{{Short description|American actor, dancer, and choreographer}} '''Larry Fuller''' is an American choreographer, theatre director, dancer, and actor. Both a Tony Award and Drama Desk Award nominated choreographer, he is best known for his work on Broadway where he notably staged the movement for the original productions of ''On the Twentieth Century'' (1978), ''Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street'' (1979), ''Evita'' (1979), ''Merrily We Roll Along'' (1981), ''Is There Life After High School?'' (1982), and ''A Doll's Life'' (1982).

==Life and career== Born in Sullivan, Missouri,<ref name="Billman"/> Fuller began his career as an actor portraying Enoch Snow in the 1957 revival of Rodgers and Hammerstein's ''Carousel'' at New York City Center with Pat Stanley as Carrie Pepperidge and Barbara Cook as Julie Jordan.<ref>Dietz 2014, p. 288</ref> He went on to appear in the original Broadway productions of ''West Side Story'' (as a Jet swing), ''The Music Man'', ''Redhead'', ''Kean'', ''Bravo Giovanni'', ''Donnybrook!'', ''No Strings'', and ''Funny Girl'' with Barbra Streisand.<ref name="Billman"/><ref>Eyer & Smith, p. 159</ref> He would go on to recreate the original Carol Haney choreography for the American touring and London West End productions of ''Funny Girl''.<ref>Bly, p. 339</ref> Additional touring productions Fuller has directed and choreographed include ''The Music Man'', ''I Do! I Do!'', ''Kismet'' and ''On a Clear Day You Can See Forever''.<ref name="Grody">McLee Grody & Daniels Lister, p. 223</ref>

Fuller's credits as a choreographer include the original Broadway productions of ''That's Entertainment'' (1972),<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1972/04/15/archives/theater-entertainment.html|title=Theater: 'Entertainment'|author=Clive Barnes|work=The New York Times|date=April 15, 1972|page= 19}}</ref> ''On the Twentieth Century'' (1978),<ref>Suskin, p. 310</ref> ''Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street'' (1979),<ref>Patinkin, p. 450</ref> ''Evita'' (1979),<ref>Patinkin, p. 451</ref> ''Merrily We Roll Along'' (1981),<ref>Dietz 2018, p. 107</ref> ''Is There Life After High School?'' (1982),<ref>Dietz 2018, p. 125-126</ref> and ''A Doll's Life'' (1982).<ref>Suskin, p. 344</ref> He has been nominated for the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Choreography twice, for his work in ''Sweeney Todd'' and ''Evita''; the latter of which also garnered him a nomination for the Tony Award for Best Choreography.<ref name="Billman">Billman, p. 328</ref>

In Europe, Fuller has directed and choreographed productions of ''West Side Story'' in Vienna and Nuremberg, created ''Jazz and the Dancing Americans'' for the Opera House Ballet in Graz, Austria and the Theatre an der Wien in Vienna, and directed the European premieres of Leonard Bernstein's ''Candide'' and ''On the Town'', and George Gershwin's ''Girl Crazy''.<ref name="Grody"/> He also directed and choreographed in London's West End the mid-1980s hit multi-media musical ''Time'' and ''Marilyn! the Musical''.<ref name="Grody"/> He also directed the 1992 European tour of ''Jesus Christ Superstar'',<ref>{{cite journal|title=Jesus Christ Superstar|work=L'Europeo|volume=48|issue= 10-17|page=89|year=1992}}</ref> and in 1997 he directed and choreographed ''JFK: A Musical Drama'' in Dublin, Ireland.<ref name="Grody"/>

Television audiences have seen Fuller's choreography on ''The Ed Sullivan Show''.<ref name="Grody"/> He also choreographed the 39th Tony Awards (1985), and both staged and choreographed he 40th Tony Awards (1986).<ref>{{cite news|url=https://mobile.playbill.com/person/larry-fuller-vault-0000004728|title=Larry Fuller: CHOREOGRAPHER|work=Playbill|year=2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1986/05/20/theater/the-stage-three-london-musicals.html|title=THE STAGE: THREE LONDON MUSICALS|first=Frank|last=Rich|date=May 20, 1986|work=The New York Times|page=C14}}</ref> He also choreographed the 37th Primetime Emmy Awards (1985)<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.paleycenter.org/collection/item/?q=ed&p=152&item=T86:0366|title=EMMY AWARDS, THE 37TH ANNUAL (TV)|work=Paley's Permanent Media Collection of Television and Radio Programs and Advertisements|year=2024}}</ref> and the 38th Primetime Emmy Awards (1986).<ref name="Grody"/>

Fuller had a romantic relationship with fellow choreographer/director Michael Bennett for many years.<ref>[http://www.glbtq.com/arts/bennett_m.html glbtq >> arts >> Bennett, Michael<!-- Bot generated title -->] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160122162430/http://www.glbtqarchive.com/arts/bennett_m_A.pdf |date=2016-01-22 }}</ref> The 1996 documentary ''On Your Toes . . . The Making Of - Director/Choreographer Larry Fuller'' (1996) documents the making of the musical production ''On Your Toes'' with the Stuttgart Ballet in 1990.<ref>{{cite journal|title=Review: On Your Toes . . . The Making Of - Director/Choreographer Larry Fuller|work=Media Review Digest|volume=28|page=381|year=1998|first=C. Edward|last=Wall}}</ref>

== References == ===Citations=== {{reflist}} ===Bibliography=== *{{cite book|title=Film Choreographers and Dance Directors: An Illustrated Biographical Encyclopedia, with a History and Filmographies, 1893 Through 1995|first=Larry|last= Billman|year=1997|chapter=Larry Fuller|publisher=McFarland & Company|isbn=9780899508689}} *{{cite book|title=Barbra Streisand: The Untold Story|first= Nellie|last=Bly|year=1994|publisher=Windsor Publishing Corporation|isbn=9780786000517}} *{{cite book|first1=Dan|last1=Dietz|title=The Complete Book of 1950s Broadway Musicals|publisher=Rowman & Littlefield Publishers|year=2014|isbn=9781442235052}} *{{cite book|first1=Dan|last1=Dietz|title=The Complete Book of 1980s Broadway Musicals|publisher=Rowman & Littlefield Publishers|year=2016|isbn=9781442260924}} *{{cite book|title=Broadway Swings: Covering the Ensemble in Musical Theatre|first1= J. Austin|last1= Eyer|first2= Lyndy|last2= Franklin Smith|year=2015|isbn=9781472590022|publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing}} *{{cite book|title=Conversations with choreographers|chapter=Larry Fuller|first1=Svetlana|last1=McLee Grody|first2=Dorothy|last2=Daniels Lister|year= 1996|publisher=Pearson Education|isbn=9780435086978}} *{{cite book|title='No Legs, No Jokes, No Chance': A History of the American Musical Theater|first= Sheldon|last= Patinkin|year=2008|isbn=9780810119949|publisher=Northwestern University Press}} *{{cite book|title=Show Tunes: The Songs, Shows, and Careers of Broadway's Major Composers|first=Steven|last=Suskin|year=2000|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=9780195125993}}

==Further reading== *{{cite news|url=https://www.huffpost.com/entry/choreographer-larry-fulle_b_12523494|title=Choreographer Larry Fuller Discusses His Work with Robbins, Prince, Sondheim and More|work=Huffington Post|date=October 17, 2016}} ==External links== *{{IBDB name}} *[http://www.allbusiness.com/services/amusement-recreation-services/4367457-1.html Back Stage West "The Charms of "Evita" - Director/choreographer Larry Fuller is seduced into revisiting one of his triumphs-but she's only first on the list."]

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Fuller, Larry}} Category:American choreographers Category:American theatre directors Category:American male dancers Category:American male stage actors Category:Musical theatre choreographers Category:Year of birth missing (living people) Category:Living people Category:LGBTQ choreographers