"Fosse/Verdon"

There were few new shows this Spring that I was looking forward to as much as this mini-series based on a book about the powerhouse dance couple of Bob Fosse and Gwen Verdon.  Played by Academy Award winners Sam Rockwell and Michelle Williams the legendary couple are seen through the lens of time running out, the first episode notating in days, even minutes, as to when Bob Fosse died (right here in Washington, DC, on his way to a revival of "Sweet Charity" at the National Theatre).  Rockwell and Williams do well.  Both move like dancers and they encompass both the passion and destructive nature of this relationship.  Rockwell is particularly chameleon-like, slithering about the rehearsal spaces on the edge of dancing, with Fosse's perpetual cigarette hanging from his lips.  Williams manages to have the charm and lilt of Verdon, although the trademark vocal quiver is absent.  The series is engaging, even if you know the history.  These two made each other better, even when they tore each other apart.  It is nice, after all these years, to see the contributions Gwen Verdon made to Fosse's success, most of which were uncredited.  The show doesn't shy away from Fosse's legendary and compulsive sexual appetite but it does try to put it in context with his tortured childhood.  Similarly, Verdon's past is revealed with surprises which have never fully come to light.  They weren't a perfect couple, but together they created greatness.  A worthy follow-up to some of the high-end mini-series we have seen in the past few years.