Bob Fosse: Encore

We had no intent on going beyond the last post when we focused on Chicago; that show was intended to be the end of our exploration of book musicals that Bob directed or choreographed. It made perfect sense, thematically and editorially. There was only one problem with that decision–we were leaving out one of the most creative musicals ever written for the movies. No, it did not have one composer who wrote new material just for the movie. No, it didn’t fit our definition of what we write about. BUT, yes, for every rule there is an exception. In this case, the exception came while watching Ben Vereen and Roy perform the ending scene (“I Think I’m Gonna Die” to the music of the Everly Brothers). And I started to wipe away the tears.

So, consider this an encore presentation that is being made up on the fly, without rehearsal, without theme. We are going to embed some scenes from the movie, and we are going to include an interview that Bob gave about how the movie came to be. We just don’t have enough time and patience to include everything; however, if you are interested in interviews, go to youtube and find clips of interviews with Dana Moore, Penny Worth, Carolyn Kirsch, Louise Quick, Stephanie Pope and Marge Beddow, among others. It is called Dancers Over 40’s Women of Fosse.

In terms of what we are going to cover in this encore, we are going to start with a brief interview with Bob, throw in some footage showing how Bob staged the opening number (“On Broadway”), provide the opening number, add the fun number from Jagger and Gideon doing “Everything Old Is New Again,” show off the outrageous “Take Off with Us” and end with the closing number. Bob Fosse is the only man who can turn dying into an art form and film a death scene, complete with farewell hugs, as a magnificent production number.

We know that this is not everyone’s cup of tea, so to speak; and if you don’t want to watch, we understand. This is bitter sweet. If you take a peek, you may not want to see it all; the closing number alone is ten minutes long. However, we thought we would capture the essence of what made Bob Fosse unique and keep it on ice, so that if and when you want to see it, it is here waiting for you. BTW, you are a large and diverse group of people; counting the people who have liked, followed or been invited to the page, you are more than 11,200 and still growing. We are not yet one year old, still trying to figure out what works and what doesn’t; but we remain dedicated to giving you the best of Broadway and movie musicals, along with occasional excursions into opera and operetta.

And now, without further ado, here’s Bob.

Here is some documentary footage showing how Bob used his view finder to mark spots on the stage so that he could get people in the right place to be filmed. It is the boring part of creation, but it provides the “effortless” appearance on screen.

Now that we have seen how Bob set up the scene, let’s see what it looks like after editing and sound.

Now, let’s don our top hats and dance in the apartment to Peter Allen’s 1974 song, “Everything Old Is New Again.”

We are now going to embed a clip that is both serious and funny, sexy and silly, the dance routine, “Take Off with Us.”

And now we come to “the final curtain,” to take a leaf out of The Chairman’s songbook, “I Think I’m Gonna Die.”