Jerome Robbins to Irving Berlin
No other creative figure of the latter twentieth century was as contradictory as Jerome Robbins, and few were as controversial. He was a master of the Broadway musical, transforming its possibilities with such works as West Side Story, Gypsy, and Peter Pan, and was one of the greatest ballet choreographers this country has ever produced.
This first and only documentary on Robbins features excerpts from his personal journals, archival performance footage, and never-before-seen rehearsal recordings, as well as interviews with Robbins himself and over forty witnesses among them Mikhail Baryshnikov; Jacques d'Amboise; Suzanne Farrell; Arthur Laurents; Peter Martins; Rita Moreno; Austin Pendleton; Frank Rich; Chita Rivera; Stephen Sondheim; and Robbins Fiddler collaborators Jerry Bock, Sheldon Harnick, and Joseph Stein.
'Robbins' remarkable body of work forever redefined dance and musical theater for a contemporary audience', says Susan Lacy, Creator and Executive Producer of WNET's AMERICAN MASTERS, a six-time winner of the Emmy Award for Outstanding Primetime Non-Fiction Series. 'The revival of West Side Story on Broadway this winter just validates his lasting importance, his lasting impression. We are thrilled to air this film in tribute to Robbins' genius, celebrating the 90th anniversary of his birth.'
Jerome Robbins: Something to Dance About was directed and produced by six-time Emmy Award-winning filmmaker Judy Kinberg and written by best-selling Robbins biographer Amanda Vaill. This film is narrated by Ron Rifkin (Brothers & Sisters), who performed the roles of both Robbins and his father in a workshop production of the director/choreographer s theatrical autobiography, The Poppa Piece.
Chapters - 1. Introduction 2. Jerome Rabinowitz 3. Life-changing revelations 4. Camp Tamiment 5. Ballet Theatre 6. Fancy Free 7. On The Town 8. The Playful Side and the Darker Side 9. Love and Loss 10. Autobiographical Material 11. Broadway's Rising Star 12. Balanchine and the New York City Ballet 13. The King and I 14. The House Un-American Activities Committee 15. Robbins' Muse - Tanaquil Le Clercq 16. Peter Pan 17. West Side Story 18. Ballets U.S.A. 19. Gypsy 20. Challenges and Fixes 21. Fiddler on the Roof 22. Les Noces 23. Dances at a Gathering 24. The Goldberg Variations 25. Watermill 26. Robbins and Balanchine 27. Dybbuk 28. Other Dances 29. Glass Pieces and Antique Epigraphs 30. In Memory of... 31. Jerome Robbins' Broadway 32. Dancing Until the End 33. Credits
