EARLY WORKS

THE MUSIC MAN - Stroman in the 70s Candlelight Dinner Theatre in Wilmington, Delaware, production. 

APPLAUSE - Stroman in the 70s Candlelight Dinner Theatre in Wilmington, Delaware, production.

PROMISES, PROMISES - Stroman in the 70s Candlelight Dinner Theatre in Wilmington, Delaware, production.

WEST SIDE STORY - Stroman in the 1974 3 Little Bakers Dinner Theater, in Kennett Square, production.

HIT THE DECK -  Stroman dance at the 1977 Goodspeed Opera House production.

WHOOPEE! - Third girl from the left, with Charles Repole on the 1979 Goodspeed's revival.

SAYONARA - 1987 Paper Mill's production of choreographed by Stroman.

FLORA, THE RED MENACE - Off-Broadway revival choreographed by Stroman in 1987.

KISS OF THE SPIDER WOMAN - In 1990 Stroman was the choreographer of Harold Prince's early staged musical adaptation.
Photos by Martha Swope

ONCE UPON A STAGE

MAIN CREDITS (by clicking on the titles you go to a page about that show): 

2018 - THE BEAST IN THE JUNGLE - also director / Off-Broadway

2017 - YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN - also director / London

2017 - PRINCE OF BROADWAY - also co-director 

2016 - DOT - director / Off-Broadway

2015 - PRINCE OF BROADWAY - also co-director / Tokyu Theatre Orb in Tokyo, Japan

2015 – THE LAST TWO PEOPLE ON EARTH – also director / for the American Repertory Theatre in Cambridge, Mass

2014 - THE MERRY WIDOW - also director / for The Metropolitan Opera

2014 - LITTLE DANCER - also director  / for the Kennedy Center

2014 - BULLETS OVER BROADWAY - also director

2013 - THE SCOTTSBORO BOYS - also director / London

2013 - BIG FISH - also director

2010 - PARADISE FOUND - also co-director / London

2010 - THE SCOTTSBORO BOYS - also director / Off-Broadway and Broadway

2009 - HAPPINESS - also director / Off-Broadway

2007 - YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN - also director

2004 - THE FROGS - also director

2004 - DOUBLE FEATURE (for the New York City Ballet)

2002 - OKLAHOMA! - Broadway

2001 - THOU SHALT NOT - also director

2001 - THE PRODUCERS - also director

2000 - THE MUSIC MAN - also director

1999 - CONTACT - also director

1998 - OKLAHOMA! - London

1997 - STEEL PIER

1996 - BIG

1994 - A CHRISTMAS CAROL - for the Madison Square's Garden

1994 - SHOW BOAT

1993 - CRAZY FOR YOU - London

1992 - CRAZY FOR YOU

1992 - 110 IN THE SHADE - for the New York City Opera

1991 - A LITTLE NIGHT MUSIC - for the New York City Opera

1991 - AND THE WORLD GOES 'ROUND - Off-Broadway

1989 - DON GIOVANNI - for the New York City Opera

1987 - FLORA, THE RED MENACE - Off-Broadway

1980 - MUSICAL CHAIRS - also assistant director, Off-Broadway

OTHER CHOREOGRAPHIC CREDITS:

FOR THE LOVE OF DUKE (in 2011 for the New York City Ballet); TAKE FIVE... MORE OR LESS (in 2008 for The Pacific Northwest Ballet); BLOSSOM GOT KISSED (in 1991 for the New York City Ballet's 50th Anniversary); BUT NOT FOR ME (in 1997 for the Martha Graham company); BROADWAY BABYLON (also director, Off-Broadway); GREASE; GYPSY; LIVING COLOR (also director, Off-Broadway); PICNIC (for the Roundabout); RHYTHM RANCH (Off-Broadway); THE ROAR OF THE GREASEPAINT, THE SMELL OF THE CROWD; SAYONARA (Paper Mill Playhouse); SLASHER (Off-Broadway)

TELEVISION AND MOVIE CREDITS:

2005 - THE PRODUCERS - also director

2000 - CENTER STAGE - a movie directed by Nicholas Hytner

1992 - SONDHEIM: A CELEBRATION AT CARNEGIE HALLL

1991 - LIZA: STEPPING OUT AT RADIO CITY MUSIC HALL

1989 - AN EVENING WITH THE BOSTON POPS: A TRIBUTE TO LEONARD BERNSTEIN

ACTING CREDITS:

HIT THE DECK, CHICAGO (as the Hungarian murderess), WHOOPEE, SWEET CHARITY, PETER PAN, APPLAUSE, PROMISES PROMISES, WEST SIDE STORY

GETTING TO KNOW SUSAN

Susan Stroman was born 17th October 1954 in Wilmington, Delaware, and started dancing at the age of five, studying ballet, jazz and tap. Inspired by the Fred Astaire movies, she began choreographing school plays at high school before majoring in theatre at the University of Delaware.

Her first audition in New York was for the 1974 production of HIT THE DECK for the Goodspeed Opera House. She got the job and her Equity card. The role of the Hungarian murderess in CHICAGO followed. She danced on other shows until she was invited by director-choreographer Rudy Tronto to assist him with the Off-Broadway musical MUSICAL CHAIRS. The show only ran a week, but there she met Scott Ellis and became good friends. Both were more interested in directing than performing and she decided to pursue choreography.

She began by staging some industrial shows and some summer stock. Later collaborated with Ellis for the first time on a Philadelphia production of GREASE. Although she didn't audition for more shows she continued to perform as part of a Fred-and-Ginger-type dance team with Jeff Veazey. In 1989 Jeff died, and she felt like she couldn't dance anymore.

Meanwhile she directed two Off-Broadway revues and then was hired to choreograph SAYONARA for the Paper Mill Playhouse. After that she went on to collaborate with Ellis and book writer David Thompson on a revised Off-Broadway production of FLORA, THE RED MENACE. This revival became a cult hit and her name started to get known.
As a result she was invited by Harold Prince to choreograph his New York City Opera production of DON GIOVANNI.

Later she, Ellis and Thompson suggested to Kander and Ebb (composer and lyricist of FLORA) that they work together again on a revue of songs from their shows. They agreed and AND THE WORLD GOES 'ROUND opened Off-Broadway. It was the first Ellis/Stroman show to be seen and hailed by a larger audience. Stroman quickly gained a reputation for quirky new slants on standards ('New York, New York' sang in different languages) and for the creative use of props on stage.

Once more she was invited by Prince, this time to work on a new musical by Kander & Ebb, KISS OF THE SPIDER WOMAN, at a new developmental theatre called New Musicals. When that show was reviewed prematurely by uninvited critics, everyone took it hard and the show closed prematurely.

Stroman buried herself in work and had big hit with LIZA: STEPPING OUT AT THE RADIO CITY MUSIC HALL. But the best was about to happen.

Mike Ockrent came to New York to begin working in CRAZY FOR YOU. Saw her work and hired her for her Broadway debut.

The result was a brilliant piece of musical theatre where the dance took center stage. From big numbers to solo, the choreography was simply terrific. She won her first Tony Award for CRAZY FOR YOU.

She and Prince met again this time for the successful revival of SHOW BOAT. Among the highlights of the show was the fabulous and contagious 'Kim's Charleston'. Once again she won the Tony Award for Best Choreographer.

Two new musicals followed and both failed on Broadway. The first was the stage adaptation of the movie BIG and Ockrent directed it. The response to the show was tepid, and it closed surprisingly early.

The other show was STEEL PIER and once again she was working with Ellis and a score by Kander & Ebb. The musical was nominated for 11 Tonys, but failed to won any and so it closed losing millions.

Later she was invited by London's National Theatre to choreograph Trevor Nunn's revival of OKLAHOMA! She was given carte blanche by the Rodgers & Hammerstein estate to change Agnes de Mille's original choreography. It was the first time that happened. The result was an exciting piece of musical theatre and Stroman returned to the big time, winning the Olivier Award for Best Choreography.

Most recently she directed and choreographed Lincoln Center's CONTACT, which became one of the hottest tickets of the season. Followed by the hit revival of THE MUSIC MAN. Both shows got her Tonys nominations, not only as a choreographer, but also as director.

In 2001 she was responsible for the biggest hit of the season, THE PRODUCERS. Once again, she directed and choreographed a show and this time she won Tonys (and plenty of other awards) for both jobs. This new musical comedy had a long run and made sure that Stroman's name would be on the heart of every musical fan for many years to come.

She followed that big hit with a smaller production, THOU SHALT NOT, but both critics and public weren’t very impressed and the show run for less than 6 months. Her next musical blockbuster, YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN, reunited her with Mel Brooks (THE PRODUCERS) but the critics weren’t kind and the high-ticket prices scared the public. The show run for a little more than a year and the big shows she did after that one, BIG FISH and BULLETTS OVER BROADWAY, failed to ignite the box-office and both closed after a few months. She had better luck Off-Broadway with THE SCOTTSBORO BOYS; unfortunately, the show failed when it was moved to a bigger Broadway stage. 

Living in Portugal doesn’t allow me to see all her shows, but I’m always fascinated when I see clips of her work. For example, I believe I would probably have loved YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN; from the clips I saw, I think she did a great job. I was lucky to see her HAPPINESS at Lincoln Center and I really enjoyed it. The last time I saw her work was in the London production of THE SCOTTSBORO BOYS and Susan still got it! Her work never ceases to amaze me and I hope I’ll be able to see more of it in the near future. 

In the 'New York Post' Donald Lyons wrote "...joining what's living in the Broadway idiom to what's vivid in dance, both of which Stroman is master." He also said "Stroman is our best. This choreographer makes dance a celebration of body and contact, a site of happiness and the will to live. The best we've got".

She is more than that, thanks to her the dance is back where it belongs, on stage. Since CRAZY FOR YOU the American musical started to dance again and I hope it will never stop. 

by Jorge T. Santos (written in 2001, updated in December 2015)

Bibliography: BACKSTAGE ON BROADWAY by Marty Bell; magazine SHOW MUSIC; THE VIRGIN ENCYCLOPEDIA OF STAGE & FILM MUSICALS







THE SINGING VOICE OF SUSAN STROMAN

Before becoming a choreographer, Stroman sang and danced in several shows, including CHICAGO. During this show out of town tryout, there were a few songs that later were removed from the score, one of those was "Loopin' the Loop" (although its melody is still used on CHICAGO's overture). In Ben Bagley's revisited album series she recorded that song. It can be heard on CONTEMPORARY BROADWAY REVISITED and it's sung by her and Jan Newberger. She shows a good voice and this recording it's a collector's item.

Her voice can also be heard on CABARET NOËL: A BROADWAY CARES CHRISTMAS, where she sings "Christmas Eve in My Hometown" with Scott Ellis.