Fosse

Starred review from September 23, 2013
Bob Fosse, the legendary Broadway choreographer and director of the trendsetting movie antimusicals Cabaret and All That Jazz (which chronicled his life), is the glittering, neurotic soul of showbiz in this scintillating biography. Film scholar and critic Wasson (Fifth Avenue, 5 A.M.) styles Fosse as a charismatic charmer, a relentless and endearing lady's man, a tyrant in the rehearsal studio, a prima donna in the director's chair, and a methamphetamine-addicted narcissist with a persistent death wish and simultaneous delusions of grandeur and worthlessness. Embedded within this exhilarating, appalling portrait is a revealing account of Fosse's dance innovations: the fluttering hands, wrist flicks, shoulder shrugs and other "isolations" of disarticulated body parts; the sleazy vaudevillian glamor inspiredâand hauntedâby his teenage years dancing at burlesque clubs; his vision of life as a cynical "performance of self." There's an enormous amount of scholarship here, yet the story never drags, so adroitly does he blend his material into a fluent narrative around evocative scenes where character emerges novelistically. Throughout, he spotlights vivid supporting sketches of celebrities from Fred Astaire (who "danced even when he stood still") to Liza Minnelli ("a strange, spastic show-biz animal"). Agent: David Halpern, the Robbins Office.

Starred review from October 1, 2013
The lushly researched life of celebrated dancer, choreographer and director (stage, films, TV) Bob Fosse (1927-1987). Film critic and biographer Wasson (Fifth Avenue, 5 A.M.: Audrey Hepburn, Breakfast at Tiffany's, and the Dawn of the Modern Woman, 2010, etc.) has amassed a mountain of data about Fosse but has sculpted it into something moving and memorable. With chapters whose titles remind us of his approaching death ("Fifteen Years," "Five Years," "One Hour and Fifty-Three Minutes"), the author both increases the dramatic irony of the dancer's days and reminds us continually of life's evanescence. After a swift chapter about Fosse's boyhood--for a long time, he concealed his dancing passion and skills)--Wasson guides us through his incredibly productive career (in a single year, 1973, he won a Tony, an Oscar and an Emmy), providing engaging detail about his major productions--Sweet Charity, Pippin, Cabaret, Chicago, All That Jazz and others. Wasson shows us Fosse's enormous empathy for his dancers, his ferocious work ethic, his reliance on uppers and cigarettes, and his constitutional inability to remain faithful to a single woman. His hotel room during productions was, well, a chorus line. A few resisted him (he never seemed to bear a grudge), and former wife, fellow choreographer and gifted dancer Gwen Verdon remained in his orbit to the absolute end--she was with him when he collapsed on the street. We see, too, his close friendships (Paddy Chayefsky, E.L. Doctorow), his rivalries (Michael Bennett) and his friendly rivals (Jerome Robbins). The author also reveals a deeply insecure artist who wanted to be a writer and was always certain his productions would fail--and, in the late cases of Big Deal and Star 80, he was certainly correct. Graceful prose creates a richly detailed and poignant portrait, simultaneously inspiring and depressing.

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Starred review from September 15, 2013
Here's something you can't say about many celebrity biographies: at nearly 750 pages, it feels like it ends too soon. Wasson is such a lively, engaging writer that, as he takes us through the life and career of the multi-award-winning choreographer and director Bob Fosse, we scarcely notice we're turning the pagesuntil there are no more to turn. Fosse is a fascinating subject: a perfectionist who seemed determined to drive himself into an early grave. He won numerous Tony awards for his stage work before segueing to the big screen, wherein a shocking surprisehe, not the favored Francis Ford Coppola, won the Academy Award for best director in 1973 (for Cabaret). Combining keen analysis of Fosse's stage and screen works (Wasson rightly approaches Fosse's 1979 film All That Jazz not so much as an autobiographical story as a fantasy) with a compassionate look at Fosse's often-tumultuous personal life, the book is everything you could want in a celebrity bio, without any of the gossipy, trashy, third-hand-rumory rubbish that makes too many biographies so painful to read. This one's a pure joy to read, cover to cover; you read it not merely for Fosse's story, but also for Wasson's inventive way of telling it. If this book doesn't turn up on some literary-awards lists, it'll be a serious crime.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2013, American Library Association.)

June 15, 2013

Bob Fosse won an astonishing eight Tony Awards for his choreography, and the celebrated Fosse style of dance is indelible. But he acted and directed, too, and Wasson--not a dance critic but a cultural historian who writes most frequently on film--should give him larger context in this biography. With a 40,000-copy first printing.

Copyright 2013 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from October 15, 2013

Wasson (Fifth Avenue, 5 A.M.: Audrey Hepburn, Breakfast at Tiffany's, and the Dawn of the Modern Woman; A Splurch in the Kisser: The Movies of Blake Edwards) takes readers on a wild ride through the life of Bob Fosse, revered for his directorial and choreographical works on Broadway, such as Sweet Charity, Pippin, and Chicago, as well as the film version of Cabaret. His distinctive jazz dance style influenced many, including Michael Jackson. Fosse began performing in burlesque clubs at 16, danced for the troops during World War II, and appeared in several MGM musicals. He transitioned from dancing to choreography, directing, screenwriting, and film editing and was the first person to win an Emmy, a Tony, and an Oscar in one year (1973). Fosse often pushed his performers to the breaking point to bring out emotion, and it usually worked. Beyond his career, he battled drug addiction and distrust and, though he loved women, struggled with infidelity, as reflected in his three marriages and countless affairs. Yet Fosse was also beloved for his talent, friendship, and charm. The author interviewed more than 300 of the artist's friends, relatives, and competitors for this book, and his hard work is evident in the intricate depiction of a complicated, brilliant man. VERDICT A thoroughly researched and fascinating look at Fosse, viewed through the relationships and work that defined him. Highly recommended for theater or movie aficionados, aspiring performers, and fans of engrossing biography.--Katie Lawrence, Chicago

Copyright 2013 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.