Bob Fosse’s Dancin’ is Fosse’s full-throated, full-bodied celebration of the art form he loved, practiced, and changed forever. Transformed by director Wayne Cilento for 21st-century audiences, Dancin’ brims with Fosse’s warmth, emotion, color, and endlessly influential style rarely seen in modern interpretations of his work. Featuring an eclectic score that spans a multitude of musical genres and an extraordinary cast of Broadway’s most accomplished dancers, Dancin’ delivers the quintessential Broadway experience for Fosse fans and first-timers alike. You’ve never seen Dancin’ like this.
In the often-thrilling, often-frustrating revival of the 1978 dancical, which reincarnates the spirit and choreography of Bob Fosse, the two possibilities are much the same. Substantially revamped and restaged by Wayne Cilento, a standout in the original production, this “Dancin’” argues that Fosse’s genius was constrained by the pedestrian storytelling of musical theater, with its “villains,” “baritone heroes” and “Christmas trees.” True Fosseism, it seems, can fully thrive only in the abstract, Olympian realms of George Balanchine and Jerome Robbins.
The heart, soul, and irrepressible spirit of Bob Fosse’s Dancin’, which just opened in a burst of sparkle and joy at Broadway’s Music Box Theatre, is best embodied in the curtain call. One by one, each dancer glides out from the wings and to the front of the stage performing a different combo—wearing the costume from their biggest moment in the show, adding a few steps, spins, or flourishes from said moment. All the while, the dancer’s name appears in blazing blue neon letters on the back wall of the stage. Every one of them is given star billing, and it would be unfair not to name the full company here: Ioana Alfonso, Yeman Brown, Peter John Chursin, Dylis Croman, Tony d’Alelio, Jōvan Dansberry, Karli Dinardo, Aydin Eyikan, Pedro Garza, Jacob Guzman, Manuel Herrera, Afra Hines, Gabriel Hyman, Kolton Krouse, Mattie Love, Krystal Mackie, Yani Marin, Nando Morland, Khori Michelle Petinaud, Ida Saki, Ron Todorowski, and Neka Zang.
| 1978 | Broadway |
Original Broadway Production Broadway |
| 1979 | US Tour |
National Tour US Tour |
| 1983 | West End |
London Production West End |
| 2023 | Broadway |
Broadway Revival Production Broadway |
| Year | Ceremony | Category | Nominee |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Lighting Design of a Musical | David Grill |
| 2023 | Drama League Awards | Outstanding Revival of a Musical | Bob Fosse's Dancin' |
| 2023 | Drama League Awards | Outstanding Revival of a Musical | Bob Fosse's Dancin' |
Videos