BOB FOSSE "BIG DEAL"

Staggering dance from the end of Act 1 of BIG DEAL, a flop on Broadway which won Fosse the Tony Award for Choreography anyway.

[@hirvio68]

Fosse's chroreography is always a joy to behold, and the list of pop-acts past and present who have been inspired by him is endless - the mark of a legend.

[@keithmccann1680]

Best Fosse choreography ever.

[@TaoKumu]

So cool seeing future Tony Award winner Cady Huffman in the red wig and green dress dancing her heart out in the chorus... You GO girl!

[@yvetteheyliger9460]

GO, BRUCE ANTHONY DAVIS! We love you and are so proud of all your accomplishments as a Duke Ellington School of the Arts founding alumnus (Class of 1977). As a song-and-dance man, you really were a "big deal"!

[@necktieguy1]

The whole world should see this to know what real choreography looks like and how it should be danced. Thanks, again, for this post.

[@dancaes813]

Wayne Cilento is amazing in this!!!! Imagine, they don't even show the choreography award during the main telecast of the Tonys. Appalling!!! Forever grateful for this post!!!

[@JoshFreilich]

If what I hear is true, Wayne interpolated this number into the finale of his new direction of the revue “Dancin’!”

[@orlandocordova8818]

BRILLIANT BRILLIANCE! RIP MR. FOSSE'S! 😌!

[@emilionassarantonio7868]

Excelente presentación..muchas Felicidades..y mas éxitos..saludos Bob Fosse.

[@keithayoob4232]

For me, it's the best choreography he's ever done. Watch it again and you'll see something you hadn't seen before.

[@splinky45]

I would venture to say that his choreography in “All That Jazz,” especially the “Airotica” number, and the original choreography for “Chicago” were better. Maybe I’d think differently if I could see what is happening here. That was one of the criticisms in the reviews of the show in general. It was too dark.

[@titusho2]

It was great to dance next to Bruce A Davis I will forever hold that experience on my memories .. We miss u Bruce!

[@dancewomyn1]

Jeeeeez....Fosse is untouchable!! Love this. Wonder the names of the two guys most downstage...the duet. AMAZING!!

[@billyflood2430]

Wayne Cilento and Bruce Anthony Davis. (White guy/Black guy)

[@Nrreekay]

This is gold! Thank you so much for posting this. We miss you Bobby...

[@jjarndyce]

So much of what Fosse did was repetitive. ALL of it was still so much better than any other dancing on Broadway, ever.

[@stevepotfora7461]

Yes it repeats and repeats and builds and builds like Mozart, Bach or even great architecture. You hear that same four note phrase and four gestures on which he builds his brilliant piece.

[@katieparkin484]

Fosse rules!

[@CarlosOrtiz-tx6sd]

his style is addictive like sugar but SOO good for u instead!

[@necktieguy1]

Cady Huffman? I have never seen anyone move a body as she does. She is so lithe, so smooth, so cool! Thanks for posting her name. I could watch her all night. Thanks for this post. Don't ever take it away.

[@folioio]

Fosse walking right up to the edge of self-parody … maybe past it. And it’s fabulous.

[@DownstageDance]

Brilliant as always, but I do have to wonder why he decided to featured only 2 men for 3/4's of the dance while his equally talented cast stood in the background doing minimal movement? No matter, I love him and will continue to ponder and appreciate the talent that was and is FOSSE!

[@zeusdyman1433]

I'll preface this with knowing your post is from five years ago, and also letting it be known that I have not seen the show Big Deal, and know very little about its specifics. WIth that, you have to remember this is a number from a show, so the context would determine why certain characters are featured or not. I do know that the two main men are the show's Narrators. But sadly, that's all I've been able to find out. I have no idea what the Narrators are doing, and why they lead the group (they're in a ballroom) into this dance.

[@Rbkid2008]

Genius

[@silverkitty2503]

i wish they gave dance lessons like this in my town i would so go

[@ernlwjr2]

Fabulous!!!!!!!

[@beaellie9766]

Saw this in Boston, pre-Broadway tryout. Some of it memorable (Loretta Divine sing "Life is Just a Bowl of Cherries"; an entire scene in front of men's urinals; and the CHOREOGRAPHY!!!); most of the show was not memorable though.

[@paulbanner6455]

Great

[@jayendepersil6607]

Very nice. Very nice!

[@AvalonMorley]

Life itself. As for the commenter who said "It seems the choreographer is dead": Please. No one else can be Fosse, but there are excellent to great ones working now (and I never give up hope of Tommy T. coming back to choreograph and direct). Did you even see AMERICAN IN PARIS? Chris Wheeldon is an undeniable genius. Perhaps we'll get lucky someday and get Alexei Ratmansky on Broadway. I hear great stuff about Justin Peck's work In CAROUSEL. Stroman and the Marshalls and Mitchell aren't chopped liver either. Again, not Fosse, but hardly dead.

[@spicedclay]

Why don't we have choreography like this today.. It seems the Choreographer is dead.

[@stuartlee6622]

Broadway is dead, dearie

[@necktieguy1]

WOW! We will never see dance like this again. What is the song and who is playing it, does anyone know? Thanks for this post. Don't ever take it away, please.

[@beaellie9766]

"Beat Me Daddy Eight To The Bar" -- played by the orchestra for the show.

[@chocolatesouljah]

@titusho2 mentioned Bruce Anthony Davis is gone? Is that true. I'm a big fan and am sad to hear that.

[@CoreyCorful]

Never fear. He's still alive and kickin'. :-)

[@splinky45]

I never got to see “Big Deal,” but I’m very familiar with “ Beat Me Daddy, Eight To The Bar.” I’ve heard the Andrews Sisters recording. I don’t recognize this AT ALL. I’ve seen footage of this number that was cut from the show “Fosse, including the lyric. That is recognizable. Anyone know why such a major change?

[@FrenesiH]

in case anybody wondered where Michael Jackson copied all his moves from....

[@KEMET1971]

Borrowed and made them his own ... and half the world then got their moves from him. That's the way it works, Fred Astaire got all his moves from Bill Robinson.

[@rd3271]

But...Hail to the originals!!!!!!!!

[@kathleentreat8146]

No need to be negative....as well as wrong.

[@ratface210]

what song is this?

[@Marcel_Audubon]

Beat Me, Daddy, Eight to the Bar

[@MrJules1980]

does anybody know the name of the piece?

[@Marcel_Audubon]

Beat Me, Daddy, Eight to the Bar

[@kevintaylor5079]

Every dance he does has basically the same moves .After a while it gets repetitive. Still exciting though.

[@DavidAsset78]

I saw this show on Broadway base on the film "Big Deal On Madonna Street" and this was the only decent number in the entire show. The rest of the show was a pastiche of songs from other shows and pop hits of the 30s and 40s stuck into the script which did not fit. It was not good.

[@keithayoob4232]

I agree this was the best number and that the show had "issues". One of them ...IMHO (I'm not in the biz, just someone who sits in the audience, albeit for a lot of shows)...was that, instead of doing a huge showstopping opener, he opened the show m,ore softly and spent the entire first act building to this finish. Big mistake, because it caused the show to drag and the audience to wait too long for that prayed-for showstopper. I still love his work and wish he could have done more. He completely fried his body though. Health-wise he was a walking time bomb. I'm surprised he lived as long as he did.