Writing this book (or any book!) takes a lot of time! It’s tough to stay focused when I have so many other jobs and responsibilities. I teach dance at Broadway Dance Center every Monday, I teach a lecture at a senior living center once a month, I work 6 days a week at the New York City Ballet as an usher, I run a company called Choreographics that I co-founded with Daniel Ulbricht, and I produce the Immortal Icons of Dance podcast. Add to that keeping up my dance training, g

It goes without saying that in order to write a book on Bob and Gwen, I need to be familiar with all of their work, both on stage and screen. So as a part of my research I watched the 5 films that Fosse directed: Sweet Charity (1969), Cabaret (1972), Liza with a Z (1972), All That Jazz (1979) and Star 80 (1983). It was fun to see how his style changed as he became more confident directing films. I also watched all the films he appeared in as an actor/dancer: The Adventures o

In setting out to write a book about someone who would be turning 100 this year, its an unfortunate fact that many people who knew Bob and Gwen, have already passed away. My goal with my book is to share as many people’s stories as possible. So when a potential interview subject has already passed, I look for any record they may have left of their own experiences. One of the first places I looked was books! Memoirs and autobiographies to be more exact. Here are a few of the p

One thing that is very important to me as a researcher and educator, is to always continue my own dance training. I train in many styles of dance at studios in New York, but if you want to learn Bob Fosse and Gwen Verdon’s style and choreography, the only place to learn is from the Verdon/Fosse Legacy. Which is run by their daughter, Nicole Fosse, and their grandson, Noah Fosse. They hold classes and intensives that are open to all dancers, but they also hold some “closed” cl

It was January 1, 2026 when I officially began gathering my resources and researching for this book. By June, 2026 I had amassed stories originating from: 73 interviews 35 Magazine articles 32 Newspaper articles 22 TV/radio interviews 17 books 10 oral histories 10 documentaries 7 panel discussions (and a partridge in a pear tree) That's 206 primary source documents that need to be organized and turned into transcripts. I spent nearly 2 months turning all of these different me

When I set out to write this book, it was very important to me that I gather absolutely as many personal stories about Bob and Gwen as possible, and put them in one place, to create a giant resource for dancers to turn to in the future. This means taking stock of alllll the Fosse and Verdon information that has already been produced and published and finding ways to bring it all together. This starts with reading memoirs and biographies, reading oral history transcripts at th

Last time I told you how I use the New York Public Library to research for my Fosse & Verdon book. But there’s another library that’s been SUPER important to this project and that’s the Library of Congress in Washington D.C. The LOC is one of my favorite places to visit…just like the NYPL the archival collections are free for anyone to visit (you just have to jump through the hoops of creating a research account and scheduling your visit) but if just feels so cool walking thr

In my previous update I shared what was so special about visiting the Harry Ransom Center for researching Bob Fosse and Gwen Verdon. But I only spent a few hours at the HRC looking through the archival photos. Mostly I have relied on the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts at Lincoln Center to do a lot of my research. A research library holds more than just books. And this one in particular preserves the physical collections belonging to great dancers, photographe

Last week I told you I traveled all the way from NYC to Austin, Texas for some research on this book. My plan was to head to the University of Texas-Austin to visit the Harry Ransom Center–a research library housing lots of archival materials. But I ended up on an unexpected side-quest! Meet Renata Powers! With Renata in her home in Austin, TX, in front of her Broadway wall. It's full of photos of her and stars she worked with. Renata is a Fosse dancer who was in 3 of his s

In my last update I explained how I interviewed 60 Fosse dancers in 6 months for my Fosse & Verdon book! The more interviews I did, the easier it became to reach out to potential interviewees. Gradually, I had to send fewer “cold” emails and started receiving more introductions! I didn’t have to “explain myself” as often. Instead, interviewees began recommending their Fosse dancer colleagues to me and even reaching out to them on my behalf. The project was beginning to snowba

Between January and June of 2026, I completed 60 interviews for my book about Bob Fosse and Gwen Verdon! That averages out to 10 interviews per month, but wow…it felt like more than that! Before I could interview anyone, though, I first had to get in contact with them—and that was a project in and of itself. I tracked Fosse dancers down on Instagram and Facebook and sent “cold” emails introducing myself and my project. Sometimes my messages went unread for weeks. Other time

Well, now you know that I’ve decided to self-publish my book on Bob Fosse and Gwen Verdon so that I can release it in time for Fosse’s 100th birthday in June 2027. There was a lot of research that went into making that decision, but once I made it, I had to jump in with both feet! I hired a self-publishing coach—someone who has helped hundreds of other writers stay on track, meet their deadlines, and get their books out into the world. My coach’s name is Ali, and I meet with

In my last post, I explained why it’s so important that I write and publish this book on Bob Fosse and Gwen Verdon in just 18 months—because I want the release of the book to coincide with Bob Fosse’s 100th birthday in June 2027. So my first task was research…not researching Bob and Gwen, but researching how to get a book published! Here’s what I learned: Although there are many ways to get a book published, one typical route involves finding a literary agent—a process that c

I’ve been sharing with you some preliminary details about this book I’m publishing about Bob Fosse and Gwen Verdon. Do you remember when I told you I’m doing it all—researching, writing, editing, publishing—in just 18 months?! I know it sounds crazy, but here’s why… The idea occurred to me last summer when I realized: Bob Fosse’s 100th birthday is coming up in June 2027! What a perfect way to celebrate this milestone anniversary—by publishing a book filled with beautiful stor

I’M WRITING MY FIRST BOOK! I started working on it January 1, 2026, and I’m publishing it in June 2027. Now, you might be thinking, “Only 18 months to write and publish your first book? You must be crazy!” And it’s true. I am. 😉 But there’s a good reason for the ambitious timeline, and I promise I’ll explain how this project came to be… BOB FOSSE & GWEN VERDON The idea came about last summer when I was interviewing original cast members of the 1975 production of Bob Fosse’s

I had the honor of being invited to interview Baayork Lee and one of her protégés, Eddie Gutierrez, for a feature article in the SDC Journal, the publication of the Stage Directors and Choreographers Society. In the article, I ask Baayork and Eddie to dissect the art of re-staging—specifically as it pertains to our beloved A Chorus Line. I promise, even if you think you already know everything there is to know about A Chorus Line, you’ll still learn something new. Even I did!

Photo by Berry Berenson. Title in Bob Fosse's handwriting. Collage by Lauryn Johnson. Liza wrote: “At moments like this you keep your focus on the show and shut everything else out. Unfortunately, we had one headache that threatened to unravel the whole shebang. Halston had designed stunning costumes, and one stood out. I'd be singing the Joe Tex pop song 'I Gotcha,' and while you might love the performance, you couldn't take your eyes off my bright red, sequined, oh-so-very-

Liza in her "Mein Herr" costume designed by Halston for the Liza with a 'Z' filming. Liza wrote: “Our work on Cabaret would have exhausted the most energetic cast and crew. For God's sake, we all deserved a rest. For me, though, the hard work suddenly got harder. In the weeks before the Academy Awards, Fosse, Kander and Ebb, and others were busy planning a television special for me that, if it succeeded, would once again break new ground. At the time, TV variety shows blendin

International Posters for the original release of Cabaret American, Italian, French, Czechoslovakian, Japanese, German, Polish,

Liza arrives at the 1973 Academy Awards March 27, 1973 “At that point in time, the Oscars ceremony was still a hometown celebration, as well as a global broadcast. I was facing an audience packed with people whom I'd grown up with, a community I knew. It was an echo of the feelings I had eight years before at the Cocoanut Grove. But the stakes were much bigger now. Before the night began, the unspoken buzz in the room was: Is this little girl gonna make good tonight? Will she