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Creator
Gennaro, Peter
Call number
(S) *MGZMD 198
Physical description
12 linear feet (17 boxes)
Preferred Citation

Peter Gennaro Papers, (S) *MGZMD 198. Jerome Robbins Dance Division, The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts.

Repository
Jerome Robbins Dance Division
Access to materials
Request an in-person research appointment.

The Peter Gennaro Papers consist of dancer, dance teacher and choreographer Peter Gennaro’s production materials, such as scripts, correspondence, audition and production notes, and musical scores of numbers which were choreographed by Peter Gennaro. Materials date from 1954 to 1982, although the majority of the musical scores are undated. The collection constitutes only a small fraction of Gennaro’s professional life, with little contextual information. There are no personal materials in this collection.

Biographical/historical information

Peter Gennaro, dancer, dance teacher and choreographer, was born November 23, 1919 in Louisiana. He was an acclaimed choreographer for Broadway and television shows, and an accomplished dancer and teacher whose contribution in the early development of jazz dance was significant.

Gennaro showed promise as a dancer since childhood, winning his first dance award at the age of four. Growing up, he studied dance with local teachers until his military service during World War II. During that time he was stationed in India and was recruited into an entertainment unit, where he performed for the troops as a dancer.

After his release from the army he moved to New York City. He studied at the American Theater Wing and the Katherine Dunham School. In 1947 he joined the San Carlo Opera Company, and in the following year he got his first Broadway job as a member in the chorus of Make Mine Manhattan. In the following years he earned dancing roles in shows such as Subway Circuit (1949), Guys and Dolls (1950), and Arms and the Girls (1950). In 1954 he gained public attention as one of the three dancers in Bob Fosse’s number “Steam Heat” in the Broadway production of Pajama Game, and then again in 1956 with the “Mu Cha Cha” number with Judy Holliday in Bells Are Ringing.

At around the same time he gave dance lessons to other professional performers, introducing them to his distinctive dancing style. Gennaro’s professional choreographing began in 1955 with the musical Seventh Heaven. In the next year, he choreographed with Jerome Robbins the musical West Side Story. Gennaro was responsible for part of the “America” and the “Sharks’ Dance at the Gym” numbers. He was also choreographer for the 1964 motion picture The Unsinkable Molly Brown.

Gennaro’s most notable work on Broadway was undoubtedly Annie (1977), for which he won a Tony award as best choreographer. Gennaro was nominated for the same award on four more productions: Fiorello!(1960), Bajour(1965), Irene (1973) and Little Me (1982).

Throughout the 1950s and 1960s Gennaro became a popular household name as dancer and choreographer through numerous television appearances. He and his Peter Gennaro Dancers appeared on episodes of several shows, such as The Perry Como Show, The Judy Garland Show, The Ed Sullivan Show, and The Bing Crosby Show. Among his most notable cabaret appearances were the Aladdin Hotel in Las Vegas, and in Al Hirt’s Salute to New Orleans. Between 1974-1980 Gennaro staged the shows at New York City’s Radio City Music Hall, in which he also choreographed for The Rockettes.

Gennaro married Jean Kinsella (maiden name Sabella) in 1948, whom he met when they were both dancers with the San Carlo Opera Company. They had two children, Michael, and Lisa, a dancer and choreographer herself. Gennaro died on September 28, 2000 in New York City.

Scope and arrangement

The Peter Gennaro Papers consist of materials of productions for which Gennaro choreographed, such as Irene, Jimmy, and Little Me. The collection includes scripts, several of which are annotated, correspondence, audition and production notes. The bulk of the collection consists of musical scores of numbers which were choreographed by Gennaro. Most of these scores are not explicitly connected with a specific production, but appear to have been used in more than one show. Materials date from 1954 to 1982, although the majority of the musical scores are undated. The collection constitutes only a small fraction of Gennaro’s professional life, with little contextual information. There are no personal materials in this collection.

The Peter Gennaro papers are arranged in two series:

  • Series I: Productions
    1960-1982,
    2 boxes

    This series contains production materials, the majority of which are scripts. This series also includes correspondence, audition and production notes, and actors’ resumes and headshots. Song and kinescope lists from Gennaro’s shows in the early 1960s can also be found in this collection.

  • Series II: Scores
    1954-1973,
    13 boxes

    This series contains musical scores and individual songs that were part of Peter Gennaro’s shows. Most of them include complete parts of specific arrangements, and appear to have been used in the various television, cabaret or other venues for which Gennaro choreographed. Other songs or their specific arrangements are explicitly labeled as used in one of the television shows. Many of the scores include musical annotations, and occasionally rough sketches of stage plans can be found on the back of the pages.

Administrative information

Source of acquisition

The Peter Gennaro Papers were donated to the Jerome Robbins Dance Division in March 2000 by Peter Gennaro.

Processing information

Processed by Aikaterini Dimitriadou-Shuster; Machine-readable finding aid created by Aikaterini Dimitriadou-Shuster.

Using the collection

Location

Jerome Robbins Dance Division
New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, Dorothy and Lewis B. Cullman Center
40 Lincoln Center Plaza, New York, NY 10023-7498
Third Floor

Conditions Governing Use

For permission to publish, contact the Curator, Jerome Robbins Dance Division.

Alternative form available

{manditory if applicable - statement regarding availability of collection on microfil, in published form, etc.}manditory if applicable - statement regarding availability of collection on microfil, in published form, etc.