Tony Stevens (choreographer)
Encyclopedia
Tony Stevens was an American choreographer, dancer and director who worked with, danced with and directed many of Broadway
's and Hollywood's best theatrecentric actors and actresses, including Chita Rivera
, Martin Short
, Robert Redford
and Gene Kelly
.
" (book and lyrics by Allan Sherman
and music by Albert Hague
). This was followed by roles in the 1970s productions of "The Boyfriend", and "Irene
" amongst others. Stevens quickly rose to prominence in his field, becoming assistant choreographer on the original production of Bob Fosse
's "Chicago
". Perhaps his most important contribution during this time however, was a series of taped workshop sessions with Michon Peacock in which dancers laid their life stories bare. Those tapes eventually led to the text and subject matter of the internationally famous musical "A Chorus Line
".
" and "Seesaw
", Stevens was co-choreographer with Gower Champion
on "Rockabye Hamlet
" in 1976, choreographed the Frank Loesser
revue "Perfectly Frank
" in 1980, , Stevens also did choreography for the films "The Great Gatsby
" with Robert Redford and Mia Farrow
, "The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas
" with Burt Reynolds
and Dolly Parton
, "Johnny Dangerously
" with Michael Keaton
and "She's Having A Baby
" with Kevin Bacon
, among others. Some television credits include specials for Mary Tyler Moore
, Cheryl Ladd
, Disneyland's 30th Anniversary, and the People's Choice Awards
. He also performed in the film "Tommy
".
", "The Body Shop", and directed and choreographed "Sheba". He also did the National tours of "Dreamgirls
" 1997 and 1998, and the 20th Anniversary Tour of "Jesus Christ Superstar
". Other cutting edge work included "The Complete Works of William Shakespeare", the recreation of Bob Fosse's original choreography for "Chita River
; A Dancers Life on Broadway", staging numbers for Martin Short and Nathan Lane
on "Late Night with David Letterman
," and was currently developing the new musical "La Familglia".
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
's and Hollywood's best theatrecentric actors and actresses, including Chita Rivera
Chita Rivera
Chita Rivera is an American actress, dancer, and singer best known for her roles in musical theater. She is the first Hispanic woman to receive a Kennedy Center Honors award...
, Martin Short
Martin Short
Martin Hayter Short, CM is a Canadian actor, comedian, writer, singer and producer. He is best-known for his comedy work, particularly on the TV programs SCTV and Saturday Night Live...
, Robert Redford
Robert Redford
Charles Robert Redford, Jr. , better known as Robert Redford, is an American actor, film director, producer, businessman, environmentalist, philanthropist, and founder of the Sundance Film Festival. He has received two Oscars: one in 1981 for directing Ordinary People, and one for Lifetime...
and Gene Kelly
Gene Kelly
Eugene Curran "Gene" Kelly was an American dancer, actor, singer, film director and producer, and choreographer...
.
Early life and career
Stevens was born in Herculaneum, Mo. to a factory worker father and a mother who owned and operated a country store. He debuted on Broadway in 1969, dancing in "The Fig Leaves Are FallingThe Fig Leaves Are Falling
The Fig Leaves Are Falling is a musical with a book and lyrics by Allan Sherman and music by Albert Hague. It was inspired by Sherman's 1966 divorce following 21 years of marriage....
" (book and lyrics by Allan Sherman
Allan Sherman
Allan Sherman was an American comedy writer and television producer who became famous as a song parodist in the early 1960s. His first album, My Son, the Folk Singer , became the fastest-selling record album up to that time...
and music by Albert Hague
Albert Hague
Albert Hague was a German-born songwriter, composer, and actor.-Early life:Hague was born as Albert Marcuse to a Jewish family in Berlin, Germany. His father, Harry Marcuse, was a psychiatrist and a musical prodigy, and his mother, Mimi , a chess champion...
). This was followed by roles in the 1970s productions of "The Boyfriend", and "Irene
Irene (musical)
Irene is a musical with a book by James Montgomery, lyrics by Joseph McCarthy, and music by Harry Tierney.Based on Montgomery's play Irene O'Dare, it is set in New York City's Upper West Side and focuses on immigrant shop assistant Irene O'Dare, who is introduced to Long Island's high society when...
" amongst others. Stevens quickly rose to prominence in his field, becoming assistant choreographer on the original production of Bob Fosse
Bob Fosse
Robert Louis “Bob” Fosse was an American actor, dancer, musical theater choreographer, director, screenwriter, film editor and film director. He won an unprecedented eight Tony Awards for choreography, as well as one for direction...
's "Chicago
Chicago (musical)
Chicago is a musical set in Prohibition-era Chicago. The music is by John Kander with lyrics by Fred Ebb and a book by Ebb and Bob Fosse. The story is a satire on corruption in the administration of criminal justice and the concept of the "celebrity criminal"...
". Perhaps his most important contribution during this time however, was a series of taped workshop sessions with Michon Peacock in which dancers laid their life stories bare. Those tapes eventually led to the text and subject matter of the internationally famous musical "A Chorus Line
A Chorus Line
A Chorus Line is a 1975 musical about Broadway dancers auditioning for spots on a chorus line. The book was authored by James Kirkwood, Jr. and Nicholas Dante, lyrics were written by Edward Kleban, and music was composed by Marvin Hamlisch....
".
Broadway and Hollywood
As well as performing in "Hello, Dolly!Hello, Dolly! (musical)
Hello, Dolly! is a musical with lyrics and music by Jerry Herman and a book by Michael Stewart, based on Thornton Wilder's 1938 farce The Merchant of Yonkers, which Wilder revised and retitled The Matchmaker in 1955....
" and "Seesaw
Seesaw (musical)
Seesaw is a musical with a book by Michael Bennett, music by Cy Coleman, and lyrics by Dorothy Fields.Based on the William Gibson play Two for the Seesaw, the plot focuses on a brief affair between Jerry Ryan, a young lawyer from Nebraska, and Gittel Mosca, a kooky, streetwise dancer from the Bronx...
", Stevens was co-choreographer with Gower Champion
Gower Champion
Gower Carlyle Champion was an American actor, theatre director, choreographer, and dancer.-Early years:Champion was born in Geneva, Illinois, the son of John W. Champion and Beatrice Carlisle. He was raised in Los Angeles, California, where he graduated from Fairfax High School...
on "Rockabye Hamlet
Rockabye Hamlet
Rockabye Hamlet is a rock musical with a book, lyrics, and music by Cliff Jones. It is based on the classic tragedy by William Shakespeare and tells the story of a Danish prince who plots revenge on his uncle for killing his father.- Production history :...
" in 1976, choreographed the Frank Loesser
Frank Loesser
Frank Henry Loesser was an American songwriter who wrote the lyrics and scores to the Broadway hits Guys and Dolls and How To Succeed In Business Without Really Trying, among others. He won separate Tony Awards for the music and lyrics in both shows, as well as sharing the Pulitzer Prize for...
revue "Perfectly Frank
Perfectly Frank
Perfectly Frank is an album by Tony Bennett, released in 1992, recorded as a tribute to Frank Sinatra.Part of Bennett's late-in-life comeback to commercial success, it achieved gold record status in the United States and in 1993 won the Grammy Award for Best Traditional Pop Vocal Performance.In...
" in 1980, , Stevens also did choreography for the films "The Great Gatsby
The Great Gatsby (1974 film)
The Great Gatsby is a 1974 romantic drama film distributed by Newdon Productions and Paramount Pictures. It was directed by Jack Clayton and produced by David Merrick, from a screenplay by Francis Ford Coppola based on F...
" with Robert Redford and Mia Farrow
Mia Farrow
Mia Farrow is an American actress, singer, humanitarian, and fashion model.Farrow first gained wide acclaim for her role as Allison Mackenzie in the soap opera Peyton Place, and for her subsequent short-lived marriage to Frank Sinatra...
, "The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas
The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas
The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas is a musical with a book by Texas author Larry L. King and Peter Masterson and music and lyrics by Carol Hall...
" with Burt Reynolds
Burt Reynolds
Burton Leon "Burt" Reynolds, Jr. is an American actor. Some of his memorable roles include Bo 'Bandit' Darville in Smokey and the Bandit, Lewis Medlock in Deliverance, Bobby "Gator" McCluskey in White Lightning and sequel Gator, Paul Crewe and Coach Nate Scarborough in The Longest Yard and its...
and Dolly Parton
Dolly Parton
Dolly Rebecca Parton is an American singer-songwriter, author, multi-instrumentalist, actress and philanthropist, best known for her work in country music. Dolly Parton has appeared in movies like 9 to 5, The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, Steel Magnolias and Straight Talk...
, "Johnny Dangerously
Johnny Dangerously
Johnny Dangerously is a 1984 comedy spoof of 1930s' crime/gangster movies. It was directed by Amy Heckerling; its four screenwriters included Bernie Kukoff and Jeff Harris, both of whom previously created the hit TV series Diff'rent Strokes...
" with Michael Keaton
Michael Keaton
Michael John Douglas , better known by the stage name Michael Keaton, is an American actor known for his early comedic roles, most notably his performance as the title character of Tim Burton's Beetlejuice . Keaton is also famous for his dramatic portrayal of Bruce Wayne/Batman in Tim Burton's...
and "She's Having A Baby
She's Having a Baby
She's Having a Baby is a 1988 American romance film directed by John Hughes.The film portrays a young newlywed couple, Kristy and Jake Briggs played by Elizabeth McGovern and Kevin Bacon, who try to cope with being married and what is expected of them by their parents. Jake must also deal with the...
" with Kevin Bacon
Kevin Bacon
Kevin Norwood Bacon is an American film and theater actor whose notable roles include Animal House, Diner, Footloose, Flatliners, Wild Things, A Few Good Men, JFK, Apollo 13, Mystic River, The Woodsman, Trapped, Friday the 13th, Hollow Man, Tremors, Death Sentence, Frost/Nixon, Crazy, Stupid, Love....
, among others. Some television credits include specials for Mary Tyler Moore
Mary Tyler Moore
Mary Tyler Moore is an American actress, primarily known for her roles in television sitcoms. Moore is best known for The Mary Tyler Moore Show , in which she starred as Mary Richards, a 30-something single woman who worked as a local news producer in Minneapolis, and for her earlier role as...
, Cheryl Ladd
Cheryl Ladd
Cheryl Ladd is an American actress, singer and author. Ladd is best known for her role as Kris Munroe in the television series Charlie's Angels, hired amid a swirl of publicity prior to its second season in 1977 to replace the departing Farrah Fawcett-Majors...
, Disneyland's 30th Anniversary, and the People's Choice Awards
People's Choice Awards
The People's Choice Awards is an American awards show recognizing the people and the work of popular culture. The show has been held annually since 1975 and is voted on by the general public. The People's Choice Awards air on CBS and are produced by Procter & Gamble and Survivor magnate Mark Burnett...
. He also performed in the film "Tommy
Tommy (film)
Tommy is a 1975 British musical film based upon The Who's 1969 rock opera album musical Tommy. It was directed by Ken Russell and featured a star-studded cast, including the band members themselves...
".
Modern Broadway
Always in demand, Stevens worked steadily on Broadway as trends and tastes changed. Off-Broadway he choreographed "Zombie PromZombie Prom
Zombie Prom is an Off-Broadway musical, also adapted into a short film. It was first produced at the Red Barn Theatre, Key West, Florida in 1993. It opened off-Broadway in New York City at the Variety Arts Theatre in 1996. It opens November 2009 in London with a UK Premiere at the off-west end...
", "The Body Shop", and directed and choreographed "Sheba". He also did the National tours of "Dreamgirls
Dreamgirls
Dreamgirls is a Broadway musical, with music by Henry Krieger and lyrics and book by Tom Eyen. Based upon the show business aspirations and successes of R&B acts such as The Supremes, The Shirelles, James Brown, Jackie Wilson, and others, the musical follows the story of a young female singing trio...
" 1997 and 1998, and the 20th Anniversary Tour of "Jesus Christ Superstar
Jesus Christ Superstar
Jesus Christ Superstar is a rock opera by Andrew Lloyd Webber, with lyrics by Tim Rice. The musical started off as a rock opera concept recording before its first staging on Broadway in 1971...
". Other cutting edge work included "The Complete Works of William Shakespeare", the recreation of Bob Fosse's original choreography for "Chita River
Chita River
Chita , locally also called Chitinka , is a river in Zabaykalsky Krai in Russia. It is 160 km long, and is a tributary of the Ingoda River...
; A Dancers Life on Broadway", staging numbers for Martin Short and Nathan Lane
Nathan Lane
Nathan Lane is an American actor of stage and screen. He is best known for his roles as Mendy in The Lisbon Traviata, Albert in The Birdcage, Max Bialystock in the musical The Producers, Ernie Smuntz in MouseHunt, Nathan Detroit in Guys and Dolls, Pseudolus in A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to...
on "Late Night with David Letterman
Late Night with David Letterman
Late Night with David Letterman is a nightly hour-long comedy talk show on NBC that was created and hosted by David Letterman. It premiered in 1982 as the first incarnation of the Late Night franchise and went off the air in 1993, after Letterman left NBC and moved to Late Show on CBS. Late Night...
," and was currently developing the new musical "La Familglia".