Walter Bobbie

Walter Bobbie
Born	(1945-11-18)November 18, 1945 Scranton, Pennsylvania
Occupation(s)	Stage,film,televisionactor,dancer
Awards	Tony Award for Best Direction of a Musical,1997Chicago Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Director of a Play,1997Chicago

Walter Bobbie(born November 18, 1945) is an Americantheatre director,choreographer,and occasional actor and dancer. Bobbie has directed both musicals and plays onBroadwayandOff-Broadway,and was the Artistic Director of theNew York City Center Encores!concert series. He directed the long-running Broadway revival of the musicalChicago.His most well-known acting role was Nicely-Nicely Johnson in the 1992 Broadway revival ofGuys and Dolls.

Early life

Bobbie was born inScranton, Pennsylvania,and attended theUniversity of Scrantonand did graduate work atThe Catholic University of America.His family was Polish Roman Catholic, and his father was a coal miner.

Bobbie explains what inspired him to work in theater: "My first Broadway show wasHow to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying,maybe in 1964. I came in to New York from college in Pennsylvania for the World's Fair...I remember sitting there — I practically had to be held down in my seat — and I had never seen anything like it. That day it was clear to me that I wanted to come back to New York, and theater was what I wanted to do. It was transforming. "

Performer

As a performer, Bobbie played Roger in theBroadwayproduction ofGreasein 1972. He was featured in the 1976 Broadway revival ofGoing Upand played Lord Oakleigh in the 1987 revival ofAnything Goes.He also starred on Broadway as Nicely-Nicely Johnson in the 1992 revival ofGuys and Dolls,for which he received aDrama Desk Awardnomination for Outstanding Featured Actor in a Musical. He also was in the 1989 Off-Broadway production ofAssassins.Bobbie was in the 1995 concert production ofAnyone Can WhistleatCarnegie Hallportraying Comptroller Schub.

Writer and director

In 1993 Bobbie wrote the book for, and directed, theRoundabout Theatreproduction of theRodgers and HammersteinrevueA Grand Night for Singing,for which he received aTony Awardnomination for Best Book of a Musical. TheNew York Timesreviewer wrote of Bobbie's direction that he "has given its Broadway elaboration an impressive fluidity that whisks the performers through various groupings with a minimum of stiffness and posturing. In Mr. Bobbie's hands, the songs flow together in a sequence that treats them as lighthearted extensions of one another."

He then directed the 1996 Broadway revival ofChicagowithAnn ReinkingandBebe Neuwirth.Bobbie's 1996 revival ofChicagowas inspired by his own staged concert production atCity CenterEncores!.The concert was a hit, and the musical moved directly to Broadway with its originalEncores!cast.Ben Brantley,in reviewing theEncores!concert, noted "As directed by Walter Bobbie and choreographed by Ann Reinking, who also stars, 'Chicago' still stings like cheap whisky, but it also bubbles like vintage Champagne."He won theTony Awardfor Best Direction of a Musical forChicago.

Bobbie next directed the Broadway productions of the stage musicalFootloosein 1998, and co-wrote the book.He co-wrote and directedThe Road to Hollywood,a new musical performed at theGoodspeed Opera Housein 2002.

Bobbie directed the 2004 Roundabout Theater production ofTwentieth CenturywithAlec BaldwinandAnne Heche,as well as the 2005Sweet Charityrevival withChristina Applegate,and thenHigh Fidelityin 2006. Bobbie also directed the one-night-only 2005 concert ofSouth Pacific,a benefit for Carnegie Hall, starringReba McEntireandBrian Stokes Mitchell.

The musicalWhite Christmaswhich he directed had limited engagements on Broadway in November 2008 through January 2009 and again in November 2009 through January 2010. Bobbie received the 2009Drama Desk Awardnomination for Outstanding Director of a Musical.

Bobbie directed the New York premiere ofThe Savannah Disputationsby Evan Smith at theOff-BroadwayPlaywrights Horizonsin 2009, with Marylouise Burke,Dana Ivey,Kellie Overby and Reed Birney.In regional theatre, he directed the newTerrence McNallyplayGolden Ageat theKennedy Centerin 2010.

Artistic director

Bobbie was the artistic director of theNew York City Center Encores!concert series in 1995 and 1996, and also directed the staged concerts ofFiorello!(1994),Tenderloin(2000), andGolden Boy(2002). ForDu Barry Was a Lady(1996) he co-adapted the book.He directed the 2008 production ofNo, No, Nanette.He appeared inFace the Musicin 2007 withThe New York Timesreviewer writing: "A last, affectionate word for Mr. Bobbie, whose career took off in another direction when his staging of 'Chicago' for the Encores! series became a Broadway smash. As the harried Hal Reisman...he breathes fresh comic life into even some of the hoariest routines."

External links

• Walter Bobbieat theInternet Broadway Database
• Walter Bobbieat theInternet Off-Broadway Database
• Walter BobbieatIMDb
• Walter BobbieatAllMovie