By Emma Blackwood

The Amazon Prime series Fosse/Verdon hit its release in mid-2019, and since then it’s received dozens of reviews, both positive and negative. The miniseries covers the life and legacy of choreographer and director Bob Fosse and how his career was shaped by his relationship with and marriage to Broadway star Gwen Verdon. I hadn’t read any reviews before watching the show, but it was still impossible to not become immediately enticed by several different aspects of the series.

The first thing I noticed about Fosse/Verdon was how familiar the entire concept seemed. The whole show feels like you’re on set with the characters and has an intimate perspective on the performance process, both live and recorded. So it’s not surprising that the first two episodes were directed by the writer of the musical Dear Evan Hansen, Steven Levenson, and the director of Hamilton, Thomas Kail. Their experience is evident in the way productions are represented within the series and creates an authentic take on the dramatic lives of two of the most famous performers in Broadway history. 

It’s also incredibly easy to get pulled in by the visuals alone. Slow pans over stunning costumes and quick cuts between actors in dance sequences make it difficult to look away. The first three episodes covering the production of the movies Sweet Charity and Cabaret are particularly gorgeous, with Golden Globe winner Michelle Williams as Verdon perfectly guiding the choreographing and directing process behind the scenes with Fosse, portrayed by Golden Globe and Academy Award winner Sam Rockwell. 

One critique from both Vanity Fair’s Richard Lawson and The New York Times’s James Poniewozik is that the show has trouble finding a rhythm; balancing the electric energy of the stage scenes with the slow burn, emotionally exhausting home life moments can be difficult, if not impossible. Variety writer Daniel D’Addario says, “They gave practically everything of themselves to their art — and as a result, have precious little remaining to give any viewer genuinely curious about their inner lives.” These slower scenes are more frequent because the real focal point of the show is the complicated relationship between the protagonists. While it’s clearly not a healthy marriage, Verdon and Fosse’s relationship is still portrayed with intrigue and comes across as a fascinating and sometimes bizarre power struggle. Neither is dominant overall; when one of them experiences a breakthrough in their career, the other is inevitably struggling. This dynamic is, of course, strained by Fosse’s habitual inability to remain loyal to his wife and his intense alcoholism and drug abuse. 

Even though Fosse’s unhealthy patterns are obvious from the beginning, the lack of good communication in their relationship doesn’t read as repetitive and instead exposes the cracks in Fosse’s morality. Williams’s interpretation of Verdon fills in those cracks, holding Fosse accountable for his actions while covering his bases in the workplace.

Representing one of the most famous Broadway stars of all time isn’t a simple task, but Williams manages to create the strong presence of a woman who repeatedly works for what she wants in an era where no one was working in her favor, and she is candid about the guilt she feels over it. Long conversational scenes with Verdon’s friends reveal that one of her closest acquaintances had given up her successful career as a dancer so her husband could feel like the breadwinner. This is where it becomes evident that Verdon is stronger than Fosse; while they may have equally outstanding legacies, in the show she has to fight the entire time to maintain where she is. Poniewozik says, “the relationship isn’t a war so much as an intricate dance. Verdon isn’t portrayed as a doormat but as an artist making trade-offs to serve her vision. Williams transforms remarkably, with a performance always conscious of the effort and microadjustments it takes Verdon not to lose herself in partnership and parenting.”

Fosse/Verdon has its shortcomings. The focus of the series, and even the name of it, centers on Fosse and seems to only credit Verdon as an afterthought to the Broadway legacy, the subtly of dialogue varies greatly between episodes, and the scope is even a little narrow. Outside of Broadway fans, it’s difficult to get someone to start watching. However, it has a way of sticking with the people who do. It is well-paced, stunning, and snappy. Every character is instrumental to the plot, and in a culture of consumption that either praises or exiles characters, Fosse/Verdon is a biopic that has the nerve to critique its stars. It emphasizes the climaxes that come with showbiz and, for the most part, savors the lows that follow. Dramas about drama are difficult, but Fosse/Verdon pulls it off with style and purpose.

Featured image credit: 20th Century Fox.