She Danced for Fosse, Now She’s Updating Him

After performing in the original production, Kirsten Childs returns to Bob Fosse’s Dancin’ in a new role: writer

—

“I had to sing my song to the director-choreographer,” Childs recalls. “I was just having a good old time, singing to this guy and flirting with him and carrying on. He clearly knew that I had no idea who he was, and it was making him chuckle.”

Fosse was so impressed and charmed, he cast Childs in the first national tour of Chicago. Eventually, she took over the role of Velma Kelly, becoming the first Black performer to play the part.

Described as an “almost plotless musical,” the show is a series of self-contained dance vignettes set to a wide variety of music (Louis Prima, Harry Warren and Johnny Mercer, Leiber and Stoller, classical) complemented by dialogue. When revisiting and revising the sequences, Childs drew on her dance background, her collaborations with Fosse and her skills as a writer of musicals.

“I learned Fosse movement firsthand from Fosse,” she says, recalling his instructions to “keep that tension in your hands; make sure you’ve turned in your knees precisely.” But Childs stresses that Fosse wasn’t just a choreographic taskmaster, he was a gifted storyteller.

She remembers how Fosse characterized the choreography for “All That Jazz” as a story of “foreplay to orgasm,” and she appreciated how he imbued every step with meaning. “One movement moved into the next movement into the next movement, seamlessly and purposefully,” she recalls.

“I started to look at places where I felt that there did need to be something taken out from the old show,” Childs explains or, at times, “something added that would enhance what was said in the old show, but in a more acceptable way for today.”

One revamped scene that she is particularly proud of is her “spin” on the Dolly Parton standard “Here You Come Again.” In the original production, the concept was four women performing the song and realizing they were dating the same man. Even back then, that take gave Childs pause, and she knew it wouldn’t go over well today. But she wanted to keep the number.

“I thought, we’ll listen to the lyrics and we’ll actually respond in a 2023 way,” she says. In the overhauled scene, the performers begin to sing but then stop and start parsing the lyrics for anything potentially problematic. “It became fun to subvert that, which is, I think, faithful to Fosse, because Fosse loved to deal in subversion. So, that’s my homage to his sly, winky style.”

Childs also wants to highlight Fosse’s faith in and generosity toward his dancers—after all, he took a chance on her twice. “I have tried to amplify Fosse’s sense of loyalty, responsibility and appreciation for the dancers striving to give the clearest sense of his vision,” she says. She cites a new moment in the show, when a performer channeling Fosse’s spirit states, “I love dancers. And dancers love to dance.” To Childs, that line epitomizes Fosse.

With Fosse gone, Childs appreciates how thoughtfully Cilento is interpreting his moves for a new generation. “Let’s be honest, it can never be Fosse because Fosse’s not with us. And yet, it can be Fosse because this man knows his Fosse inside out,” she says. “There’s an alchemy in this particular tribute, because it’s Fosse through Cilento. And 15 years from now, it will be someone else. And that’s as it should be.”

In addition to her work as a theatre-maker, Childs is also a theatre educator. She’s a professor in NYU’s Graduate Musical Theatre Writing program (which, full disclosure, is where we met) and has been a mentor for TDF’s Wendy Wasserstein Project. So, as a teacher, she not only understands Fosse’s place in musical theatre history, but she also grasps the importance of keeping his legacy alive for future artists and audiences.

“When you take students to the theatre, their minds are so lively,” Childs says. “I’ll always be grateful to being around young people who are so smart and so engaged, learning about the world through theatre and interacting with each other—and with their mentors—in an unafraid, brilliant, life-affirming way.” She’s excited to see how students respond to Dancin’. Perhaps Fosse will be their gateway to a lifelong love of musical theatre, just like he was for her.

—

TDF MEMBERS: At press time, discount tickets were available for Bob Fosse’s Dancin’. The show is also frequently available at our TKTS Discount Booths.

Sarah Rebell (she/her) is an arts journalist and musical theatre writer. Bylines include American Theatre, Hey Alma, Howlround, The Interval and TheaterMania. She is a National Critics Institute Fellow. Follow her at @SarahRebell.