I nearly had to force myself to start reading this. I confess that I've rarely enjoyed musical movies, and I've never seen any musical play with a professional cast. I've usually rejected them as the wrong kind of absurdity. I should have hated this book. I already knew that Bob Fosse was in so many ways a kind of brute, a brute with finesse but still a man well remembered for his harshness toward his casts. Wasson's book, though, is highly readable. Few biographers have I read who can compose so many exquisitely written sentences as Wasson. Fosse is laid bare to readers for all of his ceaseless creativity and adaptation and his childlike weaknesses. For the last month, when people have asked what I'm reading, my response has been "a really boring biography". So disappointed in this bio. Fosse was truly a twisted, pained, challenging person. But he also created so many memorable works, and contributed so much to musical theater. Knowing how much Wasson researched this bio, I was hoping for more insight into the person. Instead it seemed that Wasson zeroed in on Fosse as a wounded child (from performing in Burlesque while a pre-teen), and then spent the rest of the book using this background to explain Fosse's foibles. That would have been ok if the book was more engaging, but I just couldn't get into the style. Finished...but it wasn't the right book for me.
Do You like book Fosse (2013)?
Exhaustive account with great interviews, densely packed with info. For Fosse/Broadway fans only.
—caitsingslead
Too encyclopedic for me. I just don't need to know every single time the man ever performed.
—Tricky
This book is a must read for anyone who loves theatre, musicals, or dance. Really fantastic.
—Aishyy_xD
Obsessed with this book. 700 pages wasn't long enough.
—SweetMemories
he is just dying the entire time. what fun is that?
—iyah08
