Vision, Heart Made Robbins ‘the Best’

Charlotte d’Amboise, star of the Shubert Theatre’s “Chicago,” was nominated for a Tony in 1989 for “Jerome Robbins’ Broadway”--capping off decades of close family ties. Her father, Jacques d’Amboise, and mother, Carolyn George, worked with Robbins as principal dancers at the New York City Ballet. Later, brother Christopher also danced with City Ballet. At age 9, Charlotte joined this elite circle when she was cast--with sister Cate--in the company’s “Circus Polka.” The actress shared her impressions of the choreographer with Times staff writer Elaine Dutka during a phone call from New York.

“Robbins and Bob Fosse were the two great geniuses of musical theater and dance, but Robbins was probably the best. Though Fosse had style, he didn’t have heart. Part of Robbins’ brilliance was his ability to tug at the audience’s emotions--particularly with children, like in ‘The King and I.’

“I performed three numbers in ‘Jerome Robbins’ Broadway’--Anita in ‘West Side Story,’ Peter in ‘Peter Pan’ and a selection from ‘Billion Dollar Baby,’ which was ultimately cut. We all obeyed everything Robbins said, which is unheard of for performers, who question everything. The actors knew that if we listened to him, we’d be the best we could be. . . . We trusted him implicitly. Still, Robbins could be very tough--people either loved or hated him. Though he wasn’t a monster, he wasn’t about being congenial. And his vision always won out.

“Robbins was a perfectionist--obsessive, a total workaholic. I don’t think he had much of a life. He was frustrated by unions--Equity rules--since they prevented him from working us into the wee hours of the night. Before the show, we had six months of rehearsal and six weeks of previews. By the time we opened, we felt like we were closing. Some people were so burned out they gave notice on opening night.

“Robbins was also great at telling the story. He loved actors and played every role in the show--from ‘Gypsy’ to ‘Fiddler on the Roof’--better than anyone else. He was brilliant at eliminating distracting action, focusing the piece. After working with him, I get crazy sitting in the audience watching 12 things happening at once. And, except for Bob Fosse in ‘All That Jazz,’ no one else was as good at adapting dance to the movie form. Theater and film are very different. Robbins was able to make the leap because he had a director’s eye in his choreography. ‘West Side Story’ was the pinnacle--absolutely perfect.”