This is the pinnacle. A friend got to call and talk to her during an Oscars campaingn 25 years ago. So jealous. I wish Gwen Verdon was still alive so I could tell her how much I love her spirit. I think I first noticed her as the aunt in MARVIN’S ROOM. Her voice and never-say-die energy are unmistakable.
Fosse clearly could outjump Verdon here, but Verdon clearly was the star of this number. This number also illustrates why Fosse was never going to be a movie star like his idol, Fred Astaire, or Gene Kelly. Kelly was athleticism, power, and sexuality, while Astaire was sophistication. Both men had charisma and made their dancing look natural and an extension of their characters' emotions. Fosse, on the other hand, was technically proficient, athletic/powerful, and clean in his dancing, but there was no feeling behind it. Verdon always raved about Fosse's dancing, but his wife, Joan McCracken, was correct when she noted (at least in the miniseries) that Fosse was attracted to Verdon because she, Verdon, could embody Fosse's choreographic vision far better than he could.
I don’t know if enough people truly understand how insanely impressive this is. To be this completely in sync with a partner, to do it right in one steady take/minimal takes with hardly any cutaways is wild.
Though I agree with the comments below about why Fosse would not become a movie star like his idol(s), he is a brilliant dancer/choreographer precisely because of these reasons. He may have admired Verdon, but what makes Fosse so appealing is his technical rigidity - there's something almost cybernetic about it, and definitely artificial (i.e., not 'fake', but 'constructed'). And his choreography played on that - movement as artifice and architecture, the body as articulated doll, as sex-cyborg [the dancers in 'The Rich Man's Frug' are the objects of a near pornographic fascination precisely because they are so 'mechanized']. No one could play with the isolation of elements and not flip into camp as Fosse did. It was our great fortune to have him working at the same time as the contrasting Jerome Robbins, whose tough, muscly, air bound ballet made young men look like angels, and women like bolts of fire and silk blowing on the wind.
The "painful" ERP(!!!) to which the song is referring, is Cuban Bandleader Dámaso Pérez Prado's habitual "shout" (usually on the count of 3 or 4) that he employed as a cue to his Mambo Band. He was enormously popular in the 1940s, '50s and early '60s and anyone familiar with the style and/or genre of Mambo (which Prado pretty much invented) would've been accustomed to hearing what sounded like "ERP!" coming from Prado in live performances and particularly from his many recordings. Prado was actually shouting "Dilo" ("Say it") in Spanish, but it always sounded like a single-syllable squawk which this song from "Damn Yankees" is lampooning.
What? That's so weird, but maybe since I had already heard that it was 'Dilo' in an interview, I never imagined that someone would hear it as 'erp'. Thanks for the info! Nitpicking: Since Prado is his maternal name, the custom would be to say 'Pérez Prado' to refer to him.
This was my favorite moment in the movie. Fosse and Verdon were in perfect lockstep with one another as they cavorted across the stage, bringing the mambo beat to full life. (And no wonder-she was his wife-to-be. They married in 1960 but separated in 1971, but never divorced.) Thanks for posting this classic!
I was always a fan of Gwen Verdon and it's good she's being rediscovered again and shown to be equal to or better than Fosse. She was his muse and more secure in her talent than he ever was.
Messylin she clearly had a hand in his choreography since Damn Yankees. the whole point of Fosse/Verdon was to show the tumultuous relationship of two equals who both needed to shine. even the opening scene where they’re working through the Big Spender number, he said her way was better. Fosse was great but Gwen was “greater” because she could add the flair and character work that took him from being the husband of an actress to being an Oscar winner
Im here because this group at thespians districts did this song and they got critics choice and they were amazing and it was literally so funny and i cant figure out why i found it so funny
I know this was posted 12 years ago but I felt the need to post something after SCD and Angela's beautiful tribute to this dance. Fosse was amazing but I feel Gwen was just as amazing. Especially in this routine. I would hate to see Gwen's work go unrecognised for how amazing it is. Please, people from strictly research her work (and Fosse's too)
I agree. I saw this play recently and this number really slowed down the pace of the show and didn't contribute to the plot of the play. It's really a disappointment. If I were directing this play, I would cut this scene completely because it makes no sense. Either that or it would be done while some other activity that makes sense could be observed in another part of the stage. There is already enough established excitement over Joe's new-found fame. Also, the colors do not follow the theme of the rest of the play. It's an all out awkward scene.
Jim O'Hare, I can answer that question. The man who directed and produced the original Broadway production of this show (George Abbott) liked to drop in flashy musical numbers when the plot of the show was slow. The "Steam Heat" number from THE PAJAMA GAME is a good example of this. It has nothing to do with the story. This number from DAMN YANKEES is there for the same reason. It has nothing to do with the story.
The producers wanted something peppier to end Act 1 so the audience would be excited to get back after intermission. They felt the original number dragged too much. Fosse knew the number made no sense plot-wise, but the audience loved Verdon and the energy.
That's what I thought at first, too. When I first saw this movie, I thought this was a song about burping to relieve gas pains, and I thought they were singing, "...when they do the mumble," referring to the sound of gas in your stomach. But "Erp" was actually the shout that Cuban Bandleader Dámaso Pérez Prado made as a cue to his Mambo Band.
No question there is a lot of high-level artistry here, but I have always found Bob Fosse's choreography to be vaguely ridiculous. If the story of the number as presented in "Fosse/Verdon" is to be believed, this number was inserted into the show after audiences reacted badly to a previous number that was removed. Regrettably, "Fosse/Verdon" has proven to be maddeningly unclear as an overall story, choosing instead to focus on various vignettes rather than a cohesive arc. It would have been nice to have been able to get an idea of the original number in order to understand why this one was an improvement. Still, this is a very entertaining song--for me, more so for the song itself than the dancing.
You have to admit, though, it's a damned catchy beat. It's probably the earworm aspect that has you bothered. I don't even like musicals and I can't get the tune out of my mind!
@@annelieshausslercyberscrib1548 yup, total earworm. My wife and I are contractors, and it so got to me that I kept singing it throughout the day (at a job site) to crack her up! 😂🤣👍🏻 “ERrrrp!”
This is the pinnacle. A friend got to call and talk to her during an Oscars campaingn 25 years ago. So jealous. I wish Gwen Verdon was still alive so I could tell her how much I love her spirit. I think I first noticed her as the aunt in MARVIN’S ROOM. Her voice and never-say-die energy are unmistakable.
This is genius at work. It doesn't matter whether it fits in the show or not. It's just indescribably good.
It really doesn't fit at all, but it is great.
I always come back to this. It's my favorite.
Fosse clearly could outjump Verdon here, but Verdon clearly was the star of this number. This number also illustrates why Fosse was never going to be a movie star like his idol, Fred Astaire, or Gene Kelly. Kelly was athleticism, power, and sexuality, while Astaire was sophistication. Both men had charisma and made their dancing look natural and an extension of their characters' emotions. Fosse, on the other hand, was technically proficient, athletic/powerful, and clean in his dancing, but there was no feeling behind it. Verdon always raved about Fosse's dancing, but his wife, Joan McCracken, was correct when she noted (at least in the miniseries) that Fosse was attracted to Verdon because she, Verdon, could embody Fosse's choreographic vision far better than he could.
Second* wife, but yes, spot on.
Interesting. Yeah, I guess he wasn't as charismatic as those other two or Tommy Tune. Or at least it doesn't come through on celluloid.
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I don’t know if enough people truly understand how insanely impressive this is. To be this completely in sync with a partner, to do it right in one steady take/minimal takes with hardly any cutaways is wild.
This is probably my favorite Fosse number, not just because they're both in it, but because it's so characteristic, and she's so great!
Though I agree with the comments below about why Fosse would not become a movie star like his idol(s), he is a brilliant dancer/choreographer precisely because of these reasons. He may have admired Verdon, but what makes Fosse so appealing is his technical rigidity - there's something almost cybernetic about it, and definitely artificial (i.e., not 'fake', but 'constructed'). And his choreography played on that - movement as artifice and architecture, the body as articulated doll, as sex-cyborg [the dancers in 'The Rich Man's Frug' are the objects of a near pornographic fascination precisely because they are so 'mechanized']. No one could play with the isolation of elements and not flip into camp as Fosse did. It was our great fortune to have him working at the same time as the contrasting Jerome Robbins, whose tough, muscly, air bound ballet made young men look like angels, and women like bolts of fire and silk blowing on the wind.
Eloquently put!
Absolutely! Fosse's stylize choreography was always unique, and we're lucky he realized where he truly could vent his genius.
Brilliant descriptions/sentiments. I thought that this was actually a Bob Fosse musical because I thought the choreography looked quite similar
The "painful" ERP(!!!) to which the song is referring, is Cuban Bandleader Dámaso Pérez Prado's habitual "shout" (usually on the count of 3 or 4) that he employed as a cue to his Mambo Band. He was enormously popular in the 1940s, '50s and early '60s and anyone familiar with the style and/or genre of Mambo (which Prado pretty much invented) would've been accustomed to hearing what sounded like "ERP!" coming from Prado in live performances and particularly from his many recordings. Prado was actually shouting "Dilo" ("Say it") in Spanish, but it always sounded like a single-syllable squawk which this song from "Damn Yankees" is lampooning.
Thank you for posting this in a reply and as a main comment!
Thank you SO MUCH for this information. I was intensely curious about the "pain" and the shout, and now it makes perfect sense.
What? That's so weird, but maybe since I had already heard that it was 'Dilo' in an interview, I never imagined that someone would hear it as 'erp'. Thanks for the info! Nitpicking: Since Prado is his maternal name, the custom would be to say 'Pérez Prado' to refer to him.
I love how there are SO few cutaways. Really impressive and simply not how they do things in general nowadays.
Remember watch this in college for my production of damn Yankees! We almost deciding to cut this out but went with it and it was a hit!
This was my favorite moment in the movie. Fosse and Verdon were in perfect lockstep with one another as they cavorted across the stage, bringing the mambo beat to full life. (And no wonder-she was his wife-to-be. They married in 1960 but separated in 1971, but never divorced.) Thanks for posting this classic!
As a kid, when I'd watch this every year on TV, my favorite part was at 3:04 when Bob Fosse "ERP"s. It sounded real to me!
He sort of grunts his way through. She says "erp" and he says "unt".
I was always a fan of Gwen Verdon and it's good she's being rediscovered again and shown to be equal to or better than Fosse. She was his muse and more secure in her talent than he ever was.
He devised all these dances dear. It’s disingenuous to say she was his superior.
Messylin she clearly had a hand in his choreography since Damn Yankees. the whole point of Fosse/Verdon was to show the tumultuous relationship of two equals who both needed to shine. even the opening scene where they’re working through the Big Spender number, he said her way was better. Fosse was great but Gwen was “greater” because she could add the flair and character work that took him from being the husband of an actress to being an Oscar winner
Im here because this group at thespians districts did this song and they got critics choice and they were amazing and it was literally so funny and i cant figure out why i found it so funny
This song is so damn catchy!
Written by the short-lived but marvelous team of Richard Adler and Jerry Ross.
0:42-0:50 is my favorite part. The feet movement is very satisfying for some reason
Boy could Fosse get some air under him! Wow!
Insane talent
I know this was posted 12 years ago but I felt the need to post something after SCD and Angela's beautiful tribute to this dance. Fosse was amazing but I feel Gwen was just as amazing. Especially in this routine. I would hate to see Gwen's work go unrecognised for how amazing it is. Please, people from strictly research her work (and Fosse's too)
Tab: "That's terrific, Fosse!"
He says Bobby, which is still sort of meta.
@@rosemorris7912 I think you're right.
Sorry, it sounds like he says Fosse, not Bobby.
Fosse/Verdon brought me here
My only criticism is that Michelle Williams didn't wiggle her butt enough in this dance number!
@@MrDanamp True, but she did pretty darned well, nonetheless. She surprised me.
Same
I don't know but it's a like from me
2:18 and 2:26 and 3:20 I like it when they do this.
8 people have the pain
awww this is where kelly rowland got the idea for her new music video. "dumb" with Trevor Jackson
Thank you for posting this comment. I had never seen that video. I watched it after seeing your comment and it’s great!
.........AWSOME..........COOL!!!!!!!!!!!!
I don't get the "ERP" stuff. Do people normally make a funny noise when they do the Mambo?
It's a reference to a peculiar sound which Cuban bandleader Pérez Prado habitually made when cueing his Mambo Band. (See above.)
I will never understand what this number is attempting to do in "Damn Yankees". Fun, but....huh?
It's a reference to a peculiar sound which Cuban bandleader Pérez Prado habitually made when cueing his Mambo Band. (See above.)
I agree. I saw this play recently and this number really slowed down the pace of the show and didn't contribute to the plot of the play. It's really a disappointment. If I were directing this play, I would cut this scene completely because it makes no sense. Either that or it would be done while some other activity that makes sense could be observed in another part of the stage. There is already enough established excitement over Joe's new-found fame. Also, the colors do not follow the theme of the rest of the play. It's an all out awkward scene.
* It was about Lola trying to entice Joe. It was a fun dance scene. ☺
Jim O'Hare, I can answer that question. The man who directed and produced the original Broadway production of this show (George Abbott) liked to drop in flashy musical numbers when the plot of the show was slow. The "Steam Heat" number from THE PAJAMA GAME is a good example of this. It has nothing to do with the story. This number from DAMN YANKEES is there for the same reason. It has nothing to do with the story.
The producers wanted something peppier to end Act 1 so the audience would be excited to get back after intermission. They felt the original number dragged too much. Fosse knew the number made no sense plot-wise, but the audience loved Verdon and the energy.
The biography "Fosse" brought me here.
2:05
...So, are they saying you should dance whenever you have gas?
That's what I thought at first, too. When I first saw this movie, I thought this was a song about burping to relieve gas pains, and I thought they were singing, "...when they do the mumble," referring to the sound of gas in your stomach. But "Erp" was actually the shout that Cuban Bandleader Dámaso Pérez Prado made as a cue to his Mambo Band.
No question there is a lot of high-level artistry here, but I have always found Bob Fosse's choreography to be vaguely ridiculous.
If the story of the number as presented in "Fosse/Verdon" is to be believed, this number was inserted into the show after audiences reacted badly to a previous number that was removed. Regrettably, "Fosse/Verdon" has proven to be maddeningly unclear as an overall story, choosing instead to focus on various vignettes rather than a cohesive arc. It would have been nice to have been able to get an idea of the original number in order to understand why this one was an improvement. Still, this is a very entertaining song--for me, more so for the song itself than the dancing.
Thumbs up because it convinced me to not watch this movie. Terrible song. Terrific choreography. Not interested.
Opinions are like assholes. Everyone has one...
You have to admit, though, it's a damned catchy beat. It's probably the earworm aspect that has you bothered. I don't even like musicals and I can't get the tune out of my mind!
@@annelieshausslercyberscrib1548 yup, total earworm. My wife and I are contractors, and it so got to me that I kept singing it throughout the day (at a job site) to crack her up! 😂🤣👍🏻
“ERrrrp!”
You have poor taste.
@@fxjrulpzxi But I taste Good! 😁