Susan Stroman

Susan Stroman is a Broadway director, choreographer, and performer.

Related Topics:
Broadway - Director - Choreographer

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Stroman was born on October 17, 1954 in Wilmington, Delaware. Exposed to show tunes by her piano-playing salesman father, she began studying dance, concentrating on jazz, tap, and ballet at the age of five. She majored in theatre at the University of Delaware; her first professional appearance was in Hit the Deck at the Goodspeed Opera House in 1974. After graduating in 1976, she moved to New York City.

Related Topics:
October 17 - 1954 - Wilmington, Delaware - University of Delaware - Hit the Deck - Goodspeed Opera House - 1974 - 1976 - New York City

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Stroman's first big break came when director Scott Ellis hired her to choreograph his off-Broadway revival of Flora the Red Menace at the Vineyard Theatre in Greenwich Village in 1987. Her work there was seen by Hal Prince, who hired her to work on the dance sequences for his New York City Opera production of Don Giovanni. She earned her first Broadway credit for her collaboration with director (and future husband) Mike Ockrent on Crazy for You in 1992.

Related Topics:
Scott Ellis - Off-Broadway - Revival - Flora the Red Menace - Greenwich Village - 1987 - Hal Prince - New York City Opera - Don Giovanni - Mike Ockrent - Crazy for You - 1992

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Despite suffering two major failures with Big (1996) and Steel Pier (1997), Stroman was approached by Lincoln Center's artistic director Andre Bishop, who offered her assistance in developing the project of her choice. She and John Weidman, who had written the book for Big, began working on what would become the three-part "dance play" Contact. The show opened at Lincoln Center's Mitzi Newhouse Theater in the fall of 1999, and later transferred upstairs to the larger Vivian Beaumont Theater (where it was reclassified as a musical).

Related Topics:
Big - 1996 - Steel Pier - 1997 - Lincoln Center - Andre Bishop - John Weidman - Contact - Mitzi Newhouse Theater - 1999 - Vivian Beaumont Theater

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While preparing The Producers for Mel Brooks, Stroman's husband Ockrent lost his battle with leukemia, and she assumed the reins of the production. Its huge success - and record twelve Tony Awards - proved to be a bittersweet triumph for the grieving widow.

Related Topics:
The Producers - Mel Brooks - Tony Awards

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