Masters of the Stage

At the SDC Foundation's Choreography Symposium in 1986, choreographers Wayne Cilento (Tony Award for The Who's Tommy), Graciela Daniele (8 Tony nominations for Best Choreography), Janet Watson (Ragtime) and Ted Pappas (Paradise Off-Broadway and the Broadway revival of Zorba) spoke with director Marshall Mason about choreography in musical theatre at the time. The panel discusses how each began his or her career, their creative processes and the mentors that led them to Broadway. A major topic is the changing style of musical theatre, which was deep in the Sondheim era at the time, and the choreographer's role in musicals that involve less dance numbers and more musical staging. Other topics include working with a director vs. assuming both roles, how technology's role in the audience's lives changes the movement choreographers put onstage and anecdotes about working with Hal Prince and Michael Bennett.