Fosse Audio CD – Unabridged, November 5, 2013

Television brought me to this biography. I watched the "Fosse/Verdon" miniseries, which reminded me how much I loved 'Pajama Game' and 'Damn Yankees'. Ultimately, it peaked my interest a bit more in the Bob Fosse - Gwen Verdon relationship. I wasn't a huge fan of 'Sweet Charity' (having only seen the movie) but fundamentally, I do love musicals; the incongruity of people bursting into song doesn't bother me because there's such creativity behind the expression. So when the series was over, I snapped up the book.It's a hefty one - the softcover having 500 plus pages - and the author never misses a beat. Sam Wasson has pulled together an exhaustive look at Fosse the dancer, the director, the sometime actor, the husband, the lover and the friend - no easy task - and provides sources for nearly every word he's written. It's an amazing book, about an incredibly complex man.Fosse's influence on film and dance is undeniable, and his learning curve, as he developed his relationships with each aspect of entertainment, was aggressive and trendsetting. His relationships with people, even those he purported to love, were less productive as his own internal torment drove him ever harder. Although I found the biography fascinating, those described personal relationships made it increasingly difficult for me to read. I knew what I was getting into, but I didn't realize just how damaging his childhood was for him, how difficult an environment the entertainment industry was for him as he was driven to excel, and how that was reflected in his personal relationships.Wasson doesn't just report; he provides opinions of friends and relations, so you get a well-rounded view of everything Fosse. An exceptionally well-written biography about a very talented, tormented man.I should point out that this book is indeed about Fosse, and does not focus on Gwen Verdon, or their relationship, as the Fosse/Verdon television series did. In addition, the series took the usual liberties that television must do in order to manage time/entertainment - so there are discrepancies.

At first you think - my god - this tome is the size of a NYC phone book! How could there possibly be that much to say about Bob Fosse. But - there is.Loving biographies feels too often like looking for the kind of high that got one addicted in the first place - elusive, frustrating, and far too often, disappointing. Of the new breed, Amanda Vaill delivers - and now - Sam Wasson.The perfect mix of love, depth, research, personal commitment and psychological insight go into the cocktail that delivers a fully formed soul back to the page - for us to breathe in, learn from - if only to learn what not to do.If he'd never done more than change the vocabulary of dance. If he'd never done more than create Cabaret, Lenny and All That Jazz, three films that define American "auteur" - and deliver singular artistic power - beyond almost anything created in the last fifty years. If he'd never done anything more than usher Kander and Ebb onto the world stage, knocking the phony, pristine sparkle off the idea of American glamour - in a way that allowed us to grow up and look at ourselves - like adults -But - of course, he did all that. And Sam came to understand the demons that drove him and limited him and haunted him and - in the end - did him in. But not before he left us with a world changed by his being here. Bravo to Bob. And Bravo to Sam.

No, he wasn't the most likable guy in town, but he was an interesting character. Not reading this because he was unpleasant or selfish (as at least one reviewer stated) is missing the point. Reading the book is not a stamp of approval for his lifestyle; most people who read books about Stalin aren't carrying Stalin Fan Club cards (although I admit I never liked the movie "All That Jazz" because I disliked the Gideon/Fosse character - or Roy Schieder's portrayal of him, perhaps).This is a study about creativity and talent and haunted and damaged people, well-researched and written. I read it because I enjoyed "Fosse/Verdon", the miniseries based on it. Found it to be really rather monumental - it's quite long for a showiz bio - and a fairly serious work. Not sure how profound any of its lessons might be, but it is entertaining.

So well written-- a great weaving of anecdotes that place you in the past along with Fosse, paired with the present-day clarity of hindsight.

There have been other books about Fosse but this is one that really defines him and his life in the theater. It's about 800 pages long and pretty well profiles an era of musical comedies during two decades---at least those that were impacted by Bob Fosse. I lived through that period of the 60's and 70's: a period with shows by Rodgers and Hammerstein, Lerner and Lowe, Kander and Ebb and a host of other creative geniuses. Fosse came from a difficult childhood spent in vaudeville and burlesque, areas that impacted him enough to create an obsessive choreographer and then director who could only accept perfection in his dancers and actors. Mr. Wasson explores and linearly goes through the creative efforts of Fosse and his impact on producers, writers and composers. Equally vivid is his sexual demands made on quite a few cast members. His marriage to Gwen Verdon and his creation of choreography for her over the years made her into a star. A complicated genius with terrific drive and a short life.

200 pages in and despite having been a scholar and a fan for 20 odd years, I am finding out new things on every page. Although it is a huge book, it is an easy read, filled with the detail needed to see the whole picture of his life and working practice. He may have been a task master, but I understand why dancers would want to work so hard in his productions. The book is definitely of value to those studying Fosse/ productions from level 2 upwards.

Good looking book great photos. ... We love fosse choreography

excelent

There could only be one Fosse and this book covers it all!

Fosse is a huge tome but reads speedily and the final result is to wish there was more. A cataloguing of Fosse's triumphs and peccadilloes is also a history of crucial periods in musical theatre history, from the death of vaudeville to the rise, and fall, of mega-musicals. Wasson does a great job of situating Fosse in a historical context and makes a valiant attempt to explicate the art Fosse created. The influence Fosse had on popular culture cannot be underestimated, the slight section where Fosse meets with Michael Jackson points out just how mainstream the Fosse style became. And still is.full review: http://drewrowsome.blogspot.ca/2014/03/its-showtime-flood-of-fosse-razzle.html