I Danced on Broadway

In this uplifting memoir, Lee Wilson shares stories from her four decades of dancing on Broadway, with anecdotes about theatre legends including Agnes de Mille, Richard Rodgers, Michael Bennett, Donna McKechnie, and Bernadette Peters. She details the economic, political, and social events that led from the Golden Age to the slump of the early 1970s to the rejuvenation of Broadway with the huge success of A Chorus Line. Wilson’s feminist viewpoint gives readers new insight into well-known musicals and examines why Golden Age musicals are still relevant to Broadway audiences today.
This book is for musical theatre students in high schools and colleges, performers in community and regional theatre, professionals on and off-Broadway, dance moms, lovers of musical theatre, and readers who want to peek into the rehearsal rooms, dressing rooms, and hearts of Broadway dancers.

Lee Wilson danced on Broadway in four successive decades. She performed in hit musicals, like Hello, Dolly! and A Chorus Line, and notorious flops, like Lolita, My Love and La Strada. She worked with Broadway legends, including Agnes de Mille, Alvin Ailey, Michael Bennett, Donna McKechnie, and Bernadette Peters. She lives, dances, and writes in Los Angeles.

Lee Wilson
Format: softcover (6 x 9)
Pages: 241
Bibliographic Info: 21 photos, bibliography, index
Copyright Date: 2024
pISBN: 978-1-4766-9636-2
eISBN: 978-1-4766-5423-2
Imprint: McFarland

Acknowledgments vi
Prologue 1
1. Hello, Dolly! (1967) 3
2. Here’s Where I Belong (1967–1968) 15
3. Oklahoma! at the Paper Mill Playhouse and How Now, Dow Jones (1968) 24
4. Gimbels and Love Match (1968–1969) 33
5. Oklahoma! at Lincoln Center (1969) 43
6. La Strada (1969) 50
7. Commercials, Milliken, and The Sound of Music (1969–1970) 59
8. Lolita, My Love (1971) 73
9. You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown (1971) 86
10. Veronica Lake, Cruising the Caribbean, and Chateau de Ville (1971–1972) 97
11. The Fantasticks (1972) 107
12. Playing Wife (1973) 113
13. Back on the Boards (1973–1975) 129
14. A Chorus Line: The Auditions (1975–1976) 137
15. A Chorus Line: Rehearsals and San Francisco (1976) 147
16. A Chorus Line: Los Angeles (1976–1977) 157
17. Leaving A Chorus Line (1977) 167
18. A Chorus Line: The ­Record-Breaking Show (1983) 174
19. Las Vegas and the West (1978–1986) 185
20. The Ticking Clock (1986–1988) 194
21. Meet Me in St. Louis Auditions and Annie Get Your Gun (1988–1989) 201
22. Meet Me in St. Louis (1989–1990) 209
Bibliography 225
Index 229

• “Lee Wilson should lecture on her sensational book I Danced on Broadway at every musical theatre department of every university. I was riveted by her adventures and her fierce devotion and love for the discipline of dance from the corps de ballet to the Broadway stage. I felt her insightful intelligence and hard-won wisdom navigating through the muck of sexism and ageism in the performing arts and unapologetically separating out the sweethearts from the scoundrels along the way. Her steady voice reflects the deep joy and gratitude she has for a life so very well lived.”—Melissa Manchester, Grammy Award-winning, Oscar-nominated singer/songwriter

• “This is a beautifully written book about several immense subjects: Broadway, dancing, show business, racial prejudice, being a powerful woman in a business—and a world—run by powerful men, finding your passion and living it through the good, the bad and the ugly. Lee Wilson has a marvelous way of making us feel like we’re there as she takes us through a dazzling history of being a woman and dancing on Broadway.”—David Henry Sterry, best-selling author of Chicken and Master of Ceremonies

• “I am so happy that Lee has taken us on the journey of her life in the theatre. Another petite chorine that fulfilled her dream.”—Baayork Lee, original Connie (4’10”) in A Chorus Line, Isabelle Stevenson Tony Award

• “Lee Wilson’s wonderful memoir, I Danced on Broadway, is a guidebook for navigating the long road to a successful career. Lee’s stories of hope and joy and challenges on her amazing journey as a busy musical theatre performer prove how hard work and dedication can be worthwhile. Lee has done it all with deep understanding and good advice about how to orchestrate a career, no matter your calling—a great read and inspirational journey.”—Claudia Cagan, supervising producer, Entertainment Tonight