IN 1978, WAYNE CILENTO, THEN A rising young Broadway performer, got the chance to try to impress Bob Fosse. Fosse, who died in 1987, was at the time a firmly established legend, best known for his distinctive jazzy choreography for musicals like The Pajama Game, Damn Yankees, Sweet Charity and Chicago. In a 40-year career, he won nine Tony Awards, three Primetime Emmy Awards and an Academy Award for directing the film version of Cabaret.
"I was in The Act with Liza Minnelli," Cilento says. "We were rehearsing on one end of the hall and Bob was at the other end doing pre-production." Fosse was working on a new show called Dancin' and although it had already been cast, Cilento managed to secure an audition with Fosse and his muse and lead dancer, Ann Reinking.
"They started teaching me stuff and he danced with us, and I had a ball," Cilento remembers. "He looked at me and he shook my hand and he said, 'Thank you very much. I appreciate you coming in."" Cilento says he left thinking that was as close as he'd ever getting to being in a Fosse show, but nonetheless "flying with excitement." On the opening night of The Act, though, Cilento thought he was going to faint when he spotted Fosse in a center orchestra seat. At a party after the premiere, Fosse told him, "I want you in the show." Cilento stayed with The Act at night while joining Dancin' rehearsals during the day.
"It was number after number after number in all different styles," he said. "Bob at the time was free and he wanted to experiment with dancers. It was like a breath of fresh air." The show was not a play, but not quite a traditional musical, either. It was really Fosse's personal love letter to his art, a unique multi-act combination of music, dance and sketches that is a tribute to and celebration of dance.
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