In 1957, Jerome Robbins was on the hunt for street gangs. He deliberately cast twenty-eight ballet, jazz, and tap dancers to perform the fight scenes, songs, and dances he and his collaborators (Leonard Bernstein, Stephen Sondheim, and Arthur Laurents) created for “West Side Story.” No one thought it would work. Dancers, claimed the naysayers, certainly deserved a place in musicals…but why risk putting all of the leading roles in the hands of dancers? Robbins proved his critics wrong. Nightly, 28 dancers took over the Wintergarden stage delivering performances that any director would be proud to pull out of experienced actors and singers.
In 1960, a young dancer fresh out of high school was hired to play “Baby John” in a touring production of West Side. He was fascinated with Robbins’ story-telling dances and spent many backstage hours deconstructing them. Twelve years later, that same young man became the creative force behind another story told through dance, “A Chorus line.” With a simple idea, a tape recorder, and a hand-picked group of dancers contributing personal experiences, Michael Bennett and his collaborators (James Kirkwood, Ed Kleban, and Marvin Hamlisch) coaxed and honed their project into what became a Pulitzer Prize winner and the world’s longest running musical.
In 2002, another dance musical exploded onto the Broadway scene. This time, choreographer Twyla Tharp masterfully inserted her dancer-actors into a wartime conflict utilizing the songs of Billy Joel. “Movin’ Out” quickly rose to the same level as “A Chorus Line” and “West Side Story” establishing Ms Tharp as a director and storyteller to be reckoned with.
Today, tours and sit-down productions of these award-winning musicals continue to fill theatre seats around the world. They not only celebrate masters like Robbins, Bennett, and Tharp and the stories they created…they celebrate all of the Riffs, Bernardos, Marias, Cassies, Zacks, and Eddies whose performances stand as proof that a special power exists within the grasp of those who start out in ballet slippers, tap shoes, jazz sandals, or hip hop boots. There’s no telling where they’ll end up…
