her family. When it clear that Gwen was pregnant with Jim's child, her family forced her to marry him. Jim was abusive, an alcoholic, and a deadbeat dad. Gwen left him and placed her son under the care of her parents. Her work for the Jack Cole dancers led to her first great Broadway success in "Can Can." The adulation she received at a curtain call is contrasted by the trauma of separation from her child.
The program implies that even Bob Fosse was unaware of Gwen's first marriage and the son she supported from afar. The memories come in a flood to Gwen after she is cast in the Jack Horrigan play "Children! Children!" in 1972. The play's director, Joseph Hardy, is portrayed in this program as incompetent and insensitive in his treatment of Gwen. The play ran for exactly one performance on Broadway.
Gwen is sorely needed by Bob in his editing of "Cabaret." When he sees the first cut, Bob exclaims, "I feel sick. It's unwatchable. I'm going to throw up." But he perks up when Gwen is in the editing room. He also wants her creative input on his new stage directorial project of the musical "Pippin." It is clear that the Fosse-Verdon team is inseparable artistically, even if they are living separate lives in 1972.
