Thoughts on Jerome Robbins' Broadway- Page 3

[HorseTears]

Posted: 6/3/12 at 4:32am

BrodyFosse - a belated THANK YOU for the Vimeo upload!!

[After Eight]

Posted: 6/3/12 at 9:32am

Jv,

La Cage was all those things.

I like anything that's good.

[LadyKat]

Posted: 6/3/12 at 11:48am

Does anyone know how to find a DVD of "Jerome Robbins Broadway" ? I've had no luck so far with the usual methods (Netflix, Amazon, etc.).

[Gypsy9]

Posted: 6/3/12 at 12:09pm

There is no DVD of the production JEROME ROBBINS' BROADWAY. I checked it out myself and ended up ordering from Amazon SOMETHING TO DANCE ABOUT, a documentary about Robbins's work with clips from Broadway shows, film, and ballet. I have not yet received it. Apparently it first appeared on PBS.

[BrodyFosse123]

Posted: 6/3/12 at 6:16pm

Does anyone know how to find a DVD of "Jerome Robbins Broadway" ? I've had no luck so far with the usual methods (Netflix, Amazon, etc.).

As mentioned above, JEROME ROBBINS' BROADWAY was never filmed professionally nor ever released on any format of home video (DVD, VHS, BETA, laserdisc, etc.). It does exist in a camcorder bootleg form that someone made on their own, but it is not commercially available. That clip I posted of the "Charleston" comes from this bootleg video I just mentioned.

Sorry.

[EricMontreal22]

Posted: 6/3/12 at 6:51pm

I echo HorseTears'--it's brilliant to see again (and this time be able to save in case it is taken down)--thanks BrodyFosse!

[raker]

Posted: 6/4/12 at 9:22am

What the show needed was another S after the apostrophe: Jerome Robbins's Broadway.

[Jay Lerner-Z]

Posted: 6/20/12 at 12:26am

How come Jerome Robbins was unabashedly celebrated in such a manner, anyhow?

I understand that his talent deserved it...but how come his naming names to House of Un-American Activities Committee didn't seem to haunt him the way it did Elia Kazan?

Just wondering.

[jv92]

Posted: 6/20/12 at 1:20am

Robbins WAS haunted by the HUAC situation. I think he refused to talk about it for years because he was so "haunted" by it.

He was unabashedly celebrated in such a manner because he was good. And it was the WORK that was celebrated. Not him.

Sondheim once said something like, I'll miss Jerry's impact on shows, but I can't say I'll miss him personally. He was despised by many, but his work was brilliant, and people that hated him even admitted that.

[PalJoey]

Posted: 6/20/12 at 8:10am

He absolutely was haunted by it. The biggest difference between him and Kazan is that Kazan continued to defend his actions, while Robbins was haunted by guilt.

The other reason he his celebrated is that he was not only brilliant himself but he also brought out the brilliance is everyone he worked with.

[Jon]

Posted: 6/20/12 at 10:50am

As balcklisted actor Zero Mostel said, "I'll work with the bastard, but I won't go to lunch with him."

[Jay Lerner-Z]

Posted: 6/20/12 at 11:17am

Interesting stuff. I wasn't necessarily questioning his conscience, just wondering if his actions had any ramifications for his professional life, and apparently they did not?

[PalJoey]

Posted: 6/20/12 at 11:42am

Some people (like Arthur Laurents) say he named names because he was ambitious and knew it would prevent him from being blacklisted.

Others believe (as Robbins did) that columnist and TV-host Ed Sullivan (who was staunchly anti-Communist and supported the blacklist) threatened to out Robbins as homosexual if he refused to cooperate.

It was an era in which being branded as homosexual was considered even worse than being branded as a communist. Some say Robbins, who was deeply connected to his family, was afraid that being revealed publicly as a homosexual would humiliate his mother. Others say that he was concerned that if Sullivan outed him, other male dancers he had been involved with would be dragged along and their lives would be ruined.

Others point out that the New York City Ballet and American Ballet Theater, both of which he had been a part of, would be irreparably damaged by coverage in the media of a "homosexual element" in American ballet, which was only previously whispered about. If it had become part of the national conversation in 1950, it is possible that neither organization would have survived the scandal. That would also have brought ruin to George Balanchine, whose steadfast support and artistic inspiration had a huge impact on Robbins's life and career.

So if Robbins were to have been outed in 1950, the negative ramifications were almost unthinkable to him.

Others said that he, like some other former members of the party and "fellow travelers," had lost his support for the CPUSA (Communist Party of the USA) after Stalin's atrocities started to be revealed.

And then there were others, like Arthur, who just condemned him for the rest of his life. Laurents took great pleasure in writing that Robbins once said "It won't be for years until I know whether I did the right thing."

To which Laurents responded, "Oh, I can tell you right now. You were a SH*T."

Updated On: 6/20/12 at 11:42 AM

[Jay Lerner-Z]

Posted: 6/20/12 at 11:49am

To hear that from Arthur Laurents of all people must have given him pause for thought!

Thanks for that - this thread has gotten me browsing amazon for biographies...I think I've settled on Somewhere by Amanda Vaill. Are you familiar per chance? The PalJoey seal of approval would cement the deal.

[PalJoey]

Posted: 6/20/12 at 12:08pm

I prefer the Greg Lawrence, but read all three, including the Deborah Jowitt. She explains the dance better than Lawrence or Vaill.

[Jay Lerner-Z]

Posted: 6/20/12 at 12:38pm

Much obliged.

[GavestonPS]

Posted: 6/20/12 at 5:23pm

I understand that his talent deserved it...but how come his naming names to House of Un-American Activities Committee didn't seem to haunt him the way it did Elia Kazan?

And even Kazan eventually got his honorary Oscar, didn't he?

Americans love a good comeback.

[EricMontreal22]

Posted: 6/21/12 at 2:53am

I would recommend the Deborah Jowitt bio as well, but that's largely because it does go into such detail describing his dances, since Jowitt's background is of a dance critic. --if you're more interested just in his life, it may not be the best option(though it does go into that quite a bit, his issues with hios own homosexuality and his finally coming to terms with it so very late in his life are particularly well described). It's a LONG book though, 700 or so pages so may be a bit of a heavy read.

I thought Greg Lawrence's was a bit too gossip heavy--gossip that often didn't have any clear source, but it's a fun read because of that (and is better written than the even more gossip heavy but similar in tone Michael Bennett bio by K Kelly which just seems mean spirited).

Christine Conrad's Jerome Robbins That Broadway Man/That Ballet Man has gorgeous, and rare photos, but is more specifically about his work (for Broadway and the ballet world).

[PalJoey]

Posted: 6/21/12 at 7:17am

That Christine Conrad book is great fun, but it doesn't really give you the biography.

I know what you mean about Greg Lawrence's book being gossip-heavy, but I felt the gossip was pretty legitimate, from the little I knew of him and from the people who were part of his life.

One didn't gossip about Mr. Robbins around Mr. Robbins, but behind his back, he provided an endless supply of stories to whisper.

[EricMontreal22]

Posted: 6/21/12 at 3:39pm

You're right--and I shouldn't have lumped it together with the Michael Bennett book which is much more gleeful about reporting every bad piece of gossip possible, even when the author contradicts it a page later.

[theaterkid1015]

Posted: 6/21/12 at 11:53pm

I think I took the time to save the clip of Charotte D'Amboise dancing Anita. Obviously, not the best choice for the role in a fully staged production, but God she kills it. I also loved the ballet from High Button Shoes. I remember watching it at the Performing Arts Library when they did the Robbins exhibit a few years back. Stunning.

[Jon]

Posted: 6/22/12 at 10:37am

Charlotte had it easy in that show. She was Anita in Act 1 (America and Dance at the Gym)and Peter Pan in Act 2 (I'm Flying), while others, such as Scott Wise, were in 9 or 10 major numbers.

[GavestonPS]

Posted: 6/22/12 at 3:00pm

BTW, Eric and PalJoey:

As always, thank you for the history and suggested reading.

[BrodyFosse123]

Posted: 6/22/12 at 3:09pm

Charlotte had it easy in that show. She was Anita in Act 1 (America and Dance at the Gym)and Peter Pan in Act 2 (I'm Flying), while others, such as Scott Wise, were in 9 or 10 major numbers.

Though she IS featured as Anita and Peter Pan, d'Amboise actually dances in the ensemble on countless numbers, including the "Charleston" number. Same thing applies to every other 'dancer'. Only Jason Alexander, Debbie Shapiro and Faith Prince, who weren't in the dance ensemble, didn't have to dance in any of the dance numbers.

[PalJoey]

Posted: 6/22/12 at 3:48pm

I still get goosebumps when I think of Jason Alexander and Faith Prince doing "I Still Get Jealous"