creating musical theatre conversations with broadway directors and choreographers

8/9/2019 Creating Musical Theatre Conversations With Broadway Directors and Choreographers

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CreatingMusical Theatre

Conversations withBroadway Directors and

Choreographers

LYNCRAMER

LONDON DN


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Bloomsbury Methuen Drama

An imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing Plc

50 Bedford Square 1385 Broadway

London New York

WC1B 3DP NY 10018

UK USA

www.bloomsbury.com

First published 2013

Lyn Cramer, 2013

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced

or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical,

including photocopying, recording, or any information storage or

retrieval system, without prior permission in writing from the publishers.

John Smith has asserted his right under the Copyright, Designs and

Patents Act, 1988, to be identified as Author of this work.

No responsibility for loss caused to any individual or organization

acting on or refraining from action as a result of the material in this

publication can be accepted by Bloomsbury or the author.

British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

eISBN: 978-1-4081-8475-2

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

A catalog record for this book is available from the Library of Congress.

Typeset by Newgen Imaging Systems Pvt Ltd, Chennai, India
http://www.bloomsbury.com/http://www.bloomsbury.com/


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CONTENTS

Foreword vii

Preface xAcknowledgments xi

INTERVIEWS 1

1 Rob Ashford 3

2 Andy Blankenbuehler 25

3 Jeff Calhoun 51

4 Warren Carlyle 71

5 Christopher Gattelli 91

6 Kathleen Marshall 113

7 Jerry Mitchell 137

8 Casey Nicholaw 1579 Randy Skinner 179

10 Susan Stroman 201

11 Sergio Trujillo 223

12 Anthony Van Laast 241

Appendix 261

About the author 273

Index 275


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To Fran Bizar,

whose generosity and kindness made this book possible


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FOREWORD

I was 18 years old when I walked into Lyn Cramers Level 1 Tap

class at Oklahoma City University. I was as green, sheltered,and self-protected as the embryonic underbelly of a tapping tad-pole. Lyn Cramer, however, was like a powerful, sexy, and giant, perhaps in a cinematic/dreamlike production of Intothe Woods, seemingly ready to pounce on my fairytale dreams.Instead, she lit re. She burned, and she breathed life into my littlefallap-ball-change body.

My rst big role in college was playing Hope Harcourt ina production of Anything Goes. Lyn choreographed and told meI was going to be engaging in a pas de deux a la Ginger Rogersand Fred Astaire. This was only days after watching an episode ofSeinfeld in my dorm room where George Costanza was trying toengage in a mnage a trois. I remember calling my father to ask himwhat these phrases meant and causing him great concern aboutwhat exactly I was learning at college, especially when I wasnteven enrolled in French class yet.

All this to say, I was stepping into a foreign land, and withoutthe leadership of one fearlessly creative teacher named Lyn Cramer,I might have fallen on my face. Thanks to Lyn, I found myselfstanding on my feet in New York City upon graduation and staringstraight into the eyes of Jerry Mitchell as he assessed my abilities asthe proverbial singer who moves well.

I had no idea how much dancing it would take to be onBroadway. Gone are the days of singers standing in the back.During that rst big job (the national tour of Jekyll & Hyde), I

started to understand what it meant to be an actor with my wholebody. Jerry Mitchells take on the show (as he reconceived it fromthe Broadway version) added numbers and transitions that incor-porated more dance, and he helped each of us nd our individual


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FOREWORDviii

stories. He called me Becky Thatcher because I was so greenand, therefore, insisted I smoke a cigarette through entire num-

bers to add some edge.My next show was Sondheims Follieson Broadway, markingmy rst of four educational experiences with Kathleen Marshall.Kathleen always wears many hats: director, choreographer, andeven dramaturg. Not only in Follies,but also in The Pajama Game,Bells Are Ringing, and Nice Work If You Can Get It,Kathleenarrived on the rst day of rehearsals with an entire world alreadyassembled in her hands. All she had left to do was lay it out before

us so we could become citizens. Everything from clothing, behav-ior, and politics of the period would come alive in artwork, vintagephotos, and video.

Kathleen has always pushed me to dance a little, and as much asit scares me, her insistence has resulted in some of the most excitingstage moments of my career. There Once Was a Man with HarryConnick, Jr, Mu Cha Cha with Jeffrey Schecter (aka Shecky),Just in Time with Will Chase, and, most recently, SWonderfulwith Matthew Broderick. The last resulted in a 2012 Fred AstaireNomination.

Let me assure readers that all this dancing never included longextensions with fan kicks or layouts. It was all character driven, sim-ple, and fantastically fun. It was formed out of the choreographersability to nd my capabilities and build on those. For instance,when I worked with Christopher Gattelli in South Pacic,he sug-gested I go into a soft shoe with a mop during Wonderful Guy,but when my attempts to bring an inanimate object to life didnt

result in the desired Donald OConnor effect, he changed courseand suggested Emile De Becques HAT be my partner instead. Icould hold it, love it, and substitute it for something in my heart.This made me want to dance. Christopher knew that and built awhole number around it. He allowed me to be part of the process.

When I started my career, Casey Nicholaw was already a main-stay on the Broadway stage. He was well-known among my peersfor being an all-around amazing guy. When he later directed me

in a few readings, I found him to be just that. No airs. No powertrips. There is a familiarity with Casey that makes me comfort-able, and his humor and humility make his success all the morecelebratory.


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FOREWORD ix

I am also grateful to have worked often with Rob Ashford onnumerous workshops and especially the Kennedy Center Honors.

Watching him put together entire numbers for national televisionwith everyone from Beyonce to Carol Channing is monumental,and his athletic and daring choreography on Broadway is oftenmind-blowing. All these artists, in fact, share that gift of takingtechnical dancing and making it exciting, sexy, and relevant to thestory. So its tting that so many have now collaborated to ll thiswonderful book.

What Lyn Cramer has so brilliantly done here is to gather

these artists together, open a window to their process, and giveus all a chance to be better prepared. These interviews read likepop-culture-true-Hollywood (ahem! Broadway) stories that youcant put down for fear of missing something, but they absorb likea college textbook, giving more useful information and links to theworking world than some four-year programs.

My experiences with these director/choreographers have beenpriceless. Some I have yet to work with, but they have all inuencedme in some way. It has taken me 14 years in New York City plus 4previous years of college to benet from them, but here in one skill-fully crafted book of candid, amusing, and personal interviews,a hungry artist can ll up on lessons and ideas and go behindthe scenes. Then, by the grace of Lyn Cramer, they can enter thisdaunting world of dance and theatre a little less green than I did.

Merde,Kelli OHara


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PREFACE

How do todays great visionaries of the Broadway stage begin the

creative process? How does a dancer become a choreographer ora director? What makes up their preproduction process? Whatdo they look for in an auditioning dancer, actor, or singer? Thesequestions have been asked by writers seeking to reveal the nutsand bolts of the creative process for musical theatre artists in yearspast. Now it is time to have a direct dialogue with this generationscreative thinkers of the Broadway stage. The artists answer thesequestions and more.

Each interview with these directors and choreographers in thisbook is different, yet the objectives are the same: to transcribe theirthoughts and creative processes along with their rise in the worldof musical theatre. For the researcher, this book will be an insightinto on how these artists work. For the musical theatre performer,this text will serve as an insight into exactly what these artists arelooking for in both the audition process and the rehearsal environ-ment. To the aspiring director or choreographer, this book willserve as an inspiration detailing each artists pursuit of his or herdream and the path to success. For the reader, this volume will givean insiders perspective on the creative world.

These personalities demonstrate the striking differences andsurprising similarities in the way they work. Their stories dem-onstrate how luck is made by work ethic and reputation. Manyartists have crossed over into lm and television and several workin opera and ballet. Each facet of the artists career is explored andthe reader will take satisfaction in the fact that each and every one

of these talented people is working till today. Several are just begin-ning, while others are established award winners. Many have beenthe backbone of the theatrical community for years. All of thesevisionaries offer their personal journey from dancer to choreogra-pher and director-choreographer. All are fascinating and worthy ofour curiosity and interest. We hope you enjoy their journeys.


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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

I would like to thank the following individuals who contributed their

time and talent to make this book a reality: Zach Connor, AngeloMoio, Rena Cook, Nick Demos, Tom Spector, Shawn Churchman,Kristen Beth Williams, Ben Feldman, Jordon Beckerman, PeterFilichia, Max Weitzenhoffer, Kristen Chenoweth, Victoria Clark,Lara Teeter, Jeff McCarthy, Judy McClane, David AndrewsRogers, Curtis Holbrook, Brian Marcum, Dontee Kiehn, NikoleVallins, Paul Christman, Mary Margaret Holt, Greg Kunesh, JoelFerrell, Wendy Mutz, Shea Sullivan, Clayton Cornelius, DanielleMcKenzie, Michael Baron, Rich Taylor, Amy Luce, Jenny Hogan,Scott Bishop, Ginger Tidwell, Nathan Lehmann, Derek Hersey,Pamela Raith, Alison Jenkins, Stephen Sposito, Nick Stimler, JennyRidout, and everyone at Bloomsbury Methuen Publishing, as wellas all the University of Oklahoma alumni from the WeitzenhofferSchool of Musical Theatre for their assistance in the videotapingof each interview. Special thanks go to Kelli OHara and MaryAldridge.


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Interviews


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CHAPTER ONE

Rob Ashford

Rob Ashford grew up in Beckley, West Virginia, and aimed initiallyfor a career in law. At the behest of a law professor at Washingtonand Lee University in Virginia, Rob became active in the theatredepartment hoping to improve his verbal skills in the courtroom.This, in turn, led Rob to study dance at Point Park University inPittsburgh. Like many young dancers, he honed his performanceskills in industrials and summer theatres such as the MUNY inSt. Louis and Pittsburgh Civic Light Opera.

After graduation, he migrated to New York City, sharing anapartment with his dear friend and fellow choreographer, KathleenMarshall. He got his start on Broadway in the Lincoln Centerrevival of Anything Goes. The Most Happy Fella, My Favorite Year,Crazy for You,and Victor/Victoriafollowed. Rob served as both


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CREATING MUSICAL THEATRE4

a swing and dance captain developing his future interest as botha choreographer and a director. His choreographic career started

when Rob Marshall (Kathleens brother) sent him to Buenos Airesto restage Kiss of the Spider Woman. Subsequently, he assistedPat Birch and Kathleen Marshall, and choreographed several pro-ductions at City Center Encores. Rob won a Tony Award for hisBroadway choreographic debut, Thoroughly Modern Millie. Sincethen, every Broadway show he has choreographed has received aTony nomination. He has worked in virtually every medium asboth a director and a choreographer. Ashford is on the executive

board of SDC, the Stage Directors and Choreographers Society, theBoard of Trustees for the Joyce Theatre, and an Associate Directorat the Donmar Warehouse in London, working extensively in theWest End.


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ROB ASHFORD 5

CRAMER: Welcome, Rob. Thank you for taking the time outof your hectic schedule to be here. Youre in the middle of tech

week for How to Succeed in Business Without Really TryingonBroadway.

ASHFORD: Its my pleasure. Thanks for asking me. And, thatsright; were working on all things technical right now just downthe street.

CRAMER:Lets talk about your odd start in this business. Youwere born in Florida and raised in West Virginia. Originally, youwere going to be a lawyer.

ASHFORD: I wasgoing to be a lawyeryes. I attended Washingtonand Lee University in their prelaw program, and had never danceda step in my life.

CRAMER: When did you catch the theatre bug?

ASHFORD: The rst week I was at Washington and Lee, my advi-sor informed me that if I wanted to be a trial lawyer, I shouldeither major in English or theatre. Id been involved in high school

drama, so I majored in theatre. Its a small school and department,so we were involved in everything. Once you startonce that bugbitesits hard to do anything else.

CRAMER: You subsequently transferred to Point Park Universityin Pittsburgh?

ASHFORD: Yes. After two years at W&L, I transferred to PointPark to start dance training.

CRAMER: When you were in school, what form of dance did youstudy?

ASHFORD: I was lucky. Two years at W&L enabled me to com-plete most of my academics, so I could really focus on dance whenI got to Point Park. I took every kind of class. I participated inballet, tap, jazz, Dunham technique (a form of modern dance),and partnering. We had all that variety, so it was a great train-ing ground. Also, Pittsburgh itself has quite a sizable theatrical

community, so I was able to dance in industrials, summer stockat Pittsburgh Civic Light Opera, as well as other venues. I ran thegamut from dancing in a ballet company to dancing in the musicalGuys and Dolls.


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CRAMER:So, when you made the move to New York, you feltlike you had a lot of experience under your belt.

ASHFORD:Thats right.CRAMER: Your rst show in NYC was the revival of AnythingGoes.

ASHFORD: That was my Broadway debut.

CRAMER: After Anything Goes you danced in Most HappyFella, Crazy for You, My Favorite Year, Victor/Victoria, and ashow you proved to have a long history withParade. You assisted

choreographer, Pat Birch, on Parade.ASHFORD: I did. I was also the dance captain and swing.

CRAMER: You have been a dance captain and swing for most ofthe shows in which you were cast.

ASHFORD: Yes, thats right. I was even the assistant dance cap-tain on Anything Goes.

CRAMER: Alright, so bearing that in mind, tell readers what you

think is a critical trait for a good choreographer.

ASHFORD: Being a choreographer is about being able to sit outin the house and see everything at once. Its about having somekind of an overall vision, as opposed to a vision of detail. Thedance captain must see every detail. I think that was a big part ofmy training in becoming a choreographer. Thats the job; seeingthe big picture as well as the details. A good choreographer knowsexactly where to place focus, where you want the audience to look

at a certain time.

CRAMER: Was this visual skill something that you possessed andrecognized even before you came to New York?

ASHFORD: I dont know. I guess Ive always been kind of a visualperson, as far as that goes. But I have to say, I believe it really beganwhen I started dancing and was selected to be a dance captain andswing. At the time I started assisting Kathleen Marshall regularly.

I learned so much from her, and from her brother Rob Marshall,who I also assisted.

CRAMER: Rob asked you to go to Buenos Aires in his stead. Isthat correct?


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ROB ASHFORD 7

ASHFORD: Yes. I was the dance captain for the national tourof Kiss of the Spider Woman. The show was being produced in

Buenos Aires and Rob couldnt go, so he asked me to go in hisplace to stage the choreography. It was a thrilling and amazingcity. The cast as well as the people of Buenos Aires were equallyamazing. What a wonderful opportunity! That was my rst timebeing on the other side of the table, and I didnt have any worriesabout creating the work. Rob had created the work. All I had todo was teach it and gure out how to communicate and get theideas across. When I say communicate, Im not referring to the

spoken language. I speak a little Spanish and had an interpreter,so it was all ne. What I mean is that I had to communicate thebigger ideas in the show. It was a unique and fabulous challenge.Its a great show. Director Hal Prince and Rob did such a good jobwith it. I love the show so much, so it was thrilling because I got toexercise the part of my creative self that Ive hadnt really exercisedbeforecommunication skills and teaching in a new language. Inever had to worry every night, with thoughts like Oh, my god!Whats everybody going to do tomorrow? What are the steps goingto be?

CRAMER: And also the worry of, What if its not good?

ASHFORD: Thats right! I knew it was good because Rob Marshalldid it, so I already had that guarantee.

CRAMER: What a great training tool for you.

ASHFORD: It was. Then, I got to do the same thing again in

Tokyo with the show, and that was another opportunity in a dif-ferent language and culture. It really was those two opportunitiesthat got me interested in being on the other side of the table.

CRAMER: So, after those two projects you began assistingKathleen Marshall.

ASHFORD: We moved to New York together, so we were alreadygreat friends. From the beginning she included me in the meetingswith designers, producers, all casting meetings, and working with

the dance arranger. I got a rsthand look at how its all done. Notonly that, but how to collaborate, and how you choose your battlesand ght for the things that are important to you. Its tough, somethings you win and some things you dont. You know how com-promise works so you can still keep your vision. Kathleen taught


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me all of that. It was thrilling, especially on a big show like KissMe Katebecause there was a lot of attention placed on her vision.

Her choreographic work was so integral to the show that we tooka research trip to Verona, Italy, to authenticate the extensive crea-tive work.

CRAMER: Your rst job as a choreographer was the Broadwayhit Thoroughly Modern Millie.You won the Tony for your effort.How did that project come to you?

ASHFORD:It all started with Hal Prince, who was the directorof Kiss of the Spider Woman. He came to Argentina so I got to

spend time with him. He is a remarkable mana genius, as we allknowand such a good mentor and teacher. When I said, I thinkId like to be a choreographer, hes the one who said, Put some ofyour work together and show me your voice. He was so support-ive. So, I got a group of my dancer friends togethermany fromthe cast of Victor/Victoriathat I was in. As luck would have it, oneof my friends had a partner who was the company manager for theMartha Graham Dance Company. He secured one of the company

studios to use for one week, free of charge, and I put together twopieces. One was a large piece with 20 dancers, about 12 minutes.The other was smallthree women and one man. Hal came andbrought his casting director and other people from his ofce, anda few producers. Honestly, saying that I wanted to be a choreog-rapher, writing it in my journal, and telling peoplethat was onething. Actually taking that step and putting yourself out there likethat? That was the toughest thing, especially in a forum like that;

with people whose opinions you respect to such a high degree. So,that was a really, really hard step; it was an important step. I dontknow what would have happened had I not taken it.

CRAMER: So, it was quite a pivotal moment.

ASHFORD:Even though I got no job out of it, it wasa pivotalmoment. You know what I mean?

CRAMER: Yes. It was crucial for your development as an artist.

How did this segue into Millie?ASHFORD: I heard that Millies producers were looking for achoreographer, and that they were interviewing some people, soI spoke to Hal and asked if he would recommend me. Hal wrotea letter to Michael Mayer, the director, and told him that I had


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ROB ASHFORD 9

been the dance captain on Kiss of the Spider Womanand that itwouldnt hurt to take a look at me. So, I met with Michael Mayer

and he told me that they had a choreographer for Millie, but hewas doing a play at the Vineyard Theatre in Manhattan and it hasa little bit of movement in it, a little choreography. He asked me towork with him on that project and I said, Okay, great, I wouldlove to! Then, during the very end of our work on the play at theVineyard, Michael came to me one day and said that the choreog-rapher they were going to use in Milliehad to be replaced, so heasked me to prepare something. In other words, he wanted me to

audition. There were about

ve choreographers putting togetherpieces to audition for Millie. The criteria was two pieces: one piecefrom the show itself, using music from the show, and the secondpiece was your own choice. The only other requirements concernedsize: one must be large and the other small.

CRAMER: You certainly knew what you were doing. That isexactly how you prepared for Hal Prince and the other producerswho saw the showcase of your earlier work.

ASHFORD: When the audition came around, I was assistingKathleen on Saturday Nightat Second Stage Theatre in Manhattan.We were in the middle of tech and Michael said I needed to beready by the following week. I knew I didnt have time to puttogether a large ensemble number. So, I choreographed a versionof the famous elevator dance from Millie, using music from theshow, and presented that to Michael and the producers. An hourlater, Michael called and told me I had to do the big number. I said,

Michael, theres just not time. He said, No, no, no, you havetodo the big number. So I said Okay, Ill do it somehow. Kathleengenerously released me from tech so that I could get it done becauseshe knew how incredibly important it was. Once again, I gathereda group of dancers and we put a speakeasy number together. Sothe story is, Millie goes to the speakeasy and gures out how toget in by watching other people. Once inside, she sees the mosthandsome guy in the place and spends the whole evening trying to

get his attention. Then, when they actually meet, they sit at a tableand he ends up being a bore. Of course, she ends up drinking anddrinking and drinking, then starts dancingleading the pack, andeveryone dances with her. So it was just a very basic idea, but wedid it and they really liked it. Michael called that night and toldme I got the job.


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CRAMER: Clich as it might sound, the rest is history. Youreceived a Tony Award for the show, and for every Broadway show

youve choreographed since then.ASHFORD: I have.

CRAMER: Every single one.

ASHFORD: I have. Yes.

CRAMER: Your trajectory has been somewhat traditional. Ialways ask this question about climbing the creative ladder. Youwere a dancer, a dance captain, a swing, an assistant or associate,

then a choreographer in your own right. What was it about thecreative process that made you decide to become a director? DidMichael Grandage decide for you?

ASHFORD: Well, he certainly helped.

CRAMER: We should let our readers know that Michael Grandageis the Artistic Director of the Donmar Warehouse Theatre ofLondon, one of the most prestigious theatres in the West End.

ASHFORD: I rst worked with him on Guys and Dolls. Hedid a production in London that starred Ewan McGregor andJane Krakowski. Michael asked me to choreograph, making itour rst collaboration together, and it went very well. Hes bril-liant, and I learned so much from him. If everything I learnedchoreographically is the result of working with Kathleen, thenIve learned the other half from Michael. He taught me how tolook theatrically at the big picture, the design, the concept, and

the truth. Of course, you learn from everybody that youre for-tunate enough to work with. Ive been so lucky. While we wereworking on Evita, he said to me, You know youre a directorwhos choreographing, right? And I said, Well, okay, I buythat. If thats what you say, thank you for that. Then he said,If you were going to direct a musicalyour rst musicalandyou were going to direct it at the Donmar, what would it be?And I said, Parade.

CRAMER: Without a moments hesitation.ASHFORD: Without a moments hesitation.

CRAMER: Your experience working with Pat Birch on Paradehere in the states must have really been something for your answer


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ROB ASHFORD 11

to be so immediate. She is a gifted choreographer. You were dancecaptain of that show, right?

ASHFORD: Yes, and I love the show so much. You know, Ima Southern boy and it had such an element of that spirit. Its anextraordinary story, and the score, by Jason Robert Brown, is sim-ply gorgeous. To be a part of that show from the workshop all theway to the Lincoln Center production was just thrilling. But I neverfelt it got the attention it deserved. It is an important piece of musi-cal theatre. Michael listened to the show, not knowing it, but afterlistening to it, he loved it. He invited me to come and direct my rst

musical at the Donmar.CRAMER:You have also directed plays. How did your directo-rial debut come about?

ASHFORD: After the London production, I said to Michael,My God, how can I thank you? I dont know how to thank youenough. He said, You can thank me by doing your rst play atthe Donmar as well.

CRAMER:You directed Streetcar Named Desire. We should tellour readers that your relationship with the Donmar has resultedin your appointment as Associate Artistic Director. What do youthink is the most important characteristic a director has to possessto have a successful process?

ASHFORD: Wow! Well, obviously, you do need to have a visionof some sort. You need to keep everyone ring on their own cyl-inders within your vision. Thats it. You have to keep everyone

doing what they were hired forwhat they do wellinside theframework of your vision, as opposed to trying to make them dowhat you want.

CRAMER: Comparing your early career with the present, do youfeel like you can pick and choose your projects?

ASHFORD:Yes. Im very fortunate in the way that I get manyopportunities now. I am able to say no to certain things if theydont interest me. Theres a nite amount of time, and you reallywant certain projects. You dont want to work just for works sake;you want to work because you want to keep pushing yourself, tokeep growing and keep creating things that move people and pushyour own boundaries.


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CRAMER: You have a longstanding relationship with the La JollaPlayhouse in San Diego, California. Several of your shows have

had out-of-town runs there before coming to Broadway. Can youaddress this process?

ASHFORD: You almost always have to go out of town with anew musical. Producers almost never let you go out of town witha revival. They will claim its basically an extra million dollarsadded to your budget to produce out of town. So, Ive done allnew shows at La Jolla. We did Millieand Cry Babythere, and Imgoing back to do Finding Neverland. The old notion of out-of-

town tryouts is quite different from todays process. Today, youworkshop new shows in regional theatres like La Jolla. The greatthing about regionals is that you are under the theatre facilitysumbrella. In other words, regional theatres have a subscriptionbase, or a built-in audience and a machine to assist in all aspectsof project development in the early stages of producing a musical.It has a template, if you will. I just did a new musical called Leapof Faithat the Ahmanson Theatre in California. They took us in

and helped us get the show up, and supported us with their staff,their buildings, and their artistic eye as well. The theory used to beyoud go out of town so no one knew what you were doing, and bythe time you got to New York, you had worked out all the prob-lems with the show. Needless to say, that doesnt exist anymore.Now, after your rst preview in Poughkeepsie or anywhere, UnitedStates, youre on the internet and youre reviewed by intermission.Regional theatre is still the best place to develop a show. I particu-

larly think new musicals need that development.CRAMER: How does the aforementioned process differ from aworkshop?

ASHFORD: Workshops are a different thing. Im not much ofa workshop fan. When you are in the process, you end up withworkshop solutions to big show problems. You are using laddersfor trees, wearing sweatshirts and jeans for costumes, and youend up falling in love with the simplicity and cleverness of it all.

The problems with a full stage production are seldom solved, ifeven addressed. Heres the other difculty about workshops: youonly get four weeks to stage an entire show; you never get time toactually work on the show. The whole point of a workshop is to


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ROB ASHFORD 13

ne-tune the material, but it takes the entire four weeks just to getthe show up on its feet.

CRAMER:Do you believe a reading of a new work is a worth-while process?

ASHFORD: I think readings are great and I really prefer stagedreadings. Normally, the cast sits at music stands and takes thestage when their character has a scene. It is so helpful to hear thematerial out loud and see how the show ows. I am a big fan ofreadings.

CRAMER:What is your process with scenic, lighting, costumedesigners, production assistants, and other members of your crea-

tive team?

ASHFORD: I think my process is pretty normal. You know theshows happening. You choose your designers and you sit downwith them and talk about your vision, as well as what you dontwant. They bring some ideas to the table, you bring ideas, andeventually it all gels. What is really important is starting early, very

early. Id say the sooner, the better.CRAMER: Do you have a group of performers that you nd youreworking with more and more, repeatedly, if you will?

ASHFORD: Yes, I do. There are people that you like; you have ashort hand with them. I do love working with new people, how-ever. Sometimes the show needs a specic energy, or as a directoror choreographer, you see something in someone new that you likeand their intent or approach could be good for a particular show.

Many times I mix it up using both types of performers when it suitsthe project.

CRAMER:As you create, do you sketch, draw, visualize, or doyou verbalize ideas?

ASHFORD: I do it all. I tear out a lot of pictures out of magazines,books, and other printed mediavisual things. I dont watch a lotof old movies because I dont like to get images and steps and things

imprinted in my head, because then I feel like I cant shake thoseimages. So, I try to stay away from that a bit. When I start workingon a show, I keep all those torn out pictures right inside the script,and every time Im at a production meeting or creative meeting, I


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just put them on the table and the pile seems to grow. Everyone sitsaround talking about the show, no ones talking about the pictures

per se, but there they are, and it starts binding the show together,somehow.

CRAMER: When you work in preproduction, you have an assist-ant or a set of assistants. Do you nd you use the same peoplerepeatedly?

ASHFORD: Yes. I think its essential. I mean, the only way I cansucceed is with a familiar group of creative people. For exam-ple, David Chase does the dance arrangements for all my shows

and hes brilliant. Hes currently my musical director for How toSucceed, as well as my dance arranger. Hes terric and smart andnot just a musical collaborator, but a collaborator in every sense ofthe word. I think thats what I love about the whole team; every-body collaborates on every aspect of the show. I was lucky enoughto have my assistant choreographer from London get his green cardand move here. So, once again, I have someone on How to Succeedthat I have a short hand with. We have the same tastes and I trust

him completely. I can stay in one room directing, and because he isa choreographer in his own right, he can handle the entire secondroom. He has such respect for performers, and hes so great withpeople and so patient. Hes very analytical too, and can help peoplegure out things that they cant on their own. An example of this ispushing singers to dance past their natural capabilitiesa thing Ioften do. These are important traits in an associate or an assistantchoreographer.

CRAMER: Since you discussed your approach to singers whodance, may I ask you to comment on the Vocal Minority inPromises, Promises? Those four roles are normally singing rolesonly. Yet, you had them dancing a great deal, correct?

ASHFORD: Yes. They all danced. We worked really hard to ndsingers that could dance, but when you have associates like I justmentioned working with these performers, we can get much moreout of them that anyone expects. I also have a terric associatedirector who is great in every department. Hes really good at deal-ing with designers and keeping everything on track in each crea-tive department so I can focus more on the actors in the rehearsalroom. Dont get me wrong, hes great in the rehearsal room too,


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but whats so wonderful about a great assistant director is that hecan take care of it all and keep things owing.

CRAMER: Do you have to bring in additional dancers whenyoure working out numbers in preproduction?

ASHFORD: I do, and I call them The Team. I recently hired ayoung dancer, a kid22 years old. He is simply amazing to me. Hewas our assistant dance captain in Leap of Faith,out of town, andis presently cast in How to Succeed. He comes from a differenttime and place, and seemingly endless with his own astonishingideas and steps, not to mention a brilliant dancer. So, adding him

into The Team has been just a tremendous lift, especially in cho-reography. The entire creative team works together in that way.

CRAMER: It sounds as though you encourage your creative teamto offer substantial input.

ASHFORD: Well, of course. I have to because you cant do italone. Why would you even want to pretend you do or want to?Theres one more member of The Teamour dance captain. She

was the dance captain on Promises, and now, How to Succeed.Its great having someone that stays with the show who was a partof the creation effort. She has the respect of the company as well,because she was in the room and helped create it, so she knows. Wehave this kind of joke on The Team that they are so good, I say,Im just a gurehead. I just wave and they gure everything out,and they usually make it better than I even dreamed it could be.Its great because I can sit back and keep my eye on the big picture

almost all the time, and The Team handles all the rest of it.CRAMER: Do you differentiate in your own mind between stag-ing and choreography, and do you approach your actors and yourdancers differently?

ASHFORD: I dont. I think its all motivated by character, whetheryoure dancing or staging or moving; its all dancing to me.

CRAMER: If I walk into an audition, whats the rst thing youregoing to look for?

ASHFORD: Well, Im going to look for youin you. Let me explain.I dont want you to come into the audition and put on a char-acter. I dont want to see any extra stuff. I dont want to seeanybody that isnt you. I just want to see you turned up about 20


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points. If youre going to be too laid back in the short amount oftime allotted to your audition, Im not going to get it. So, dial your-

self up a little bit so the real you pops through.CRAMER: Do you think you can see true acting chops when per-formers dance? Can you see the actor in the dancer?

ASHFORD: Absolutely. We look for that all the time. Its crucial.There are some amazing dancers that are technically incredible,but because theres nothing there, we cant use them.

CRAMER: With show budgets now, everybodys got to sing,

dance, and act with real capability. Can you get the cast you need,keeping your eye on the budget?

ASHFORD: Absolutely. Though it would be great to use thesame people time and again, occasionally, youll employ a policywhereby you hire half the dancers youve worked with before, andhalf new. You do this because the ones youve worked with beforeknow you, and they give you a sense of comfort. Theyre calm andwithout an eagerness to please. On the other hand, youve got this

burst of energy with new dancers, that not only lifts the room, butinspires you.

CRAMER: Do you read music, or do you feel that its necessaryfor direction and choreography?

ASHFORD: I do read music. I played the piano growing up, soI read quite well. I dont think its completely essential, but I dothink it is incredibly helpful. For example, Ive choreographed fouror ve shows at City Center Encores! You get their score and dance

arrangements, and you have to edit them down, so you need to beable to tell the difference between the verse, the chorus, the bridge,and where the melody sits. In other words, its helpful to have abasic knowledge of music and structure.

CRAMER: So, you have to seriously shrink the dance music on allEncores! productions, right?

ASHFORD: You do, because in one week, you dont have time to

choreograph a whole score. I choreographed one called BloomerGirlthat Agnes De Mille did originally. The last half hour of theshow was a Civil War ballet. We probably did about half of it,about 1518 minutes worth; 2025 minutes of a ballet in one weekis crazy. You cant possibly do that.


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ROB ASHFORD 17

CRAMER: The shows you have done include Tenderloin, BloomerGirl, Pardon My English,and Connecticut Yankee.Explain to our

readers why these titles were chosen.ASHFORD: Thats the mission of Encores! You rework old showsthat are usually quite dated but have amazing scores.

CRAMER:Do you prefer working on a revival, or a new show?Which process takes more time?

ASHFORD: Thats a great question. A new show denitely takesmore time; theres no question about it. Quite often, Im brought

in at the shows inception, so you are talking about the completedevelopment of a project, even auditioning the writers. It takes along time, coordinating schedules and getting through the rstreading, so it is a time-consuming process over a long period oftime. I think a new work is like doing two shows. You have to dothe out-of-town production, which takes a certain amount of time,and then you have to make changes and iron out details on theshow. Then show two begins when you bring it to New York. Witha revival, you dont do an out-of-town, so you just do the one inNew York. You dont get the advantage of having an out-of-townproduction, but then again youre not really working with brandnew material. With the new musical, no one knows what it is yet,and the audience is open to whatever you do. In a revival, everyonehas these ideas of what it should be. There are adamant fans of theshow, and they either have fond memories of what it was, or theyjust have a sense of it. I wrestle the constant feeling that you haveto win them over. So, its tricky. I try not to think about that; as a

team we treat it as a new piece. When I agreed to direct and cho-reograph Promises,I cant tell you how many people were anxiousabout my treatment of Michael Bennets iconic number, TurkeyLurkey. I truly didnt understand what all the fuss was about andits all because of YouTube and all the accessibility to view theoriginal number on video. Its a very real but different kind of pres-sure. Do you pay homage to the original or do you totally reinventthe number? Its a very tricky thing. Revivals are always going to

put the creative team into a comparative situation with the past;thats just part of the package.

CRAMER: Can you discuss the different rehearsal periods for theBroadway shows you have done, and what effect that time lengthhad on opening night?


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ASHFORD: We denitely had more time on Shrek than mostshows; we had a longer rehearsal period and a longer tech period.

If memory serves, we previewed six weeks on Cry Baby. It was along time and wasnt that helpful. I think theres a nite amountof time you can be in that state of were ready-were not ready.Nowadays, the producers are nipping and tucking everywhere tosave money where they can. Were doing How to Succeedin fourweeks. Thats a short amount of time.

CRAMER: With your extensive career in London, please compareensemble auditions here, versus ensemble auditions in London.

ASHFORD: Theyre so different. Here, everyones very eager togive you their heart, to perform for you, give you their soul, andnot be extremely precise in the choreography. In London, every-one is more cerebral, so before theyll perform the choreography,they literally want to know where every hand is. They ask ques-tions about everything: feet, direction, style, focus, the works. Ihave to pull a performance out of them. Its a real effort. They areso wrapped up in technique. In New York, its just the opposite.

Dancers could care less. They just want to get the gist, and let goand dance from their heart. I have to reinforce specics like thatsa single pirouette, and the leg is straight here and not so high, etc.They want to do it their own way because they want to dance foryou. Theres a real difference.

CRAMER: Its my understanding that the number of auditioningdancers is smaller in London. Can you contrast that with audi-tions here in the states where numbers are huge and competition

is dramatic?

ASHFORD: London has equally great talent; we just have a lotmore of it to choose from here in the states. So, lets say that herewe would have 25 outstanding, front row, A-list male dancers, andLondon might have 10 in comparison. If youre lucky enough tocast them and they remain available, then youre in great shapebecause you have the men you need. If not, you have a problem.Running out of great dancing men here is not an issue. England isa small island, less to choose from. Were this huge country with aconstant inux of dancers pursuing their careers.

CRAMER: Who do you think was the biggest creative inuence inyour life with whom you are not directly associated?


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ROB ASHFORD 19

ASHFORD: I would say Jerome Robbins because of his story tell-ing and his economy in doing it. He is not a person who will sit

inside a dance forever and show off. If he could tell the story, if hecould get you from A to B with two steps, he would do that. If youcan do it with one look, movement, or gesture, then we move on.But some creative people dont understand economy, and I tryIalways tryto exercise economy. Heres an example. We do our pre-view cuts in tech, because after we run the entire show in the stu-dio, we always see where the fat is in all the numbers. We go aheadand start trimming that out right away in tech. We dont even wait

for previews. Any fat is a disservice to the number. We try to keepthe number moving and not stand on something so long becauseyou like that, or it feels good, or the dancers look good doing it.Thats just what Jerome did, and I think thats his brilliance.

CRAMER: Youve talked a great deal about the people who havehelped you in your career, starting with Rob and Kathleen Marshalland continuing with Hal Prince and Michael Grandage. Pleaseshare your thoughts on other creative people in your life, and how

they inuenced your approach to directing and choreographing.ASHFORD: I choreographed for Scott Ellis, Michael Mayer, andMark Brokaw. All of those directors gave me really importantinformation, knowledge, and humanity. All of the directors I haveever worked for included me. The lines between a director anda choreographer should be blurred. They should overlap. Thosedirectors allowed me to have substantial input far beyond dancenumbers. My input was always welcomed just as it was when I

assisted Kathleen.CRAMER: When you integrate your research into your work, is ita practical application or is it something that simply enhances yourown creativity?

ASHFORD: I do just enough to show the audience that ourapproach to the period is authenticno more, no less. When Ichoreographed Thoroughly Modern Millie, my goal was to do theshow without one Charleston. I was adamant that we couldnt justdo Charlestons over and over because its the 1920s. Well, I con-fess, we did do a Charleston in the opening, but it was totally bas-tardized in very slow motion. I dont think audiences want to seehistorical dance. I think people want to see something fresh and


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new, and I would never let historical authenticity dominate crea-tivity and originality. I think audiences want our contemporary

energy.CRAMER: Do you believe you have a signature style? For exam-ple, has anyone ever said, Oh, that looks like Robs work?

ASHFORD: Some people say that. Some people say, I knew thatwas you. I could tell it was you, and I dont think one way or theother about it. You try to reinvent yourself every time, or try tobring originality to the material, but sometimes a certain step thathappens or a certain pattern happens and it just feels like you.

Obviously its going to happen the more you work as a director andchoreographer, but that can be great if you gure out a way to keepit fresh. A great example of this is evident in one of my new assist-ant choreographers who is working with me now. I can do my stepor my thing, and then he does his version of it, which is the sameintent, yet completely different and better with a more contempo-rary energy. Now, I dont mean contemporary dance, I just mean akind of now energy. The way a 22-year-old dancer approaches a

dramatic beat is going to be different than I would.

CRAMER: Lets talk about your transition into lm. Your rstgig as a lm choreographer was on the movie, Beyond the Sea,thestory of Bobby Darin starring Kevin Spacey. Is it my understand-ing that you were on a road trip when you got a phone call fromKevin Spacey?

ASHFORD: True. I was going to visit relatives in Boston for

Christmas. I listened to my voicemails and it was like this, HeyRob. Kevin Spacey. Give me a call. I really want to talk to you. Iwas completely shocked. Id never met Kevin. It was about a yearafter Millie,and Rob Marshalls lm, Chicago,was about to bereleased. Rob Marshall and I had the same agent at the time, andour agent had a new assistant. Of course, I thought I had it allgured out. The ditzy reception guy had given Kevin my numberand information, thinking it was Rob Marshalls. As it turns out,that was not the case. Kevin had seen Millie,and he wanted meto do Beyond the Sea, a movie he was going to star in, direct, andproduce.

CRAMER: Was it on-the-job training?

ASHFORD: I was literally learning on the job.


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ROB ASHFORD 21

CRAMER: As a great example of learning on the job, please shareyour charming Moulin Rougestory.

ASHFORD: I nd it very amusing that everyone assumes thatsince youre a Tony-winning choreographer, you know what youredoing on your rst lm job. The movie people from Beyond the Seacalled, and asked how many couples I needed for the dance in thetea garden. They had given me a list of available dancers, and I toldthem Id look it over and get back to them. The lm Moulin Rougehad just come out. The lms director and choreographer was BazLuhrman. He and I had worked together on the Academy Awards,

and I love and admire his work. I watched the Tango of Roxannein Moulin Rougeand thought, Ok, thats 20 couples. That looksoutstanding to me. I need 20 couples for the tea garden.

CRAMER: You share an Emmy with Baz Luhrmann for yourwork on the Oscars. Tell us what you learned on that project.

ASHFORD: When youre working with, and in the presence of areal genius, you become a sponge. He is so visual and passionate,and someone who is a truly signicant artist. We had a monthreally, putting that number together, and it was glorious. Thosetypes of projects are quite difcult and high pressure, but mainly, Ihad fun. Along with 200 drummers and 40 dancers, we had HughJackman and Beyonce, Zac Efron, Vanessa Hudgens, AmandaSeyfried, and Dominic Cooper because the lm Mamma Miahadjust come out. So, we prepped here in New York with Hugh forone week, and then an additional week with 12 New York dancersthat were going to Los Angeles. Once there, we picked up the other

28 dancers. We taught and folded them into it. The concept neverchanged. The content changed constantly, because Bazs brainnever stops. I would literally come into rehearsal the next morningand hed state, Were not going to do the Dream Girls section;were going to do the following. It would be something brandnew out of his head. I would get a call at midnight with changesfor the next day because hed already been to the studio to gure itout and edit it. Hed send me the edit and I would call the dancers

to meet me at eight because we had to change the choreography yetagain. But it was thrilling, you know? Its a great challenge, andagain, everybody had fun. I had my core group from New York;my dancers I knew were going to be there for me, and then I had 28new dancers from LA that I didnt know at all. So it was very much


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like working on Broadway, but with larger numbers. You becomea trafc expert.

CRAMER: The Oscar telecast was not your rst television event.You have done several tributes that have been lmed for the smallscreen.

ASHFORD: Yes. I have been at the helm of Kennedy Centertributes to Barbra Streisand, Jerry Herman, and Andrew LloydWebber.

CRAMER: So, you werent completely blind going into your prep

work for Beyond the Sea. You

lmed in Berlin?ASHFORD: I must say that lming a staged production is not trulypreparing you for shooting dance on lm. It is a different processall together. So I was a bit blind as the MoulinRouge story attests.That said, yes, we worked for three months in the Berlin winter.

CRAMER: In winter? But you had many outdoor sequencesdressed for a much milder season. Didnt the dancers freeze?

ASHFORD: We did freeze. It was cold. Its just remarkable whatdancers endure. Beyond the chaos that ensued at times, it was afun shoot. Originally, there was to be so much more dancing inthe movie. So many numbers we had prepped, we didnt get toshoot. There were some issues. We were doing the shoot in Berlinfor many reasons. East Berlin is so preserved from the 1960s. Itwas like nothing had changed. We could go to houses, clubs, gov-ernment buildings, studios, etc., and have this great advantage.Also, we got some sort of tax credit if we used a certain number

of Germans and other Europeans, and the smallest number ofAmericans. That made it advantageous. We got over there, we weremid-production, and there was some snafu with tax laws, and sud-denly we werent getting half the break we thought we were. Sowe were over budget. We had to pull a couple of the numbers wehadnt lmed yet, because they were the most expensive.

CRAMER: Were you at all surprised that Kevin Spaceys really apretty good dancer?

ASHFORD: He said, I dont dance. He does. But Ive never seenanybody like that, someone so gifted, but also, work so hard. Hewould be in makeup at 4 in the morning, and then he would work awhole day directing and acting, as well as viewing dailies, and then


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ROB ASHFORD 23

he would come to me and my assistant in the studio at 11 at night.We would dance for an hour or two, literally to the point where he

could not stand up. Id say, Kevin, were done for the day. Weredone, and hed say, No, one more time, Ive got to gure that out.Ive got to get it right.

CRAMER: Inspirational.

ASHFORD: Thats how that man worked. I learned so much fromthe entire shoot, lming close-ups, long shots, editing, shootingindoors, outdoors, camera focus, continuity, cut-aways, you nameit. I also learned a great deal from Kevin and his miraculous work

ethic. I wouldnt trade that experience for the world. I am ready formy next lm, thanks to the entire process. Luckily, I do have somelm projects in the works.

CRAMER: I know youve got a lot of projects coming upanEvita revival with Ricky Martin and Finding Neverlandbasedon the lm and several others. Is there an unusual project that youwould really like to pursue?

ASHFORD: There are so many things in my mind that Id liketo do. We started work on this reimagining of Brigadoon. Its allmusic.

CRAMER: No book to speak of.

ASHFORD: Very little book. All singing and dancing. Quite dif-ferent. Im terribly excited about the project. Its got to be the righttime and the right place, so its tricky. I want to do an opera andwork on a large scale. Based on my experience, I feel I understand

how to move people around the stage, and I understand the epicnature of an opera. There are some great lm projects just aroundthe corner. Much of it is nding the time to work on each project,to be honest.

CRAMER: Can you give any advice to students about perse-verance, something about getting here to NYC, being here, andsticking with it? Because based on your own experience and yourlongevity, you should have some pearls of wisdom.

ASHFORD: Yes, of course. I think that you have to rememberthat youre on your own journey, and you cant be inuenced bythe journeys of your friends. For example, some people will cometo New York and be lucky like me and get a Broadway show in


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two months, and some people wont. If that happens to your bestfriend, that doesnt mean that youre not right for this business; it

just means that you werent right for that show. You know what myphilosophy was when I came here? I auditioned for absolutely eve-rything, even if it was a show I didnt want to do, because I thoughtit would lead me to something else. Lets take Anything Goes,forexample. The way I got Anything Goesis because Michael Smuin,the choreographer, remembered me, and really liked me fromanother audition for a show he choreographed that I didnt evenget! But because of that audition, I got a Broadway show simply

because Michael remembered me, and really liked my work. Its allthat time you put in. You have to think of it all as an investment inyour future. You have to persevere. You have to stay in touch withthe business; you have to stay in touch with the people that arein it. You must network. I used to wander around the Broadwaytheatre district and visualize my name on the marquees. You dohave to want it, but the other thing is, you need to have your ownfull life. If its so lopsided, out of balance, and all there is centersaround the theatre, then thats a huge percentage of negativity inyour life if youre not getting work. And also, the other thing abouthaving a full life is that it will only help your art when you getthere. Sometimes, rather than taking the fth ballet class becauseBroadway hasnt happened, take four and go to the museum. Takethree and go to the museum and go to a movie. Go see a play, anddont just say, I dont have the money to see a play. Find themoney to see a play. Thatll inspire you in a different way as well.You dont have to just go see musicals. Ill say the same thing for

actors; go see a musical. Step out of the box. You just have to per-severe. You have to have a dream and go for it.

CRAMER:Well, thank you so much for doing this, and I wishyou the best of luck with all your future endeavors.

ASHFORD: Youre most welcome.


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CHAPTER TWO

Andy Blankenbuehler

Andy Blankenbuehler developed a love of the arts from a veryyoung age. His sisters both danced and his dad loved the stage.Andys parents were big supporters of the arts and it made sensefor Andy to start dancing at the ripe old age of three, excellingas a tap dancer. He was always involved in sports throughout hisschool years, but when he became a sophomore in high school, allthat changed. He was cast in Godspelland the theatre bug tookhold.

Andy had designs on a college major in architecture, but thatquickly morphed into a dance major and even that didnt last long.After training for a year at Southern Methodist University, he wascast by Disney to perform in Tokyo. And Andy never looked back.He moved to New York City just after his stint with Disney. After


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an extensive touring career with Andrew Lloyd Webbers Music ofthe Night, Fosse, Camelot, Guys and Dolls,and West Side Story,

Andy hoofed his way through footwork-heavy Broadway musicalslike Guys and Dolls, Steel Pier, Saturday Night Fever, Contact,Fosse, Big,and Man of La Mancha.

As a choreographer, Blankenbuehler claims to have become anarchitect anyway. He builds dances instead of buildings and cre-ates storyboards instead of building plans. Andy has won the TonyAward, Drama Desk, Outer Critics, and Lucille Lortel Award forhis choreography on In the Heights, his third Broadway effort. In

the Heightsfollows his work on the revival of The Apple Tree, and9 to 5. In 2012, Andy directed and choreographed the criticallyacclaimed Bring It On!and choreographed the revival of Annie.

Blankenbuehler has created choreography for City CenterEncores!, crafted the world premiere of Frank Wildhorns Waitingfor the Moon, staged concert work for Bette Midler and EltonJohn, created commercials, and choreographed for regional thea-tres around the country. Andys work was also seen on So YouThink You Can Dance, The Sopranos,and in the West End pro-duction of Desperately Seeking Susan.

In addition to these, Andy is still a teacher. He holds classes atBroadway Dance Center in New York City on a regular basis andis a member teacher for New York Dance Alliance, an organizationthat conducts dance conventions and workshops across the coun-try for students of all ages and levels.


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ANDY BLANKENBUEHLER 27

CRAMER: Andy, you were born in Cincinnati and started dancingat three because your sisters were both dancers. I understand your

parents were big supporters of the arts, so they encouraged you.But you also participated in sports until you were cast in Godspellin high school. I read that it was a life-changing experience. Canyou share that with us?

BLANKENBUEHLER: Yes. I did a lot of community theatrebecause my father did. I liked it enough. I danced my whole lifeand I liked that enough, too. I was always the only boy, so it wassocially awkward sometimes. I was a really good tap dancer, so I

at least felt accomplishment in that discipline. I was cast in my rstshow in high school when I was a sophomore. We did Godspell,and it really changed my life. For the rst time, I felt like I t in,and the theatre department at my high school was really good.So, all of a sudden, everything just got elevated, and I felt that myaccomplishments were accepted, valued, and an integral part of theprocess. More than anything else, it was social. I felt great connec-tions with people. It felt a bit like a high school retreat. So, after

that, I knew bit by bit that I wanted to choose it as a career.CRAMER: Did you move to New York pretty quickly after highschool?

BLANKENBUEHLER: Yes, but the plan was to attend collegefor architecture, and I got accepted. When I graduated, I fool-ishly thought, I can go study architecture for six years, then be adancer with a back-up plan. Right. Put dance on hold. Then real-ity hit me. What am I thinking? Thats not even possible. I had to

have a new dance plan. I was introduced to Southern MethodistUniversity in Dallas. It was after all the application deadlines. Theschool brought me down there. I visited on a Tuesday, and wasenrolled on Wednesday.

CRAMER: SMU has one of the strongest ballet and modern pro-grams in the nation.

BLANKENBUEHLER: True. They took really good care of me

in my rst year. The technique classes were great for me because Ihad danced my whole life, but had really bad technique. Being inthat environment, dancing with other men, was a huge help anda great inuence. But Im an impatient person, and after my rstyear, I took a job at Disney World for the summer. During my


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second year in school, Disney asked me to go to Tokyo Disneylandfor a year. I lived there and moved to New York City right after

that job. I was 20.CRAMER:Your Broadway debut was Guys and Dolls. You didthe national tour rst, and then came to Broadway. Many of yourcontemporaries in the choreographic and directing eld now wereyour cohorts on stage in the revival in 1992. Who comes to mind?

BLANKENBUEHLER: It was an amazing show, and it came onthe heels of Chris Chadman dancing with Bob Fosse, and passingon the essence of the way Fosse worked, not his vocabulary neces-

sarily but his determination and intellectual way he constructedhis choreography. Many people, who worked on that show withme, had just come offJerome Robbins Broadway. There wasnt areally deep, heavy, thick dance show after the Robbins piece. WhenGuys and Dollscame along, Chadman developed this big, mas-culine piece of choreography, and we all jumped onboard. Everymale dancer in the city wanted to do it. We opened the rst tour:me, Sergio Trujillo, Chris Gattelli, Jerome Vivona, Darren Lee,

and John Crutchman, all of whom became choreographers anddirectors.

CRAMER:Thats quite a testament to that unique time in NewYork City.

BLANKENBUEHLER:Chris Chadman was so inspiring to me.He was a real taskmaster and tough on everyone, but I was verylucky because I had a very similar body type to him. I felt like

whatever he choreographed worked on my body. Consequently, hewas very nice to me. He moved me to the front, gave me solos, andtook really good care of me. I ended up in the show for two and ahalf years.

CRAMER: So, you did Big, Steel Pier,and Contactall for Stroman.This was followed by Fosse,where I rst saw you and heard yousing Mr. Bojangles.

BLANKENBUEHLER: Yes. That was really big too, because I had

done several Broadway shows and had a lot of great jobs, but all ofa sudden, when I got to Fosse, I was seen as a soloist. Mind you, Inever had any desire to get out of the chorus. All I ever wanted todo was dance. But I wanted to be recognized, as everybody does.I wanted to know that my contribution was a valuable building


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block to the show. All of a sudden I was in a feature capacity in theshow. I knew my performance was moving people, and that was

really big for me emotionally. It also gave me a bit of a name, not astar but people knew who I was.

CRAMER: I knew you from the show, and then I recognized youon the faculty list for New York Dance Alliance.

BLANKENBUEHLER: That was a turning point for me becauseI was just about to start choreographing. When I did, even thoughpeople werent ready to give me a Broadway show to choreograph,at least they were looking at me. That was really important, because

when I started putting my work out there in the late 1990s, I wasvery open in saying, Listen, Im going to give you something thatmight crash and burn, but Im going to show you what I eventuallywant to accomplish. Im not going to be gray right now and choreo-graph a cookie-cutter piece. Im going to show you, idealistically,what I want to accomplish, and you might nd its not ready yet.Thats actually what happened. I wasnt looked at seriously until2002 or 2003.

CRAMER: What happened between Fosseand the Frank Wildhornshow, Waiting for the Moon?

BLANKENBUEHLER: A great deal. After Fosse, I went overto Saturday Night Fever,which was tons of fun and where I metmy wife. Then I did Contact, and my nal show on Broadwaywas Man of La Mancha. Those last few years, I was juggling twocareers at once. I would teach and choreograph all day long, and

then perform in my Broadway show at night. Once or twice a year,I would take a leave of absence and go to Goodspeed or Paper MillPlayhouse and choreograph a show. So, I was starting to get mywork out there. The very rst thing I ever presented was in 1997.It was part of a choreography concert called The Gypsy Project.That was the rst time people saw my choreography, so that wasimportant to me. Then I did DanceBreak,which was the unionsshowcase of up and coming choreographers. My piece was astory ballet set to music from Parade.It stood out from others inthe showcase because I really took a chance with my approach. Iwent out on a limb and stayed away from anything in a traditionalsense. It paid off because thats where I met Jeffrey Seller and KevinMcCollum.


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CRAMER: For our readers, these gentlemen produced In theHeights.You choreographed that Broadway hit, and won the Tony

Award for your work.BLANKENBUEHLER: They said to me, You do the kind of workwe want to do, lets stay in touch. We knew we saw eye to eye eventhough we had nothing to work on yet. Through DanceBreak, Istarted getting jobs at PaperMill and Goodspeed, as I mentionedearlier. Then the realization hit me that I could not do both if Iwanted to excel as a choreographer. Ultimately, I was going to haveto choose.

CRAMER:Did you have a sense that choreography would be anatural segue after a professional dance career?

BLANKENBUEHLER: Im sure I did. Literally, I choreographedmy entire childhood. I choreographed the musicals my junior andsenior year of high school. All through the early 1990s I was cho-reographing benets, music videos, and other projects constantly. Iwas always choreographing on the side.

CRAMER: I heard you were injured during Guys and Dolls.Didthat sway you at all?

BLANKENBUEHLER: Well, it was a couple of things. I got hurtwhen I joined the Broadway company and was out for about 18months. During all the physical therapy and taking oor barre, Iwas going crazy. All I wanted to do was dance. I would listen tomusic all day long, music from the 1940s and 1950s. All of a sud-den, it was like the matrix; I could see the numbers. In my head,

I could see the colors, and what the music was telling me. So, Ifelt like my creative instinct was truly blossoming. Even though Iwent back to performing after that, I knew choreography was mydestination. Then I had a string of frustrating projects, and all Iwanted to do was gure out why they didnt catch. The architectmajor wanted to gure out the math problem. Why is the backrowcoughing? Why is that pick-up not grabbing people? Why does thatmusic not feel like the character? I didnt know the answers when

I was younger. But I couldnt leave performing, so I was willingto gamble. Many of my friends, like Rob Ashford and KathleenMarshall, were assisting other people, so I wondered if thats thedirection I should go. But, I didnt want to stop dancing. I felt likeit was a full-time career to assist somebody. So, I made the very


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rm decision that I was going to continue dancing full time andchoreograph on my own. That meant I had many lessons to learn

that my friends did not, because they were assistants.CRAMER: Did you ever serve as dance captain?

BLANKENBUEHLER: Thats not me.

CRAMER: Thats of interest to me because yours is not a tra-ditional path. Many choreographers were dance captains andassistants.

BLANKENBUEHLER: Right. Plus, theres a selshness that I

have, that wouldnt allow me to do that. I want to do my gig; Idont want to do anybody elses gig. I had total contentment in per-forming. I wasnt even totally content choreographing my sidelinesprojects. I hadnt done a project yet that said, Oh, my God! Mylife is coming true because Im choreographing this. That didnthappen until In the Heights.

CRAMER: What about the Encores! projects, The Apple TreeandThe Wiz?

BLANKENBUEHLER:Encores! should have put me in the hos-pitalno, literally. When I did The Apple Treeat Encores!, it wasprobably the most stressful situation Ive ever been in, because therewas no time. The expectations are so high because youre right onBroadways door. I was working for the director and the musicaldirector for the rst time, and it was very stressful. I realized inthat show that preparation was the key for me. I could not wingit. I could not make it up on the spot. I had no desire to abbreviate

the process. I can; I have the talent to, but I have no desire to do it.It makes me miserable. I know that my work is 60 percent of whatit should be when I work under those situations. It is hugely com-promised. Ive never been more unhappy with my work. Also, as abeginning choreographer, I was establishing a relationship with abrand new director that I had never worked with, so thats alwayshard.

CRAMER: Have you ever auditioned for a job?

BLANKENBUEHLER: I did a presentation for the Andrew Lippamusical called The Little Princess.

CRAMER: When you say presentation, its an audition formatwhere you present a number to the creative team, correct?


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BLANKENBUEHLER: Correct. I interviewed with the producer,the director, and with Andrew. I was invited to present two num-

bers. Interestingly enough, it was the week of my wedding, so,pressed for time, I took a gamble and picked two numbers. Ofcourse, they asked for two differentnumbers. So, I choreographedfour numbers15 minutes of dancewith dancers working forfree. I paid my own studio expenses. I have to say, I was reallyproud of my work and I got the job. I left Man of La Mancha, andthe next year I choreographed The Little Princess. It was out inCalifornia. The show didnt make it to Broadway, and I was really

disappointed. I thought that show was going to be my entre toBroadway. Then right out of that I choreographed Waiting for theMoon, the Frank Wildhorn musical, and The Apple Tree. Theyhappened the same month.

CRAMER: Would you say youre a visual choreographer, you seeimages before you create steps?

BLANKENBUEHLER: Yes. I have the ability, as lots of chore-ographers do, to see it far away. I can see it as a movie before Ive

choreographed a step. So, I know what it wants to be. I know thetemperatures, the movements, and the energy, even though I dontknow what the steps are yet. Many choreographers cant predictthings like that. I have to gure the entire show out, mathemati-cally, and thats a big part of my process. I have to pound it out onmy own. Waiting for the Moonwas a big deal for me because thedirector gave me free rein, and I choreographed huge dances. Theshow featured six full-length dance sequences: one that lasted over

10 minutes. It was all transferred to my choreography reel, andeven though the show didnt move to Broadway, it got me noticed.

CRAMER: It got you a Barrymore nomination.

BLANKENBUEHLER: I choreographed one of the things Immost proud of in that show, which went on to my reel and becamea good calling card for me. In the number, F. Scott Fitzgeraldwas writing The Great Gatsby, and it was a song, but it neededto be transition music. I think that is where I started doing tran-sitions and people would say Andy Blankenbeuhler does transi-tions. Anyway, we needed to get him from the conclusion of hisbook-writing to his book-signing party. But, there was no connec-tive tissue. So, I took his song I Want Some from the rst act,


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and his song, Ive Got Things to Say, combined, and reorches-trated them. We had a track that moved onstage, so we put him at

his typewriter stage right, and the whole number did nothing butmove his typewriter to stage left. When it got to stage left, he wasat a party, and there were ve tap dancers around him as he wastyping. Right then, I started to understand how I wanted to movepeople. I always feel like theres speed and theres motors that areemotional gear. For example, your brain is thinking a thousandthoughts: Ive got to do this. Ive got to do that. Oh, what if I didthis? All of a sudden, its like ngers snapping fast. That is what

you hear, which is not unlike a typewriter, which is not unlike taps.I have to gure out what the motor is. I think of the words motorand engine a great deal. It all denes the speed of the number orthe groove it sits in. What makes a number like Cool from WestSide Storyabsolutely the right tempo? It grinds and shifts just likeyou want it to. Everything I am trying to create has to fold into theorchestration. We have to establish a vocabulary. So, when I didWaiting for the Moon, I realized that there was a great deal morefor me to do when creating transitional dance. I had no desire tobe a concert choreographer, but when I create transitions on themusical theatre stage, theres an overlap. With no spoken narrativeand no singing, just orchestration, I continue to tell a story. Thereis a gorgeous transition in In the Heights,and people have said tome that it is one of their favorite moments in the show. Its whatwe called the break-up transition. The character of Navi just losthis girl, and I dont want the audience to leave that moment. Thatmoments not over; it wants to resonate. If Im going to the next

moment, why not let their break-up continue right into it? So I hadall the dancers starting the transition as pairs. Everything wentinto slow motion, and then one by one, a girl would walk out of aguys arms and everybody would keep walking singly. By the endof the transition, everybody was single. It continues the emotionalarc of the narrative without words or lyrics, and that became moreand more interesting for me to do.

CRAMER: I want to ask you about choreographic approach. Youtalk about through-line versus texturing. Would you explain whatyou mean by that?

BLANKENBUEHLER: I view a lot of choreography as impres-sionist painting. So, when you see such a painting, your eye is


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forced to go to the focal point, and thats what happens in musicalstaging and choreography. Your eye should be forced to go to a

focal point. If its not, theres usually a problem. Sometimes youdont want to know where to look because that mayhem makesthe focus resonate. In general, you want to have a focal point.Whats around the focal point tells the audience how to feel aboutthe focal point, and thats what the artist says in an impression-ist painting. Thats what I view as texture. Focus is the narrativeline. So, lets say the guy takes the girl, kisses her goodnight, andshe goes into the door. Its an amazing rst date, so hes about

to sing Singing in the Rain or something. Thats direct. Thatsthrough-line and thats what you want to see. However, the worldaround that scene can tell you how hes feeling. Ill make some-thing up. Lets say that the world around the couple are dancers inthe park like Band Wagons,Dancing in the Dark. None of thegirls are touching the ground. The whole stage is lled with girlsjust oating, and the guys are hovering underneath them. Youknow how the lovers feel. The lovers are not touching the ground.If Ive done my job well, Im not looking at the other dancers. Imonly looking at the focal point, the couple, or the man about tosing. However, my brain is taking in the feeling around them, andthats what I call texture.

CRAMER: You were able to choreograph Apple Tree at CityCenter Encores! and then it moved to Broadway. In the Heightsstarted off-Broadway and also moved. When you have the oppor-tunity to improve your work, does it change dramatically?

BLANKENBUEHLER: Apple Tree is not such a good exam-ple because I did improve it a great deal on my side. We had somuch more time to improve it when we were in rehearsals forBroadway compared to prepping for Encores! In the Heightswasthe life-altering experience so they are not comparative. Ill tellyou, this is the bittersweet lesson that I learned. We all cant do thejob that we want to do; not unlike the project Im working on rightnow, entitled The People in the Picture. Im only really content and

happy when Im working on a piece that at its core must dance. Mycurrent project does not.

CRAMER: In other words, dance must be the most importantcomponent?


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BLANKENBUEHLER: Thats the bottom line. I do notwant to do shows that are not about dance. So as I become a

director-choreographer, the dance isnt becoming less importantand the directing becoming important, quite the contrary. Im onlygoing to direct shows where dance takes the lead.

CRAMER: Bring It On! just opened at the Alliance Theatre inAtlanta in January, and is moving to Los Angeles, then touring,and nally Broadway bound. You directed and choreographed theshow. Will you continue to work in both capacities?

BLANKENBUEHLER: Yes and no. People love to declare, Oh,

youre going to be a director-choreographer, and I say, Yes,but Im not really ready yet. I would like to continue learning,so Im going to be going to work on the revival of Annie withdirector James Lapine. Its a big dance show, but its not aboutdancing. Its about raw emotion and visceral enough to be com-municated through dance. Next, Im choreographing a brand newPeter Panand I am quite sure its going to be extraordinary. Themusic embraces a hip-hop and rock style. It possesses the energy

of a kid, or young adult, with characteristics of courage, inspira-tion, and determination. All those things demand dance. Thoseare the projects I seek. When the music plays, Im going to do mybest as a choreographer to translate the lyrics. When you closeyour eyes and listen to an orchestration, the music should deliverthe whole emotional world because of what youre hearing. If itdoesnt, theres a problem. I think the difculty in musical theatrelies in overchoreographing or underchoreographing a show.

CRAMER: Meaning?

BLANKENBUEHLER: The music department and the dancedepartment arent at the same level. For example, if the music isless important on an emotional level, I dont care how good mychoreography is; its not going to convey meaning. If the music issimplistic, my choreography can only go so far. Whats demandedis that the music is true, and thats exactly what Lin-ManuelMiranda does when he writes.

CRAMER: For our readers, Lin-Manuel Miranda is the composerof In the Heightsand Bring It On!

BLANKENBUEHLER: I dont understand how he does it, but nomatter what he writes, it dances. His music has soul and life to it,


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and Id have to be an idiot not to choreograph to every note. One ofthe reasons the show works is because the music and dance depart-

ments are on the same level. One effectively cannot exist withoutthe other.

CRAMER: When you teach your choreography for In the Heights,you teach using the lyrics, scatting (ba ba do bop), and throughvisualizing movement, such as youre down into the earth on thissection. When I watched the video clips of this instruction, it waseasy to understand exactly what you wanted. Our readers shouldknow that you are still actively teaching in the classroom. You are

a guest teacher on national convention circuits and at BroadwayDance Center in New York City. My question is, do you teach thesame way, whether in class, or on a show?

BLANKENBUEHLER: Dancers get frustrated when they dontknow what theyre doing, so I always count everything. I can sayto a student, The foots on the end of four, but thats just math.Thats not important. Whats important is why its there. I taughtan audition all day yesterday, and there were dancers claiming they

didnt understand, so I had to count, one and a two and three anda four. But then its really important for them to understand howtheyre doing it, so, I have to say the lyric or hum it musically.Thats why I scat a lot. What Ive learned in the past couple yearsis that I tend to choreograph from a rhythmic place, not necessar-ily a text place. So, it only works really well if the rhythmic worldalready matches the text world. Im not going to disregard the text;I still have to communicate that, but what moves me is rhythm.

When Im teaching I always say to students, musicality isnt aboutcounting music; its the energy that matches the rhythm and meetsthe accent. Remember, I was a kid watching Fantasia. Im comingfrom that world, so I see colors in music. I visualize the old stereosystem where you would watch the sound waves on the receiver.Thats how I see the rhythm and the movement. I see that peak,and then I know the valleys not important. So, when I decide to hitsomething with an accent, its the syncopation on either side that

makes it interesting.CRAMER: In keeping with your comments on rhythm, youve oftensaid pauses are important in choreography. Can you elaborate?

BLANKENBUEHLER: I learned this from Chris Chadman,Bob Fosse, and Jerome Robbins. You have to create pauses so the


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audience can take in the picture. Our responsibility in that pause,or in that picture, is to make the meaning clear. Take Cool from

West Side Story. Robbins has created pauses that declare the Jetswant to kill themselves, or they are frustrated, or they are cool. Ifthe performance matches what Robbins is giving you choreograph-ically, the audience gets it. All of a sudden, their eye catches it longenough to understand because theyve experienced it. Thats whatIm talking about with the pauses. Youve got to hit the accent,and, in that one instant, the audience loves it. Then you move on.

CRAMER: What do you mean when you say, Good dancing

takes tremendous intellect?BLANKENBUEHLER: Everybody needs to know why somethingis happening. Im not talking about motivation. What Im talkingabout is; Im facing sideways. Why are you facing sideways? If Imfacing forward, the audience is going to look at my face. If Im fac-ing sideways, theyre absorbing my body language and looking pastme to the lead character, whos standing right there. But if I all of asudden start doing the step facing front, Im telling you, 5 percent

of the audience is going to look at my face and not the storyline.Those things go in one ear and out the other with many people,whether they are

creating musical theatre conversations with broadway directors and choreographers

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