Fosse

One for dance and Fosse enthusiasts only. What's more there are long periods of the show (particularly numbers from Fosse's Dancin') that demonstrate nothing other than how quickly choreography dates. I guess nobody came out of the disco era without looking a bit silly, but there is a lot of self indulgent nonsense going on here. My advice is to have one finger on the skip button of your DVD remote.

That said, if you're a sucker for a great song and dance number then there are enough brief glimpses of Fosses' genius to enjoy. The relatively unknown bowler hatted, spat wearing soft shoe shuffle that is The Pyjama Game's 'Steam Heat' is worth the rental alone .

Sorry to disagree with everyone else but....

I love musicals and thought I woudl love this but fraid not.

Its all so much the same. By the the end I though if I see one more hat, another pair of shouldrs pushed back and a pair of arms flapping behind like a dementedswan I'll scream. I'm sure its technically brilliant stuff and difficult to dance and I coudln't do it but its also boring. The performances are so american adn I don't mean that as a complimentor in a positive way. The perfroamsers are so pleased with themselves but there is no fire, passion, emotion or spark of life. I know its about dance but the singing is very weak. Teh music/arrnagments are very 1970s. The sets and costumes are mainly dark/black. After 15 minutes i watched on fast forward and was till bored.

Unless you really love Fosse (and why woudl you he just repeats himself endlessly) move long - nothing to see here

One, admittedly for the stage dance fans and the Fosse enthusiasts - I saw this on the London stage, but took away few memories of it, so I approached this as a sake-of-completeness viewing but I was completely blown away. Put it on, and you'll never believe over two hours have passed by the curtain; such energy, such a fabulous dance cast!!! Ben Vereen is - very much in the New York tradition - doing a 'grace the stage' thing which sadly shows his dancing days are well over (although this adds great poignancy to 'Mr. Bojangles') but the high-voltage personality and singing voice make him a worthy ornament. The quibbles? It's a fairly unimaginative straight-to-camera presentation, it's a bit too long, the sequences linking the actual numbers are over indulgent. The unforgivable? Ann Reinking appears (but not if you blink too long) for a tiny cameo, then takes the female lead bow at the end, a disgraceful eclipsing of the actual female leads, who are stunning, and a most unworthy decision from a performer who has in the past been a watchword for artistic integrity. One senses that she was drafted in for one night simply to have her name on the video presentation. But ignore all this and sit back for a glorious evening of stage dance. And more jazz hands than several years' worth of Will and Grace...

This is the DVD of the stage show and it is a fantastic show.

If you are into modern dance then this show is IT.

A really enjoyable watch

Don Atkinson-Leeds

DVD sound and picture quality, lighting, and of course choreography are all excellent, though I was hoping for more vocal numbers. But dance enthusiasts shouldn't miss it.