FOSSE/VERDON
Posted: Thu Jun 13, 2019 6:51 am
This 8-part miniseries examines the desperate lives of the self-destructive dancer/choreographer/director Bob Fosse and Broadway legend, Gwen Verdon. IMO Sam Rockwell comes off better as Fosse than Michelle Williams does as Verdon, probably because he doesn't have to act and sing as Fosse, while Williams tries to emulate Verdon's unique voice and dance moves. As for acting, they are both fine. The series, however has highs and lows. The real trough is an episode devoted to a rainy weekend on Long Island where Fosse and Verdon commiserate with house guests Paddy Chayesfsky and Neil Simon soon after Simon's wife has died. Talk about dreary! Along with the former "names," we also get snippets of Chita Rivera, Shirley MacLaine, Liza Minnelli, Jerry Orbach, Roy Scheider, Ann Reinking, Joan McCracken, etc. The main problem with the series, fascinating as it is, is that Fosse was a famous egomaniac and a terror to work with. He also clearly resents his career's being shunted behind the scenes. This one also paints Verdon as an ambitious monster who barely hides her resentments about career setbacks due to late motherhood and Fosse's mental and physical problems.
While Verdon was a constant presence on Broadway during the 1950s with Can-Can, Damn Yankees, New Girl in Town, and Redhead (each of which earned her a Tony Award) she was off the stage for 6 years, not returning until Sweet Charity in 1966. And aside from a one-night disaster in a straight play, she wasn't back on Broadway until Chicago in 1975. This last show is gone into in fine detail as Verdon worked for years to get the rights to the story of Roxy Hart and line up the talent. The project kept getting derailed by Fosse's health issues and his Hollywood career as a director. She took a back seat. By the time she got the show in production, she was 50 years old and past her prime as a dancer.
It's a fascinating look as we see Verdon's part in the show whittled done and handed to Chita Rivera. The final blow was a throat injury which required her to abdicate her role to Minnelli for 2 months before she could return.
The final impression from this show is that two titans should never join forces. While the outside world saw them as a great and successful team, the reality lay somewhere under that glitzy veneer.
While Verdon was a constant presence on Broadway during the 1950s with Can-Can, Damn Yankees, New Girl in Town, and Redhead (each of which earned her a Tony Award) she was off the stage for 6 years, not returning until Sweet Charity in 1966. And aside from a one-night disaster in a straight play, she wasn't back on Broadway until Chicago in 1975. This last show is gone into in fine detail as Verdon worked for years to get the rights to the story of Roxy Hart and line up the talent. The project kept getting derailed by Fosse's health issues and his Hollywood career as a director. She took a back seat. By the time she got the show in production, she was 50 years old and past her prime as a dancer.
It's a fascinating look as we see Verdon's part in the show whittled done and handed to Chita Rivera. The final blow was a throat injury which required her to abdicate her role to Minnelli for 2 months before she could return.
The final impression from this show is that two titans should never join forces. While the outside world saw them as a great and successful team, the reality lay somewhere under that glitzy veneer.