Fosse

Rating:
Summary: Fosse Without the Razzmatazz
Review: Let me start by saying I'm a huge fan of the work of Bob Fosse. Let me also say that I saw FOSSE live on Bway a few weeks after it opened, with the wonderful Valarie Pettiford opening the show with "Life Is Just A Bowl of Cherries" and with a cast that was so precise, so together in their performing of the choreography it really would have been hard to beat that experience.

Unfortunately, this filmed version of the show, filmed towards the end of the show's run, with Ben Vereen and Ann Reinking in the cast, turned out to be a huge disappointment for this fan.

The energy is definitely palpable, and a few numbers like "I Wanna Be A Dancin' Man", "Big Spender", "Cruncy Granola Suite", "Steam Heat" and "Shoeless Joe From Hannibal Mo." work wonderfully on the small screen and display the necessary Fosse flair as well as precision required.

I wish I could say the same about the other numbers. "Bye Bye Blackbird" is a mess, almost unrecognizable from the original version from LIZA WITH A 'Z" (which I have thanks to a friend who taped it many years ago when it aired on PBS.)and I'm afraid to say this was mostly due to Ben Vereen's inability to perform like he used to. Too many changes were made in the original choreography to accomodate his current physical limitations.

I'm not saying a man who has gone through what he has should be expected to perform/dance just like when he was 20. That would be absurd. But at some point, it almost seems best to be clever about how/when you use an ageing star. Vereen does wonderfully with "The Manson Trio" from PIPPIN, and with "Me and My Shadow" and "Razzle Dazzle", where his movements are smaller, more simple and more acting-based. He especially excels in "Mr. Bojangles", where his real life story lends a certain gravitas to a number I must confess I always found a bit maudlin.

But unfortunately, Vereen's dancing in some other places is strained and just really painful to watch. I wish it weren't so, but it's true. It would have been best if he had stepped out for some of the more complex numbers and allowed the younger dancers to display the Fosse steps more accurately. That being said, I think having Vereen open and close the show with "Life Is Just A Bowl of Cherries" works well and his vocal performance on the song is unique and beautifully delivered.

Reinking, wisely, does not try to recreate her peak dancing years, but instead, acts more as a narrator and conduit for Fosse's specific style, appearing only in "Big Spender" and in the short transitional segment, "Fosse's World".

The other problem with this program is that the dancers that ARE at their peak, and should know better, are often not together and lack precision. Not just individually, but as a group. (This would particularly distress Fosse himself, I'm sure).

Numbers like "The Rich Man's Frug", "I Gotcha" (the two men are particularly unimpressive in this one), "Blackbird" and even the once stunning "Sing, Sing, Sing" that closes the show, lack the luster they once had when coached by Fosse and are several notches below the quality I witnessed when FOSSE had just opened on Broadway.

No one loves Fosse and Reinking and Vereen more than I do, but this video was really just a big disappointment for me. I wish the original cast at its dancing peak had been recorded back in 1998/99, instead of this sort of "last minute" recording of a show that was about to close.

Fosse deseves better and those who follow his work know so. A student of his would do better to watch ALL THAT JAZZ and the several other films and T.V. shows that showcase Fosse's work.

Rating:
Summary: Fabulous!
Review: Maybe "Dave" had his critic's hat too tight. I found everything about "FOSSE!" exhilarating. The shows pace is perfect; starting out with Vereen's touching rendidition of "Life Is Just a Bowl of Cherries, to the fabulous finale that fools you into thinking it's over, only to hit you again with more non-stop, high energy dancing. The show left me breathless yet wanting more. The music was wonderful. I say, "Great!" The show was very well produced and beautifully directed, with superb editing as well.

Rating:
Summary: Disjointed arms, hats, hands and FOSSE!
Review: Mr. Fosse won the tri-fecta: Tony, Emmy & Oscar all in one year.

Here we have Ms. Reinking & Mr. Verene appearing, performing and, along with assistance in choreography by the late Gwen Verdon they show us Mr. Fosse's genius...as treated by his finest Protégés.

Not to be missed.

Rating:
Summary: A TREASURE FOR YOUR TIME CAPSULE!
Review: This DVD is an incredibly high quality preservation of Bob Fosse's choreographic body of work. Anyone who is a fan of dance, a student of dance, or someone even remotely interested in the evolution of dance on Broadway, has GOT to add this one to their collection... It features many passionate, atheletic, and precise performances from a great cast of dancer/singers, with Ben Vereen and Anne Reinking as the icing on the cake.

Incidentally, get the DVD. The sound is fantastic, the image quality (shot on high definition video) is too. And if you don't have a DVD player, GET ONE! If there's any reason to have one, this is it!

Rating:
Summary: Fosse the man is more important than Fosse's choreography
Review: This film is an excellent tribute to Bob Fosse, if only because his absence from the production shows painfully in every single dance sequence. I know the man's dead, but I'm almost surprised Fosse didn't scratch his way out of the grave to come and bust some heads and get the dancers into shape before allowing his name to be attached to this thoroughly lackluster, disjointed, and downright ragged performance of out-of-context dance numbers from a variety of shows of varying quality.

First, Fosse was a perfectionist. He did not tolerate sloppiness in his dancers, either in form or attitude. The dancers in this film, while not actually bad, still didn't perform well enough to hold me just by force of personality. I think Fosse could have taken these exact same dancers and extracted some stellar performances.

Second, everything he choreographed had a context. The numbers in this show in particular were never choreographed to be stand-alone pieces. Each came from the context of a show, and filled a purpose in that show. Take the dances out of the shows, and you're left with near-random movement that makes no sense and doesn't show why Fosse is widely recognized as the greatest choreographer ever on Broadway.

There are no showstopping dance numbers here, either. No hugely athletic numbers (in deference to the aging stars of the show) or even visually exciting numbers like the infamous "sex" sequence from "All That Jazz". Watching this video was like listening to two hours of Mozart's symphonies with all the exciting bits cut out and only the incidental music left.

If you want to see a real tribute to Bob Fosse, watch his semi-autobiographical "All That Jazz" (ASIN B00003CX8U)instead. Nobody can do a fitting tribute to Bob Fosse except the man himself.

Rating:
Summary: And that's showbiz, baby!
Review: This happens to be one of PBS' Great Performances Dance in America series' greatest realizations of a Broadway show and, more importantly, I think one of the most significant documentations of Bob Fosse's choreographic cannon.

Here you have the authority of Ben Vereen and Ann Reinking peforming in or recreating some of their original stage numbers. One of the reasons I wanted to see this show was to see Vereen recreate the "Glory" number from Pippin. Vereen sings "Life Is Just a Bowl of Cherries" - a favorite song of Fosse's from Dancin' - imbuing an added level of relevance for anyone who knows Vereen's life and career. Vereen and Reinking bring to this performance a certain history and magic, a passing on of the tradition. It is moving to see them pass it on to a new generation of Broadway dancers. This is a great cast of dancer/singers. To name a few - Rachel Rak's powerhouse sexy performance of "I Gotcha", Brad Anderson's athletic grace and angelic voice, and Ken Allen's dead on precision stands out in every number.

And the evolution of Fosse's choreographic language becomes striking seen in this context, from increasingly jazz-influenced style of "Shoeless Joe" and "Steam Heat" of the 50s to the vaudeville of the Chicago, Liza with a Z and "I Want to Be a Dancin' Man" numbers. And who can resist "Big Spender" and "Rich Man's Frug"? "Repetitive", one reviewer here claims. Yeah, and Martha Graham, Jerome Robbins and George Balanchine were accused of being "repetitive" in their vocabulary.

"Fosse" also includes interviews with Vereen and Reinking that give insight into how Bob Fosse and his choreography attained the relevance this show displays. Reinking states that Fosse took every member of the ensemble seriously, as a character and not just a background dancer. She describes a dancer who, after working on a number all day, muttered "again?" when asked by Fosse to rehearse further. That unfortunate dancer was soon looking for another job. This tells you something of Fosse's perfectionism. "That's what I would like anybody to feel [seeing this show]", Reinking states, "even just a breath of someone's dedication and passion".

Complain? Name me another film or television document to capture the American musical theatre in recent years. Along with 1990 documentary on Fosse, "Steam Heat", by Dance in America, this will be one of the greatest records of the genius of Bob Fosse. Except for the record of numbers Fosse choreographed for films and television, this is the only record of so many Broadway numbers fans and scholars will be able to rely on in future. And what a wonderful thing to have. I'm giving "Fosse" to all my friends who love the American musical theatre. It's a blast to watch all of these numbers again, and I know they will LOVE it.

Rating:
Summary: Best dance DVD I've ever seen
Review: This is the best 'Broadway Dance' DVD I've ever seen. It fills my HDTV 64" Widescreen TV beautifully. It is the best dancing I've ever seen. Ben is brilliantly balanced in his 'selected' numbers. This made the over twenty five dancers fit in PERFECT with every performances herein. The DVD just dances and dances and dances with exquisite delight. It is never repetitious. Man, do I feel like I got my money's worth. I do not know it's equal on the market today in quality, performances and perfection. I couldn't think of a more comprehensive way to make a better tribute to Bob Fosse in 2002. I am glad the Old Timer's gave us a glimpse at Fosse's personality and wits in the three intermission breaks.

Rating:
Summary: Hit and Miss
Review: Those familiar with Mr. Fosse and his work within the scope of musical theater know that the brilliance of Fosse's choreography was that it fit seamlessly within the context of the musical. In other words, the action didn't stop just to accomodate a dance number. Instead, the dance propelled the storyline forward. Taken out of the musical and put into a revue, the dances are still wonderful, but some hit the target while others merely come close.

Having Ann Reinking and Ben Vereen in the show is a huge plus. Although they are no longer in their prime, they were Fosse's favorites and bring a wonderful nostalgia to the show. Every time I see Mr. Vereen do "Mr Bojangles," I tear up. I would have liked to have seen Ms. Reinking do a little more, but I admire the fact that she knows what she is capable of and performs accordingly. Their interviews add a nostalgic touch.

As for the rest of the cast, there is no question as to how talented they are and when numbers don't quite work, it isn't through any fault of the ensemble. Particular standouts are "Sing, Sing, Sing" featuring the phenominal Dylis Croman on the trumpet solo (originally performed by Ann Reinking), "Bye, Bye Blackbird," "I Wanna Be a Dancin' Man," "Crunchy Granola Suite" and "From the Edge." Strangely enough, all of these numbers were from revue-type shows and not taken from musicals.

The misses, while still brilliant dances, are the ones that are out-of-context. Everything from the movie All That Jazz, especially "Take off with Us," falls flat. "Glory/Manson Trio," while interesting to see Mr. Vereen dance it 20 years later, makes no sense when taken out of Pippin. And I will never understand why they included "Razzle Dazzle" in this show and not "All that Jazz," but they did.

All in all, this is an incredibly entertaining DVD and the cast is top notch. Thank you to Ann Reinking and the late Gwen Verdon for keeping Bob Fosse's spirit alive and introducing him to a new generation of dancers.

Rating:
Summary: Hit and Miss
Review: Those familiar with Mr. Fosse and his work within the scope of musical theater know that the brilliance of Fosse's choreography was that it fit seamlessly within the context of the musical. In other words, the action didn't stop just to accomodate a dance number. Instead, the dance propelled the storyline forward. Taken out of the musical and put into a revue, the dances are still wonderful, but some hit the target while others merely come close.

Having Ann Reinking and Ben Vereen in the show is a huge plus. Although they are no longer in their prime, they were Fosse's favorites and bring a wonderful nostalgia to the show. Every time I see Mr. Vereen do "Mr Bojangles," I tear up. I would have liked to have seen Ms. Reinking do a little more, but I admire the fact that she knows what she is capable of and performs accordingly. Their interviews add a nostalgic touch.

As for the rest of the cast, there is no question as to how talented they are and when numbers don't quite work, it isn't through any fault of the ensemble. Particular standouts are "Sing, Sing, Sing" featuring the phenominal Dylis Croman on the trumpet solo (originally performed by Ann Reinking), "Bye, Bye Blackbird," "I Wanna Be a Dancin' Man," "Crunchy Granola Suite" and "From the Edge." Strangely enough, all of these numbers were from revue-type shows and not taken from musicals.

The misses, while still brilliant dances, are the ones that are out-of-context. Everything from the movie All That Jazz, especially "Take off with Us," falls flat. "Glory/Manson Trio," while interesting to see Mr. Vereen dance it 20 years later, makes no sense when taken out of Pippin. And I will never understand why they included "Razzle Dazzle" in this show and not "All that Jazz," but they did.

All in all, this is an incredibly entertaining DVD and the cast is top notch. Thank you to Ann Reinking and the late Gwen Verdon for keeping Bob Fosse's spirit alive and introducing him to a new generation of dancers.

Rating:
Summary: Would be better if Reinking died & Fosse created "Reinking"
Review: What a travesty. Ok, it was nice to watch and listen to Vereen, and some of the dances and dancers. There were a couple of dance numbers toward the beginning which were quite nice (the trio of men dancing and punching, the Asian man's solo). I think these were original to this production. But all numbers on this DVD which I'd previously seen in Fosse's movies were not anywhere as good as the Fosse-directed originals (Cabaret, Sweet Charity, All That Jazz), so I have to imagine the same holds for the ones I haven't seen. As for the show's overall spin, I hardly think Fosse would have approved. Um... for almost all numbers they're all dressed in black, see, and dance in front of a black backdrop, and they have this "cool" restraint permeating everything to the point of ridiculousness. There were interview segments where Reinking talked about how dedicated Fosse was to practicing; his dancers had to practice ever so much. Well, possibly some of the current dancers could have used more practice, but that's not the biggest problem; it's the shallow, lackluster artistic vision. Could these people have studied Fosse's work so much and still be so clueless? That's sad.