Robert Longbottom (born March 1957) is a

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

-based choreographer and director, primarily for theatre and opera.

Early life

Longbottom was born and raised in

Portland Portland most commonly refers to: *Portland, Oregon, the most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon *Portland, Maine, the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maine *Isle of Portland, a tied island in the English Channel Portland may also r ...

, Maine. He made his professional theatrical debut at age 8, appearing in the title role in ''

Oliver! ''Oliver!'' is a stage musical, with book, music and lyrics by Lionel Bart. The musical is based upon the 1838 novel ''Oliver Twist'' by Charles Dickens. It premiered at the Wimbledon Theatre, southwest London in 1960 before opening in the W ...

'' at the Brunswick Music Theater, now known as the Maine State Theater. He also played the roles of Winthrop in ''

The Music Man ''The Music Man'' is a musical theatre, musical with book, music, and lyrics by Meredith Willson, based on a story by Willson and Franklin Lacey. The plot concerns a confidence trick, con man Harold Hill, who poses as a boys' band organizer and ...

'',Christiansen, Richard
"Dancer Turned Director is One Step Ahead of the Pack"
''Chicago Tribune'', August 22, 2000 Patrick in ''

Mame MAME (formerly an acronym of Multiple Arcade Machine Emulator) is a free and open-source emulator designed to emulate the hardware of arcade games, video game consoles, old computers and other systems in software on modern personal computers and ...

'', and Tom of Warwick in ''

Camelot Camelot is a legendary castle and Royal court, court associated with King Arthur. Absent in the early Arthurian material, Camelot first appeared in 12th-century French romances and, since the Lancelot-Grail cycle, eventually came to be described ...

''. On Broadway, he appeared in the revival of ''

Little Johnny Jones ''Little Johnny Jones'' is a musical by George M. Cohan. The show introduced Cohan's tunes " Give My Regards to Broadway" and " The Yankee Doodle Boy." The "Yankee Doodle" character was inspired by real-life Hall of Fame jockey Tod Sloan. Ba ...

'' in 1982 as various characters. He appeared in the original companies of ''42nd Street Candy Co.'' and ''

Me and My Girl ''Me and My Girl'' is a musical with music by Noel Gay and its original book and lyrics by Douglas Furber and L. Arthur Rose. The story, set in the late 1930s, tells of an unapologetically unrefined Cockney gentleman named Bill Snibson, wh ...

'' (1986) as the stockbroker and in the ensemble. He understudied the role of Will Parker in the 1980 Agnes De Mille directed revival of ''

Oklahoma! ''Oklahoma!'' is the first musical theater, musical written by the duo of Rodgers and Hammerstein. The musical is based on Lynn Riggs's 1931 play, ''Green Grow the Lilacs (play), Green Grow the Lilacs''. Set in farm country outside the town of ...

'' and played the role of Bobby in the European Company of ''

A Chorus Line ''A Chorus Line'' is a 1975 musical conceived by Michael Bennett with music by Marvin Hamlisch, lyrics by Edward Kleban, and a book by James Kirkwood Jr. and Nicholas Dante. Set on the bare stage of a Broadway theater, the musical is cent ...

''.

Career

Longbottom made his Broadway debut as a director and choreographer with the original Broadway production of the

Tony Award The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Broadway Theatre, more commonly known as a Tony Award, recognizes excellence in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ce ...

-nominated musical, '' Side Show'' in 1997. Longbottom directed and choreographed the reconceived revival of

Rodgers and Hammerstein Rodgers and Hammerstein was a theater-writing team of composer Richard Rodgers (1902–1979) and lyricist-dramatist Oscar Hammerstein II (1895–1960), who together created a series of innovative and influential American musicals. Their musical ...

’s ''

Flower Drum Song ''Flower Drum Song'' was the eighth musical theatre, musical by the team of Rodgers and Hammerstein. It is based on the 1957 novel, ''The Flower Drum Song'', by Chinese-American author C. Y. Lee (author), C. Y. Lee. It premiered on Broadway the ...

'' on Broadway in 2002, with a new book by playwright

David Henry Hwang David Henry Hwang (born August 11, 1957) is an American playwright, librettist, screenwriter, and theater professor at Columbia University in New York City. He has won three Obie Awards for his plays '' FOB'', '' Golden Child'', and '' Yellow ...

following its premiere at The Mark Taper Forum, earning him a

nomination for his

choreography Choreography is the art of designing sequences of movements of physical bodies (or their depictions) in which Motion (physics), motion or Visual appearance, form or both are specified. ''Choreography'' may also refer to the design itself. A chor ...

, as well as

Fred Astaire Fred Astaire (born Frederick Austerlitz, May 10, 1899 – June 22, 1987) was an American dancer, actor, singer, musician, choreographer, and presenter, whose career in stage, film, and television spanned 76 years. He is widely regarded as the "g ...

and

Outer Critics Circle Award The Outer Critics Circle Awards are presented annually for theatrical achievements both on Broadway and Off-Broadway. They are presented by the Outer Critics Circle (OCC), the official organization of New York theater writers for out-of-town news ...

nominations, among others. Other Broadway work includes ''

The Scarlet Pimpernel ''The Scarlet Pimpernel'' is the first novel in a series of historical fiction by Baroness Orczy, published in 1905. It was written after her stage play of the same title (co-authored with her husband Montague Barstow) enjoyed a long run in Lo ...

'' (1997) at the

Minskoff Theatre The Minskoff Theatre is a Broadway theater on the third floor of the One Astor Plaza office building in the Theater District of Midtown Manhattan in New York City, New York, U.S. Opened in 1973, it is operated by the Nederlander Organizatio ...

and ''

Bye Bye Birdie ''Bye Bye Birdie'' is a stage musical with music by Charles Strouse and lyrics by Lee Adams, based upon a book by Michael Stewart. Originally titled ''Let's Go Steady'', ''Bye Bye Birdie'' is set in 1958. The play's book was influenced by El ...

'' (2009) for the

Roundabout Theatre Company The Roundabout Theatre Company is a nonprofit organization, non-profit theatre company based in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, affiliated with the League of Resident Theatres. History The company was founded in 1965 by Gene Feist, Michael Fr ...

, starring

John Stamos John Phillip Stamos ( ; born August 19, 1963) is an American actor and musician. He first gained recognition for his contract role as Blackie Parrish on the ABC television soap opera ''General Hospital'', for which he was nominated for the ...

. He conceived, directed and choreographed the musical, ''

Pageant Pageant(s) or The Pageant(s) may refer to: Events * Procession or ceremony in elaborate costume * Beauty pageant, or beauty contest * List of pageants of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints * Medieval pageant, a narrative medieval pro ...

'' in 1991

off-Broadway An off-Broadway theatre is any professional theatre venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, inclusive. These theatres are smaller than Broadway theatres, but larger than off-off-Broadway theatres, which seat fewer tha ...

at the Blue Angel, which was nominated for four

s and a

Drama Desk Award The Drama Desk Awards are among the most esteemed honors in New York theater, recognizing outstanding achievements across Broadway, Off-Broadway, and Off-Off-Broadway productions within the same categories. The awards are considered a signific ...

for Unique Experience. Other work includes: Disney’s '' On The Record'', ''

Carnival! ''Carnival'' is a musical theatre, musical, originally produced by David Merrick on Broadway in 1961, with the book by Michael Stewart (playwright), Michael Stewart and music and lyrics by Bob Merrill. The musical is based on the 1953 film ''Lil ...

'' for the

Kennedy Center The John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts, commonly known as the Kennedy Center, is the national cultural center of the United States, located on the eastern bank of the Potomac River in Washington, D.C. Opened on September 8, ...

, The

Radio City Music Hall Radio City Music Hall (also known as Radio City) is an entertainment venue and Theater (structure), theater at 1260 Sixth Avenue (Manhattan), Avenue of the Americas, within Rockefeller Center, in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York C ...

Christmas Spectacular, ''

Show Boat ''Show Boat'' is a musical theatre, musical with music by Jerome Kern and book and lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II. It is based on Edna Ferber's best-selling 1926 Show Boat (novel), novel of the same name. The musical follows the lives of the per ...

'' in concert at

Carnegie Hall Carnegie Hall ( ) is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. It is at 881 Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh Avenue, occupying the east side of Seventh Avenue between 56th Street (Manhattan), 56th and 57th Street (Manhattan), 57t ...

(2008), ''Triangle'' at the Eugene O’Neill Center, '' South Pacific'' at

The Muny The St. Louis Municipal Opera Theatre (commonly known as The Muny) is an amphitheater located in St. Louis, Missouri. The theatre seats 11,000 people with about 1,500 free seats in the last nine rows that are available on a first come, first s ...

, starring

Howard Keel Harold Clifford Keel (April 13, 1919November 7, 2004), professionally Howard Keel, was an American actor and singer known for his rich bass-baritone singing voice. He starred in a number of MGM musicals in the 1950s, including ''Show Boat'' (195 ...

and ''

'' at the Glimmerglass Festival, starring David Pittsinger and

Nathan Gunn Nathan T. Gunn (born November 26, 1970, in South Bend, Indiana) is an American operatic baritone who performs regularly around the world. He is an alumnus of the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign where he is currently a professor of voice ...

. Plays include Mister Roberts for the Kennedy Center and ''

Hay Fever Allergic rhinitis, of which the seasonal type is called hay fever, is a type of rhinitis, inflammation in the nose that occurs when the immune system overreacts to allergens in the air. It is classified as a Allergy, type I hypersensitivity re ...

'' for the Old Globe. Longbottom staged a one night only benefit concert of ''

Anything Goes ''Anything Goes'' is a musical with music and lyrics by Cole Porter. The original book was a collaborative effort by Guy Bolton and P. G. Wodehouse, revised considerably by the team of Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse. The story concerns madc ...

'' for Lincoln Center Theatre, starring

Patti LuPone Patti Ann LuPone (born April 21, 1949) is an American actress and singer. After starting her professional career with The Acting Company in 1972, she soon gained acclaim for her leading performances on the Broadway and West End stage. Known f ...

Howard McGillin Howard McGillin (born November 5, 1953, in Los Angeles, California) is an American actor. He is known for originating the role of John Jasper in '' The Mystery of Edwin Drood'' (1985) and for portraying the title role in Andrew Lloyd Webber's '' ...

and

Boyd Gaines Boyd Payne Gaines (born May 11, 1953) is an American actor. During his career, he has won four Tony Awards and three Drama Desk Awards. Gaines is best known for playing Mark Royer on ''One Day at a Time (1975 TV series), One Day at a Time'' (1981 ...

in 2002. He directed and choreographed ''Broadway Cares / Equity Fights Aids'', as well as the three editions of ''The Easter Bonnet Competition''. He participated in the National Alliance for Musical Theatre Festival of New Musicals in 2008, directing ''Beatsville''. He was the director and choreographer for the tour of ''

Dreamgirls ''Dreamgirls'' is a Broadway musical, with music by Henry Krieger and lyrics and book by Tom Eyen. It is based on the show business aspirations and successes of R&B acts such as The Shirelles, James Brown, Jackie Wilson, and others, and p ...

'', which premiered at the

Apollo Theater The Apollo Theater (formerly the Hurtig & Seamon's New Theatre; also Apollo Theatre or 125th Street Apollo Theatre) is a multi-use Theater (structure), theater at 253 125th Street (Manhattan), West 125th Street in the Harlem neighborhood of U ...

in 2009, prior to a US national tour. He was the director and choreographer of a production of ''

La fille du régiment LA most frequently refers to Los Angeles, the second most populous city in the United States of America. La, LA, or L.A. may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * La (musical note), or A, the sixth note *"L.A.", a song by Elliott Smi ...

'' for the

Washington National Opera Washington National Opera (WNO) is an American opera company in Washington, D.C. Formerly the Opera Society of Washington and the Washington Opera, the company received Congressional designation as the National Opera Company in 2000. Performance ...

in 2016. He directed the concert production of ''

Into The Woods ''Into the Woods'' is a 1986 musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and book by James Lapine. The musical intertwines the plots of several Brothers Grimm fairy tales, exploring the consequences of the characters' wishes and quests. T ...

'' at the

Hollywood Bowl The Hollywood Bowl is an amphitheatre and Urban park, public park in the Hollywood Hills of Los Angeles, California. It was named one of the 10 best live music venues in the United States by ''Rolling Stone'' magazine in 2018 and was listed on ...

in Los Angeles in July 2019. Since 2005, Longbottom has devoted his time to mentoring high school students for

Wendy Wasserstein Wendy Wasserstein (October 18, 1950 – January 30, 2006) was an American playwright. She was an Andrew Dickson White Professor-at-Large at Cornell University. She received the Tony Award for Best Play and the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1989 ...

’s "Open Doors" program (renamed the TDF Wendy Wasserstein Project in 2019)."Students from TDF's Wendy Wasserstein Project Will Celebrate Graduation on June 3"
broadwayworld.com, May 20, 2019 In addition, he conducts master audition classes in colleges and universities.

References

External links

* *
Credits at AmericanTheatreWing.org
as of July 2007
Credits at Broadwayworld.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Longbottom, Robert American choreographers Living people 1957 births Musical theatre choreographers