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Michael Bennett (April 8, 1943 – July 2, 1987) was an American musical theater director, writer, choreographer, and dancer. He won seven Tony Awards for his choreography and direction of Broadway shows and was nominated for an additional eleven. Bennett choreographed ''Promises, Promises'', ''Follies'' and ''Company''. In 1976, he won the Tony Award for Best Direction of a Musical and the Tony Award for Best Choreography for the Pulitzer Prize–winning musical ''A Chorus Line''. Bennett, under the aegis of producer Joseph Papp, created ''A Chorus Line'' based on a workshop process which he pioneered. He also directed and co-choreographed ''Dreamgirls'' with Michael Peters. ==Early life and career== Bennett was born Michael Bennett DiFiglia in Buffalo, New York, the son of Helen (née Ternoff), a secretary, and Salvatore Joseph DiFiglia, a factory worker. His father was Roman Catholic and Italian American and his mother was Jewish.〔Kelly, p.6〕 He studied dance and choreography in his teens and staged a number of shows in his local high school before dropping out to accept the role of Baby John in the US and European tours of ''West Side Story''. Bennett's career as a Broadway dancer began in the 1961 Betty Comden–Adolph Green–Jule Styne musical ''Subways Are For Sleeping'', after which he appeared in Meredith Willson's ''Here's Love'' and the short-lived ''Bajour''.〔(Michael Bennett credits ) at the Internet Broadway Database, accessed November 14, 2008.〕 In the mid-1960s he was a featured dancer on the NBC pop music series ''Hullabaloo'', where he met fellow dancer Donna McKechnie.〔McKechnie, pp. 54–57.〕 Bennett made his choreographic debut with ''A Joyful Noise'' (1966), which lasted only twelve performances, and in 1967 followed it with another failure, ''Henry, Sweet Henry'' (based on the Peter Sellers film ''The World of Henry Orient'').〔 Success finally arrived in 1968, when he choreographed the hit musical ''Promises, Promises'' on Broadway. With a contemporary pop score by Burt Bacharach and Hal David, a wisecracking book by Neil Simon and Bennett's well-received production numbers, including "Turkey Lurkey Time", the show ran for 1,281 performances.〔("Promises, Promises" ) at the Internet Broadway Database, accessed November 14, 2008.〕 Over the next few years, he earned praise for his work on the straight play ''Twigs'' with Sada Thompson and the musical ''Coco'' with Katharine Hepburn.〔 These were followed by two Stephen Sondheim productions, ''Company'' and ''Follies'' co-directed with Hal Prince.〔 In 1973, Bennett was asked by producers Joseph Kipness and Larry Kasha to take over the ailing Cy Coleman–Dorothy Fields musical ''Seesaw''. In replacing the director Ed Sherin and choreographer Grover Dale, he asked for absolute control over the production as director and choreographer and received credit as "having written, directed, and choreographed" the show.〔Long, p. 237.〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Michael Bennett」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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