Michael Bennett was an incredibly successful musical theatre choreographer, director, dancer, and even writer! He started off his career as a dancer and dropped out of high school in order to dance in the U.S. and European tours of West Side Story. Though he was an incredible dancer, Bennett is arguably most recognized for his achievements in directing and choreography. Some of the most popular musicals he either directed or choreographed (or both) were Company, Follies, Ballroom, A Chorus Line, and Dreamgirls. Michael Bennett was bisexual and had many relationships with both men an women throughout his career- many of which were fellow dancers, chorographers, or directors.
Over the course of his career, he was nominated for 18 Tony Awards for either Best Choreography or Best Direction. In addition to his seven Tony Awards that he won, Michael Bennet was awarded with six Drama Desk Awards and even a Pulitzer Prize. His myriad of other award nominations is extensive. There is no denying Michael Bennett’s success, achievements, and talents as a director, choreographer, dancer, and writer.
Michael Bennett is a wonderful example of resilience and hard-work to any who choose to pursue their passions. Before his success in choreography and eventually directing took flight, Michael Bennett’s first choreographic debut was a failure. It only lasted twelve performances. After this first failure, his second musical also ended up with a lack of success. It wasn’t until several years later he hit his first bout of success and significant recognition. Then, year after year, he began to choreograph more shows. This led to being offered to direct shows and even choreographing and directing shows. Little by little he gained fame, respect, and recognition and was able to choreograph and direct two Stephen Sondheim productions!