The national tour of the Tony Award-winning Fosse will leaves its final footprints Feb. 12-17 at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center in Newark, NJ.
The company recently returned from a tour of Japan. It began performances in September 1999 at the Ford Center for the Performing Arts-Oriental Theatre in Chicago, IL, where it won the Joseph Jefferson Award for Best Non-Resident Production. The Broadway original closed in August 2001. It won the Best Musical Tony Award in 1999. A European touring company continues.
A party for the company, with alumni from the original production, is expected this weekend in Newark.
Fosse showcases the work of legendary choreographer director Bob Fosse, and is directed by Richard Maltby, Jr. and Ann Reinking. Reinking serves as co-choreographer and was the leading force behind the mounting of the new touring production. Chet Walker recreated Fosse's dances and the late Gwen Verdon, Fosse's wife and Broadway leading lady, was artistic advisor to the production.
The acclaimed revue includes rarely seen dance and musical numbers from the choreographer's earliest works, as well as many numbers from films and television shows that have never been seen on stage before. The production offers classic Fosse dance numbers such as "Steam Heat," "Big Spender," "Bye Bye Blackbird," "Rich Man’s Frug," "Dancin' Man," and "Sing, Sing, Sing." This last North American company stars Reva Rice and features Terace Jones and Josef Patrick Pescetto, with Ashley Bachner, Mark Burrell, Tina Cannon, Lloyd Culbreath, Rick Delancy, Parker Esse, Aaron Felske, Darren Gibson, Laura Haney Gomez, Francesca Harper, Melissa Hillmer, Curtis Holbrook, Sarah Jayne Jensen, James Kinney, Sharon Moore, Kathryn Mowat Murphy, Noa, Dale Michael Rowse, Vincent Sandoval, Lynn Sterling, Mark Swanhart, Estelle Tomasovic, Chryssie Whitehead, Christopher Windom and Courtney Young.
Tickets at NJPACs' Prudential Hall range $12-$52. For information, call (888) GO-NJPAC.
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Fosse was seen in PBS-TV Jan. 23. The DVD of the show is available from Image Entertainment.
