My DVR is eagerly waiting to suck the first episode of Fosse/Verdon off the cable tonight. It's the eight-part series that debuts tonight fictionalizing (hopefully, not too much) the story of Bob Fosse and Gwen Verdon and their [insert adjective here] relationship. Among the many adjectives you could insert in that spot would be "intriguing," "tempestuous," "fascinating," "history-making" and "stormy." I don't watch a lot of these mini-series things but I'm going to catch this one.
I met Gwen Verdon once rather briefly and found her beautiful and charming and lovable. That anecdote is here along with some things I wrote nineteen years ago about how it annoys me when people who had no point of insight into the Fosse-Verdon union act like they know every intimate detail of it. I hope this limited series does not err too far in that direction.
In honor of its debut episode, the L.A. Times sought out some folks who'd worked with Bob and/or Gwen and got some remembrances. I couldn't help but notice the photo they ran from Damn Yankees of Gwen dancing the "Who's Got the Pain?" number with chorus boy Eddie Phillips. Part of the photo credit is "Warner Brothers," which would make you think it's from the movie…but in the movie, Gwen danced that number with her soon-to-be-husband, Bob Fosse.
For a second, I wondered if this was from the filming of the movie and it was evidence that the song was originally filmed with Phillips (who did it with her on Broadway) and then for some reason, it was reshot with Fosse. But I don't think it is. The pillar behind Verdon and Phillips in the photo is nowhere to be seen in the set used for the number in the movie. I'm just mentioning this in case anyone else was wondering what I originally wondered upon seeing it. I can think of at least two friends of mine who would.