Peter Gennaro
Encyclopedia
Peter Gennaro was an American dancer and choreographer.
. He made his Broadway
debut in the ensemble of Make Mine Manhattan in 1948. He followed this with Kiss Me, Kate
(1948) and Guys and Dolls (1950). He first drew notice from theatergoers as a member of the trio that danced the Bob Fosse
number "Steam Heat" in The Pajama Game
(1954), and continued to hold their attention with the "Mu Cha Cha" number with Judy Holliday
in Bells Are Ringing
(1956). A year later, he broke out of the chorus line and into choreography when he collaborated with Jerome Robbins
on West Side Story, notably choreographing (without credit) a majority of the "America" and "Mambo" dance sequences.
In addition to his theater chores, Gennaro worked steadily in television, appearing in and/or choreographing such shows as Your Hit Parade
, The Polly Bergen Show
, Judy Garland
's CBS
variety program, and the Kraft Music Hall
. With his dance troupe he was a guest on Ed Sullivan
's long-running CBS Sunday night variety show dozens of times, and he was a member of the regular repertory
company on the short-lived CBS variety show
The Entertainers
(1964–1965), one of the stars having been John Davidson
. He also served for many years as choreographer for Radio City Music Hall
, staging routines for the Rockettes.
He was inducted, posthumously, into the American Theatre Hall of Fame
in 2002.
and has served as executive director of both the Steppenwolf Theatre Company
and the Paper Mill Playhouse
. The family lived for a time in Paramus, New Jersey
. Gennaro died in New York City
at the age of 80.
Nominations
Biography
Gennaro was born in Metairie, LouisianaMetairie, Louisiana
Metairie is a census-designated place in Jefferson Parish, Louisiana, United States and is a major part of the New Orleans Metropolitan Area. Metairie is the largest community in Jefferson Parish. It is an unincorporated area that would be larger than most of the state's cities if it were...
. He made his Broadway
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
debut in the ensemble of Make Mine Manhattan in 1948. He followed this with Kiss Me, Kate
Kiss Me, Kate
Kiss Me, Kate is a musical with music and lyrics by Cole Porter. It is structured as a play within a play, where the interior play is a musical version of William Shakespeare's The Taming of the Shrew. The original production starred Alfred Drake, Patricia Morison, Lisa Kirk and Harold Lang.Kiss...
(1948) and Guys and Dolls (1950). He first drew notice from theatergoers as a member of the trio that danced the Bob Fosse
Bob Fosse
Robert Louis “Bob” Fosse was an American actor, dancer, musical theater choreographer, director, screenwriter, film editor and film director. He won an unprecedented eight Tony Awards for choreography, as well as one for direction...
number "Steam Heat" in The Pajama Game
The Pajama Game
The Pajama Game is a musical based on the novel 7½ Cents by Richard Bissell. It features a score by Richard Adler and Jerry Ross. The story deals with labor troubles in a pajama factory, where worker demands for a seven-and-a-half cents raise are going unheeded...
(1954), and continued to hold their attention with the "Mu Cha Cha" number with Judy Holliday
Judy Holliday
Judy Holliday was an American actress.Holliday began her career as part of a night-club act, before working in Broadway plays and musicals...
in Bells Are Ringing
Bells Are Ringing (musical)
Bells Are Ringing is a musical with a book and lyrics by Betty Comden and Adolph Green and music by Jule Styne. The story revolves around Ella, who works at an answering service and the characters that she meets there. The main character was based on Mary Printz, who worked for Green's answering...
(1956). A year later, he broke out of the chorus line and into choreography when he collaborated with Jerome Robbins
Jerome Robbins
Jerome Robbins was an American theater producer, director, and choreographer known primarily for Broadway Theater and Ballet/Dance, but who also occasionally directed films and directed/produced for television. His work has included everything from classical ballet to contemporary musical theater...
on West Side Story, notably choreographing (without credit) a majority of the "America" and "Mambo" dance sequences.
In addition to his theater chores, Gennaro worked steadily in television, appearing in and/or choreographing such shows as Your Hit Parade
Your Hit Parade
Your Hit Parade, is an American radio and television music program that was broadcast from 1935 to 1955 on radio, and seen from 1950 to 1959 on television. It was sponsored by American Tobacco's Lucky Strike cigarettes. During this 24-year run, the show had 19 orchestra leaders and 52 singers or...
, The Polly Bergen Show
The Polly Bergen Show
The Polly Bergen Show is a half-hour 18-episode comedy/variety show, starring then 27-year-old Polly Bergen, which aired on NBC in the 1957-1958 television season. The program is remembered for its impressive guest-star lineup as well as its closing theme song, "The Party's Over" .The Polly Bergen...
, Judy Garland
Judy Garland
Judy Garland was an American actress and singer. Through a career that spanned 45 of her 47 years and for her renowned contralto voice, she attained international stardom as an actress in musical and dramatic roles, as a recording artist and on the concert stage...
's CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
variety program, and the Kraft Music Hall
Kraft Music Hall
The Kraft Music Hall was a popular variety program, featuring top show business entertainers, which aired on NBC radio and television from 1933 to 1971....
. With his dance troupe he was a guest on Ed Sullivan
Ed Sullivan
Edward Vincent "Ed" Sullivan was an American entertainment writer and television host, best known as the presenter of the TV variety show The Ed Sullivan Show. The show was broadcast from 1948 to 1971 , which made it one of the longest-running variety shows in U.S...
's long-running CBS Sunday night variety show dozens of times, and he was a member of the regular repertory
Repertory
Repertory or rep, also called stock in the United States, is a term used in Western theatre and opera.A repertory theatre can be a theatre in which a resident company presents works from a specified repertoire, usually in alternation or rotation...
company on the short-lived CBS variety show
Variety show
A variety show, also known as variety arts or variety entertainment, is an entertainment made up of a variety of acts, especially musical performances and sketch comedy, and normally introduced by a compère or host. Other types of acts include magic, animal and circus acts, acrobatics, juggling...
The Entertainers
The Entertainers
The Entertainers was a one-hour American variety show that aired on CBS from September 25, 1964 through March 27, 1965 on the 1964–1965 United States network television schedule. The series, produced by Joe Hamilton, featured three stars, Hamilton's wife Carol Burnett, Caterina Valente, and Bob...
(1964–1965), one of the stars having been John Davidson
John Davidson
John Davidson may refer to:* John Andrew Davidson , Canadian politician* John Davidson , American actor* John Davidson , Australian admiral...
. He also served for many years as choreographer for Radio City Music Hall
Radio City Music Hall
Radio City Music Hall is an entertainment venue located in New York City's Rockefeller Center. Its nickname is the Showplace of the Nation, and it was for a time the leading tourist destination in the city...
, staging routines for the Rockettes.
He was inducted, posthumously, into the American Theatre Hall of Fame
American Theatre Hall of Fame
The American Theatre Hall of Fame in New York City was founded in 1972. Earl Blackwell was the first head of the Executive Committee. In an announcement at a luncheon meeting on March 1972, he said that the new Theater Hall of Fame would be located in the Uris Theatre . James M...
in 2002.
Personal life
His daughter Liza Gennaro is also a dancer and choreographer, and his son Michael is the Executive Director for Trinity Repertory CompanyTrinity Repertory Company
Trinity Repertory Company is a non-profit regional theater located in Providence, Rhode Island. The theater is a member of the League of Resident Theatres. Founded in 1963, the theater is "one of the most respected regional theatres in the country"...
and has served as executive director of both the Steppenwolf Theatre Company
Steppenwolf Theatre Company
Steppenwolf Theatre Company is a Tony Award-winning Chicago theatre company founded in 1974 by Gary Sinise, Terry Kinney and Jeff Perry in the basement of a church in Highland Park, Illinois. It has since relocated to Chicago's Halsted Street, in the Lincoln Park neighborhood. Its name comes from...
and the Paper Mill Playhouse
Paper Mill Playhouse
Paper Mill Playhouse is a regional theatre with approximately 1200 seats, located in Millburn, New Jersey, less than 25 miles from Manhattan. Due to its location, it can draw from the pool of actors who live in New York City. Its location, as well as its focus on producing large-scale shows, makes...
. The family lived for a time in Paramus, New Jersey
Paramus, New Jersey
Paramus is a borough in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough population was 26,342. A suburb of New York City, Paramus is located between 15–20 miles northwest of Midtown Manhattan and approximately west of Upper Manhattan.Paramus is one of...
. Gennaro died in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
at the age of 80.
Stage productions
- 1997 AnnieAnnie (musical)Annie is a Broadway musical based upon the popular Harold Gray comic strip Little Orphan Annie, with music by Charles Strouse, lyrics by Martin Charnin, and the book by Thomas Meehan. The original Broadway production opened in 1977 and ran for nearly six years with a blonde Annie as the poster...
(revival) (Choreography) - 1989 Threepenny Opera (Musical Staging)
- 1983 Singin' In the RainSingin' in the Rain (musical)Singin' in the Rain is a musical with a book by Betty Comden and Adolph Green, lyrics by Arthur Freed, and music by Nacio Herb Brown.Adapted from the 1952 movie of the same name, the plot closely adheres to the original...
(LondonLondonLondon is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
) (Choreography) - 1982 Little MeLittle MeLittle Me was the parody "confessional" self-indulgent autobiography of "Belle Poitrine" , subtitled The Intimate Memoirs of the Great Star of Stage, Screen and Television, by Patrick Dennis, who had achieved a great success with Auntie Mame...
(revival) (Choreography) - 1980 West Side Story (revival) (Co-Choreography); One Night StandOne Night Stand (musical)One Night Stand is a musical with a book and lyrics by Herb Gardner and music by Jule Styne. Its plot centers on a songwriter who feels he's past his prime....
(Choreography) - 1979 CarmelinaCarmelinaCarmelina is a musical with a book by Joseph Stein and Alan Jay Lerner, lyrics by Lerner, and music by Burton Lane.Based on the 1968 film Buona Sera, Mrs. Campbell , it focuses on an Italian woman who has raised her teenaged daughter Gia to believe her father was an American who died heroically in...
(Choreography) - 1978 Bar Mitzvah BoyBar Mitzvah BoyBar Mitzvah Boy is a British television play, written by Jack Rosenthal and originally transmitted in the Play for Today anthology series on BBC1...
(London) (Choreography) - 1977 Annie (Choreography)
- 1973 IreneIrene (musical)Irene is a musical with a book by James Montgomery, lyrics by Joseph McCarthy, and music by Harry Tierney.Based on Montgomery's play Irene O'Dare, it is set in New York City's Upper West Side and focuses on immigrant shop assistant Irene O'Dare, who is introduced to Long Island's high society when...
(Choreography) - 1969 JimmyJimmyJimmy is a diminutive form of the given name James which may refer to:-Media and entertainment:* "Jimmy" , by M.I.A.* Jimmy * Jimmy * "The Jimmy", a Seinfeld episode* Jimmy, a stage musical about Jimmy Walker...
(Choreography) - 1964 BajourBajour (musical)Bajour is a musical with a book by Ernest Kinoy and music and lyrics by Walter Marks. The musical is based on the Joseph Mitchell short stories The Gypsy Women and The King of the Gypsies published in The New Yorker...
(Choreography) - 1964 West Side Story (revival) (Co-Choreographer)
- 1962 Mr. PresidentMr. President (musical)Mr. President is a musical with a book by Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse and lyrics and music by Irving Berlin.It focuses on U.S. President Stephen Decatur Henderson, who loses his bid for re-election following a disastrous trip to the Soviet Union...
(Choreography) - 1960 The Unsinkable Molly BrownThe Unsinkable Molly Brown (musical)The Unsinkable Molly Brown is a musical with music and lyrics by Meredith Willson and book by Richard Morris. The plot is a fictionalized account of the life of Margaret Brown, who survived the sinking of the RMS Titanic, and her wealthy miner-husband....
(Choreography) - 1959 Fiorello!Fiorello!Fiorello! is a musical about New York City mayor Fiorello H. LaGuardia, a reform Republican who took on Tammany Hall. The book is by Jerome Weidman and George Abbott, drawn substantially from the 1955 volume Life With Fiorello by Ernest Cuneo, with lyrics by Sheldon Harnick, and music by Jerry Bock...
(Choreography) - 1957 West Side Story (Co-Choreography)
- 1956 Bells Are Ringing (Performer)
- 1954 The Pajama Game (Performer)
- 1950 Guys and Dolls (Performer)
- 1950 Arms and the Girl (Performer)
- 1948 Kiss Me Kate (Performer)
- 1948 Make Mine Manhattan (Performer)
Awards and nominations
Awards- 1977 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Choreography – Annie
- 1977 Tony Award for Best Choreography – Annie
Nominations
- 1960 Tony Award for Best Choreography – Fiorello!
- 1965 Tony Award for Best Choreography – Bajour
- 1973 Tony Award for Best Choreography – Irene
- 1982 Tony Award for Best Choreography – Little Me
- 1999 Laurence Olivier Theatre Award for Best Theatre Choreographer – Annie