Ann Reinking
Reinking photographed byJack Mitchell in 1981
Born	(1949-11-10)November 10, 1949 Seattle, Washington, U.S.
Died	December 12, 2020(2020-12-12) (aged 71) Seattle, Washington, U.S.
Resting place	Paradise Memorial Gardens
Occupations	Actress singer dancer choreographer
Years active	1962–2017
Spouses	Larry Small ​ ​ (m. 1970, divorced)​ Herbert Allen Jr. ​ ​ (m. 1982; div. 1989)​ James Stuart ​ ​ (m. 1989; div. 1991)​ Peter Talbert ​ ​ (m. 1994)​
Partner	Bob Fosse (1972–1978)
Children	1

Ann Reinking (November 10, 1949 – December 12, 2020) was an American dancer, actress, choreographer, and singer. She worked predominantly in musical theater, starring inBroadway productions such asCoco (1969),Over Here! (1974),Goodtime Charley (1975),Chicago (1977),Dancin' (1978), andSweet Charity (1986).

Reinking won theTony Award for Best Choreography for her work in the 1996 revival ofChicago, which she choreographed while reprising the role ofRoxie Hart. For the 2000West End production ofFosse, she won theOlivier Award for Best Theatre Choreographer. She also appeared in the filmsAll That Jazz (1979),Annie (1982), andMicki & Maude (1984).

Ann Reinking was born on November 10, 1949, inSeattle, the daughter of Frances (née Harrison), a homemaker, and Walter Floyd Reinking, a hydraulic engineer.^[1][2][3] She grew up inBellevue.^[4] As a child, Reinking began ballet lessons, studying with formerBallets Russes dancers Marian and Illaria Ladre in Seattle.^[4]

Reinking made her professional performing debut at the age of 12 in a production ofGiselle with theEnglish Royal Ballet.^[5] While attendingmiddle school andhigh school, she studied at theSan Francisco Ballet during the summers as a part of a scholarship. After graduating fromBellevue High School, she took summer classes offered by theJoffrey Ballet atPacific Lutheran University inTacoma, Washington.^[6]

Reinking moved toNew York City at age 18,^[7] and danced as a member of the corps de ballet at theRadio City Music Hall,^[8] performed in the ensemble of the second national tour ofFiddler on the Roof, and at the age of 19 made her Broadway debut in the musicalCabaret. She was a chorus dancer inCoco (1969),Wild and Wonderful (1971), andPippin (1972).^[2] DuringPippin, she came to the attention of the show's director and choreographerBob Fosse. Reinking became Fosse'sprotégée and romantic partner, even as Fosse was still legally married to (though separated from)Gwen Verdon at the time.^[9]

In 1974, Reinking came to critical notice in the role of Maggie inOver Here!, winning aTheatre World Award. She starred asJoan of Arc inGoodtime Charley in 1975, receivingTony Award andDrama Desk nominations for Best Actress in a Musical.^[2] In 1976, she replacedDonna McKechnie as Cassie inA Chorus Line; in 1977, she replaced Verdon in the starring role ofRoxie Hart inChicago, a show directed and choreographed by Fosse.^[2] In 1978, she appeared in Fosse's revueDancin', and received another Tony nomination.^[10] In that year, Reinking and Fosse ended their romance and separated when Fosse began datingJulie Hagerty.^[11][12][13] However, they continued to have a professional, creative collaboration. Fosse's influence on Reinking's work as a choreographer could be seen in her retention of his "dark, jazzlike, fluid body movements."^[14] In 1979, Reinking appeared in Fosse's semi-autobiographical filmAll That Jazz as Katie Jagger, a role loosely based on her own life and relationship with Fosse.^[11][15] Reinking appeared in two more feature films, as Grace Farrell inAnnie (1982) and as Micki Salinger inMicki & Maude (1984).^[16] In a 2019 mini-series aired onFX,Fosse/Verdon,Margaret Qualley portrayed Reinking and her relationship with Fosse.^[17]

In March 1985, Reinking appeared at the57th Academy Awards to give a mostly lip-synced vocal performance accompanied by a dance routine of theAcademy Award-nominatedPhil Collins single "Against All Odds (Take a Look at Me Now)". The routine was poorly received by critics from theLos Angeles Times andPeople,^[18][19] as well as by Collins himself in aRolling Stone interview.^[20] In 1986, she returned to Broadway, replacingDebbie Allen in a successful revival of Fosse's production ofSweet Charity.^[10] In 1991, she appeared in her first theater production following the birth of her son, the Broadway National Tour ofBye Bye Birdie, costarringTommy Tune. Also in 1991, she founded theBroadway Theatre Project, aFlorida training program connecting students with seasoned theater professionals includingGwen Verdon,Julie Andrews,Gregory Hines,Ben Vereen,Jeff Goldblum,Terrence Mann,James Naughton,Patrick Wilson andDesmond Richardson.^[21] In 1992, she contributed choreography toTommy Tune Tonite!, a three-man revue featuring Tune. In 1994,^[22] In 1995, she choreographed theABC television movie version ofBye Bye Birdie.^[23]

Reinking had retired from performing by this time. In 1996, she was asked to create the choreography "in the style of Bob Fosse" for an all-star four-night-only concert staging ofChicago forCity Center's annualEncores! Concert Series. When the producers could not obtain a suitable actress for the role of Roxie Hart, Reinking agreed to reprise the role after almost 20 years.^[15] This concert staging ofChicago was a hit, and a few months later the production (in its concert staging presentation) was produced on Broadway, with the Encores! cast: Reinking,Bebe Neuwirth,Joel Grey,James Naughton, andMarcia Lewis.^[11][24] In November 2016, the revival celebrated its 20th year, and as of March 2020, when theaters temporarily closed due to theCOVID-19 pandemic, it was thelongest-running American musical on Broadway. The revival ofChicago won numerousTony Awards, and Reinking won theTony Award for Best Choreography. She recreated her choreography for the 1997London transfer ofChicago, which starredUte Lemper andRuthie Henshall.^[25]

In 1998, she co-created, co-directed and co-choreographed the revueFosse, receiving a Tony Award co-nomination for Best Direction of a Musical.^[26][27] For her work on theWest End production ofFosse, Reinking (along with the late Bob Fosse himself) won the 2001Olivier Award for Best Theatre Choreographer.^[28]

In 2001, she received an honorary doctorate fromFlorida State University for her contribution to the arts.^[29] Reinking served as a judge of annual New York City public school dance competitions for inner-city youth,^[5] and appeared inMad Hot Ballroom, the 2005 documentary film about the competition. In 2011, Reinking collaborated with composerBruce Wolosoff and Thodos Dance Chicago to create the balletThe Devil in the White City, based onthe novel of the same name byErik Larsen; theChicago Sun-Times named it "Best Dance of 2011."^[30][31] Reinking again collaborated with Wolosoff in 2013 to createA Light in the Dark, a ballet inspired by the lives ofHelen Keller andAnn Sullivan, which was nominated for aChicago/Midwest Emmy Award in Outstanding Achievement for Arts/Entertainment Programming.^[32] In 2012, she contributed choreography for the Broadway production ofAn Evening withPatti LuPone andMandy Patinkin.^[2] She served as a member of the advising committee for theAmerican Theatre Wing.^[33]

Reinking married four times. She was first married on March 19, 1972, to Broadway actor Larry Small, whom she divorced the same year.^[34] Reinking was married to investment bankerHerbert Allen Jr. from 1982 to 1989. In 1989, she married businessman James Stuart, with whom she had a son, Christopher, before their divorce in 1991. Reinking married sportswriter Peter Talbert in 1994.^[35]

Reinking retired in 2017 and lived inParadise Valley, Arizona.^[4][36]

Reinking's son hasMarfan syndrome, and Reinking worked with theMarfan Foundation, which is dedicated to raising awareness of the disease. She produced the 2009 documentaryIn My Hands: A Story of Marfan Syndrome.^[37]

Reinking died in her sleep at a hotel inSeattle, Washington, on December 12, 2020, at the age of 71, while on a visit to her family in the area.^[38][1] She is interred at the Paradise Memorial Gardens inScottsdale, Arizona.^{[citation needed]}

Upon her death, the lobby of theAmbassador Theatre, home of the current revival ofChicago, installed an "In Memoriam" poster of her in costume as Roxie Hart from the 1996 opening cast.^{[citation needed]}

Following her death, students of Reinking'sBroadway Theatre Project produced a documentary in her honor calledThe Joy is in the Work.^[39]

Wikimedia Commons has media related toAnn Reinking.

• Ann Reinking at theInternet Broadway Database
• Ann Reinking at theInternet Off-Broadway Database
• Ann Reinking atPlaybill Vault
• Ann Reinking atIMDb

Audio/video

• "Ann Reinking & Gary Chryst:Big Noise from Winnetka".Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival. June 21, 1987. RetrievedSeptember 10, 2017.

• 1949 births
• 2020 deaths
• 20th-century American actresses
• Actresses from Seattle
• American female dancers
• American film actresses
• American musical theatre actresses
• American ballet choreographers
• Dancers from Washington (state)
• Drama Desk Award winners
• Helpmann Award winners
• Laurence Olivier Award winners
• Musical theatre choreographers
• People from Bellevue, Washington
• People from Paradise Valley, Arizona
• Tony Award winners

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