Biography
Born on 23 November 1919 in Metairie, Louisiana, and deceased on 28 September 2000 in New York City, the versatile performer Gennaro built an early reputation through ensemble dancing. He appeared in the chorus of several Broadway productions from the late 1940s into the mid-1950s, among them Make Mine Manhattan, Kiss Me, Kate (both 1948), Guys And Dolls (1950), The Pajama Game (1954), and Bells Are Ringing (1956), with featured roles in the final pair. While still active as a dancer he began developing his profile as a choreographer, contributing to Seventh Heaven in 1955. His breakthrough arrived when he served as co-choreographer alongside Jerome Robbins for West Side Story in 1957. The same drive and energy that distinguished the dancing in West Side Story informed his subsequent work on Fiorello! (1959) and The Unsinkable Molly Brown (1960), whose dance sequences were reused in the 1964 screen adaptation. Across subsequent decades he supplied numerous numbers for the Radio City Music Hall Rockettes.
During the 1960s and early 1970s Gennaro handled several modestly received musicals, among them Mr. President (1962), Bajour (1964), and Jimmy (1973). In the last of those years he collaborated on Irene opposite Debbie Reynolds, who had played the lead in the film version of The Unsinkable Molly Brown; reviewers singled out his choreography for particular commendation. His reputation strengthened further with the 1977 production of Annie. That same year he staged an unsuccessful revival of Little Me. Additional assignments from the late 1970s and early 1980s encompassed Bar Mitzvah Boy (1978) in London, Carmelina (1979), the London staging of Singin’ In The Rain (1983), and the 1989 New York revival of The Threepenny Opera, which marked his final Broadway credit.
During the 1960s and early 1970s Gennaro handled several modestly received musicals, among them Mr. President (1962), Bajour (1964), and Jimmy (1973). In the last of those years he collaborated on Irene opposite Debbie Reynolds, who had played the lead in the film version of The Unsinkable Molly Brown; reviewers singled out his choreography for particular commendation. His reputation strengthened further with the 1977 production of Annie. That same year he staged an unsuccessful revival of Little Me. Additional assignments from the late 1970s and early 1980s encompassed Bar Mitzvah Boy (1978) in London, Carmelina (1979), the London staging of Singin’ In The Rain (1983), and the 1989 New York revival of The Threepenny Opera, which marked his final Broadway credit.
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