Kelly's decision to drop Agnes de Mille's stage choreography for new staging of his own designed for the wide-screen Cinemascope format proved particularly controversial.
The degree to which Cunningham's stage choreography — his legacy — should, or can be, preserved has long been intensely debated, not least by the choreographer himself.
(The stage choreography, the shoulder-rolling walk and the speaking voice are just right). Unfortunately, "Heartbreak Hotel" isn't about Elvis alone.
"This is a truly staggering piece of musical theatre, which breaks new boundaries in its staging, choreography and concept on an epic scale...a daring and provocative work sharply directed by Jay Schieb," says one of many rave reviews.
Mr. DeChiazza's stage choreography during one section — a stoic circular march involving cooking timers and wind-up toys — added a further note of whimsy to a consistently beguiling evening.
Nadezhda Petrova attended Lady Gaga's show with her 13-year old daughter and complained in her suit, according to the Hollywood Reporter, that the stage choreography included simulated sex acts between women, and advocacy of drinking alcohol.
Although it has its moments, Brigadoon failed to re-create the magic of the original, with Kelly's decision to drop Agnes de Mille's stage choreography proving particularly controversial.
It was Robbins who took the next step, treating his productions as what Richard Wagner called a Gesamtkunstwerk, a theatrical presentation whose every aspect -- songs, staging, choreography, décor -- was conceived from the outset as part of an organic and indissoluble totality.
(Elliott, who has won two Tonys for Best Director — in 2011, for "War Horse," and in 2015, for "The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time" — is especially adept at stage choreography).
Identically dressed in maroon suits and white shoes, they performed joyous imitations of their late father's distinctive stage choreography, and the resemblance was such that the congregation gasped at the sight.
