The Drama Book Shop Will Hold a Talk and Book Signing For BIG DEAL: Bob Fosse and Dance in the American Musical

There will a discussion and signing for BIG DEAL: Bob Fosse and Dance in the American Musical by Kevin Winkler on Thursday, 10th at 5pm at the The Drama Book Shop 250 West 40th St. (bet B'way & 8th Ave). Noted author Ken Bloom joins Kevin to discuss the book. With his trademark hunched shoulders, turned-in stance, and stuttering staccato jazz movement, Fosse was the groundbreaker in the development of choreography for the Broadway musical. The book is a fascinating look at the evolution of the man as a choreographer and director.

Bob Fosse (1927-1987) became recognized as one of the most significant figures in post-World War II American musical theater. Following his unprecedented triple crown of show business awards in 1973 (Oscar for Cabaret, Emmy for "Liza with a Z", and Tony for Pippin), he assumed complete control of virtually every element of his projects. He belongs to a rich lineage of Broadway choreographers who expanded their duties to include directing. Perhaps more than any other director-choreographer, he took the concept of "The Muscle," or complete control of his productions, to its furthest extent, eventually eliminating collaborators altogether.

BIG DEAL considers Fosse's career in the context of changes in the Broadway musical theater over four decades. It describes how his film experiences influenced his stage work and offers vivid cameos of important musical theater figures, including each of the important women in his life - all dancers - and how they affected his career and influenced his dance aesthetic. The book investigates how his evolution as both artist and individual mirrored the social and political climate of his era and allowed him to comfortably ride a wave of cultural changes.

Kevin Winkler enjoyed a career of more than twenty years as a curator, archivist, and library administrator at the New York Public Library, prior to which he was a professional dancer. He has served as a consultant for Lincoln Center Education, curating resources to accompany PBS Lincoln Center Live performances available throughout New York City public libraries. For several years he taught the popular Institute in Performing Arts Librarianship class at the Pratt Institute School of Library and Information Science. He is the editor of Their Championship Seasons: Acquiring, Processing, and Using Performing Arts Archives and associate editor of Performance Reclamation: Research, Discovery, and Interpretation (both published by Theatre Library Association), and co-edited the entry on performing arts libraries in International Dictionary of Library Histories (Fitzroy Dearborn).

Kevin is a contributor to Performing Processes: Creating Live Performances (Intellect Books), The Gay and Lesbian Theatrical Legacy: A Biographical Dictionary of Major Figures in American Stage History in the Pre-Stonewall Era (University of Michigan Press), and Cast Out: Queer Lives in Theater (University of Michigan Press). His articles have appeared in Theatre History Studies and online at BroadwayWorld and Theatermania. Kevin has given lectures and presentations on musical theater dance, LGBT performance history, and libraries and archives at conferences in Europe, Canada, and across the United States. He blogs for Huffington Post and is a MacDowell Colony fellow. In 2010 Kevin received the Theatre Library Association's Distinguished Service in Performing Arts Librarianship Award.

Ken Bloom, a leading authority on American popular song and musical theatre, who's books AMERICAN SONG, HOLLYWOOD SONG, and TIN PAN ALLEY are seminal works on stage, film and popular songs. His BROADWAY: AN ENCYCLOPEDIC GUIDE TO THE HISTORY, PEOPLE AND PLACES OF TIMES SQUARE was followed by JERRY HERMAN: THE LYRICS: A CELEBRATION and BROADWAY MUSICALS: THE 101 GREATEST SHOWS OF ALL TIME, written with Frank Vlastnik. Other books are AMERICAN SONGBOOK: THE SINGERS, THE SONGWRITERS, AND THE SONGS; HOLLYWOOD MUSICALS: THE 101 GREATEST SONG AND DANCE FILMS OF ALL TIM, and SHOW AN TELL Ken hosted a weekly musical theatre show on Sirius and was a programmer for United Airlines' inflight entertainment. For 15 years was the co-host of Musical Theatre Today. He has produced and directed various star benefits and musical revues and concerts and was Executive Producer of MICHAEL FEINSTEIN'S AMERICAN SONGBOOK (PBS). President of the 35-year-old Harbinger Records, he has produced more than fifty albums including albums devoted to the music of Broadway composers. He is currently producing a documentary on legend Gwen Verdon. Last week Harbinger Records released CY COLEMAN A Jazzman's Broadway (Jamaica, Flower Drum Song, South Pacific).