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Michael Bennett

Michael Bennett
Usage Conditions Apply
Artist
Jack Mitchell, 13 Sep 1925 - 7 Nov 2013
Sitter
Michael Bennett, 8 Apr 1943 - 2 Jul 1987
Date
1966
Type
Photograph
Medium
Gelatin silver print
Dimensions
Image: 34.1 × 26.9 cm (13 7/16 × 10 9/16")
Sheet: 35.4 × 27.9 cm (13 15/16 × 11")
Topic
Costume\Jewelry\Ring
Personal Attribute\Facial Hair\Mustache
Home Furnishings\Furniture\Seating\Stool
Michael Bennett: Male
Michael Bennett: Performing Arts\Performing arts director
Michael Bennett: Performing Arts\Choreographer
Michael Bennett: Pulitzer Prize
Portrait
Credit Line
National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution
Restrictions & Rights
Usage conditions apply
Copyright
© 1966 Jack Mitchell
Object number
NPG.2017.29
Exhibition Label
Born Buffalo, New York
Michael Bennett’s star shone brightly in a brilliant but all-too-brief career. Regarded as one of Broadway’s most innovative directors and choreographers, Bennett excelled at making dance an integral part of each production’s plotline. In the early 1960s, he danced in the choruses of several Broadway musicals before turning to choreography in 1966. After a string of nominations for his work in productions such as Promises, Promises (1968), Coco (1969), and Company (1970), Bennett won his first Tony Awards in 1972 for choreography and best direction of a musical for Follies (1971). Drawing on his own experience and that of performers he had worked with, he began developing a show about dancers auditioning for coveted slots in the chorus of a new musical. The result was the runaway hit A Chorus Line (1975). Bennett scored another success with the musical Dreamgirls (1981) before succumbing to an AIDS-related illness at the age of forty-four.
Nacido en Buffalo, Nueva York
Michael Bennett brilló intensamente en una carrera extraordinaria, aunque demasiado corta. Considerado uno de los directores y coreógrafos más innovadores de Broadway, Bennett se destacó por lograr que los bailes fueran parte integral de la trama en cada producción. A principios de los años sesenta bailó en musicales de Broadway, pero desde 1966 se dedicó a la coreografía. Luego de nomina ciones por obras como Promises, Promises (1968), Coco (1969) y Company (1970), obtuvo sus primeros premios Tony en 1972 por mejor coreografía y direc ción de un musical con Follies (1971). Bennett utilizó experiencias suyas y de artistas con quienes había trabajado para desarrollar una obra sobre unos bailarines que competían por codiciados puestos en el cuerpo de baile de un nuevo musical. El resultado fue el resonante éxito A Chorus Line (1975). Bennett volvió a triunfar con Dreamgirls (1981) antes de sucumbir a una enfermedad relacio nada con el SIDA a los 44 años.
Data Source
National Portrait Gallery
Location
Currently not on view