NEW YORK, NY.- In 1978, Bob Fosse staged a tribute to his favorite art form with a largely plotless show called Dancin that wound up running for more than four years.
The show, with a mix of dance forms and musical styles, was famously demanding, and has not returned to Broadway since, despite an effort to do so 15 years ago. But now a new group of artists, led by a member of the shows original cast and with the support of Fosses daughter, is reimagining the show and bringing it back to Broadway early next year.
Bob Fosses Dancin is scheduled to begin performances March 2 and to open March 19 at the Music Box Theatre. The revival is directed by Wayne Cilento, who was a performer in the original cast.
The show, Fosse said in 1978, is about the sheer joy of dancing.
After all, you go to the ballet, you dont expect one ballet to have anything to do with the next, do you? he said. The dances work on their own, or they dont work. I feel like Im bucking some very rigid expectations of what a musical is supposed to be. Well, what the hell, Im giving the best Ive got.
The original production did not delight The New York Times critic at the time, Richard Eder, who could not accept the lack of a plot, writing, it is like the frosting declaring its independence from the cake. But apparently a lot of people were just fine with frosting: The show ran for 1,787 performances.
The revival had a pre-Broadway run this year at the Old Globe theater in San Diego. The San Diego Union-Tribune called it a spectacular production of sight and sound. And most of all, dancin.
Fosses Tony-winning choreography is being reproduced by Christine Colby Jacques, who was also a member of the original company; additional choreographic reconstruction is being done by Corinne McFadden Herrera. Playwright Kirsten Childs is being credited with text consultation and additional material.
The shows lead producer is Joey Parnes; it is being capitalized for $15 million, according to the Securities and Exchange Commission.
This article originally appeared in
The New York Times.