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 the predominately female audience that purchases tickets to Broadway shows.
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:
Bibliographic Info: ca. 20 photos, bibliography, index
Copyright Date: 2024
pISBN: 978-1-4766-9636-2
eISBN: 978-1-4766-5423-2
Imprint: McFarland

Acknowledgments vi
Foreword: Is This Heaven? by Clare Milliner 1
Preface 5
Introduction 9
Part I. My Story 13
1. The Early Years 14
2. The Artist’s Choice 26
3. College, Career and Crash 30
4. Life Interruptus: My Hero’s Journey 43
Part II. Talking ­Old-Time Community 65
Instrument Builders 69
5. Bart Reiter 70
6. Patrick “Doc” Huff 77
7. Pete Ross 84
8. Zachary Hoyt 90
9. Bill Rickard 98
10. William Seeders Mosheim 103
Performers and Teachers 109
11. Rayna Gellert 110
12. David Holt 119
13. James “Sparky” Rucker 129
14. Clare Milliner 140
15. Mac Benford 147
16. Sheila Kay Adams 154
17. Paul Brown 163
18. John McCutcheon 172
Historians and Authors 181
19. Dwight Diller 182
20. Bill Malone 188
21. Dom Flemons 198
22. Tim Brooks 209
Part III. In the Company of Music 227
23. Clifftop 228
24. Why Play ­Old-Time Music? 250
25. How Music Works Magic: A Conversation with Josh Turknett 259
Epilogue: An Invitation to Join the Fun 273
Bibliography 275
Index 277