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Theres a reason the old adage says theres no such thing as small roles, only small actors.
Fortunately forFosse/Verdoncreators Steven Levenson and Thomas Kail, their ensemble has seasoned players in spades who do just that.
But for the average viewer, its a lot to take in who are Hal Prince and Cy Feuer?
Should I know Ann Reinking?
Is that Liza Minnelli?
Fosse and McCracken divorced, and Verdon became his third wife in 1960.
(McCracken died two years later, which spurred a guilt that Fosse never overcame.)
Together, he and Verdon had a daughter, Nicole, before their separation in 1971.
These are seen most acutely in the year of Fosses greatest international acclaim, 1973.
Dogged by depression, he spent part of that year rehabilitating in a psychiatric hospital.
Such personal struggles were later explored in Fosses thinly veiled autobiographical musical filmAll That Jazz.
Prior to that, she had a long-standing creative relationship with choreographer and mentor Jack Cole.
She would go on to win a second Tony for her first project with Fosse in 1955.
Verdon also served as a consultant onAll That Jazz, and, years later, 1999sFosserevue on Broadway.
Verdon lived on for another 13 years before succumbing to a heart attack at age 75.
Thats not to mention her raw talent and spellbinding silhouette.
Feuer had also produced 1953sCan-Can, which heralded Verdons big break.
Thats where Joan Simon came in.
But that drew them closer together rather than pushing them apart.
Simon was diagnosed with bone cancer while still a young woman and died in 1973.
He won the Pulitzer Prize in 1991 forLost in Yonkers.
That contentment was shook up, sadly, by his wife Joans untimely death.
Simon married three more times beforehis death in 2018.
Prince also produced the show that first introduced Fosse and Verdon,Damn Yankees.
Prince directedCabareton Broadway prior to Fosses film directorial effort and took home another Tony for his work.
Joan McCracken was one of the first.
She encouraged his creative efforts and pushed him to choreograph original works.
Her own career, however, stalled in part due to health complications resulting from diabetes.
Then Verdon came along, and Fosses devotion went elsewhere.
They divorced in 1959 in the midst of McCrackens worsening health, and she died in 1961.
As daughter to Judy Garland, she was and is Hollywood royalty.
Thats where Chita Rivera came in.
They then worked together again in 1981s TV-movie version ofPippinwith Ben Vereen and others.
Today, she directs the Fosse Verdon Legacy organization to preserve the lifes work of her parents.
She also acted as a consultant and coexecutive producer onFosse/Verdon.
He brought her on to sign with Paramount, and she was off to the West Coast.
(Even after being replaced by the studio, Verdon came onboard to help Fosse with the choreography.)
