I was looking forward to episode 4 of Fosse/Verdon because the trailers showed that it would mark the introduction of Margaret Qualley as Ann Reinking. Maybe Michelle Williams would get a real sparring partner to act against, as Sam Rockwell was not rising up to the occasion. That's mostly because the material he’s given is repetitive. How many notes can an actor ring out of tortured genius? Not many. Little did I know the actor who would actually match up fantastically with Williams wouldn’t be Qualley but rather Aya Cash as her best friend Joan Simon.
But before we get to that we have to deal with Bob Fosse’s mega year of 1973. This is the year he won an Oscar (for Cabaret), 2 Tonys (for Pippin) and 3 Emmys (for Liza with a Z)...
It is also the year all the excesses of his life - the pills, the booze, the drugs, the endless womanizing - caught up with him. So "Glory," written by Tracey Scott Wilson and directed by Jessica Yu, is essentially The Nervous Breakdown Episode. The usual time ticking to Fosse’s death that introduces scenes in each episode is changed this time to the numbers of awards and nominations and Cabaret’s box office.
We start with Cabaret’s opening which is a success critically and commercially. Fosse immediately goes into cash the blank check it affords by changing the ending to Pippin. Pippin has to set himself on fire after he gets all that his heart desires. It can’t be a happy ending. The suicide motif is used throughout the episode to indicate Fosse's state of mind, cutting between him on stage as a child to him jumping off his balcony ending his life.
The new element that is introduced to Fosse’s womanizing in this episode is how ugly it was, an abuse of power and workplace sexual harassment. He goes after each of the female dancers in the company, asking them to his hotel room to give notes while he edits “Liza with a Z.” One dancer refuses to let him go up to her apartment, saying she has a boyfriend and repeatedly saying “No” as he tries to kiss her. The next day she loses her solo dance. Gwen who's visiting the rehearsal room immediately notices.
“Lousy dancer or bad lay?”
The replacement is Ann Reinking - played by Qualley. She’s introduced off-handedly and with no big intro though she gets to dance but not much more. Yet she refuses his hotel room invite. Again Verdon is astute in her observation.
“She’s too good for you. She doesn’t have to visit your hotel room to get the solo.”
This is not a Gwen-full episode, though we get two dynamite scenes from Williams. One in her dressing after the opening night of "Children Children". She get a visit from Fosse, who has refused to help her with the play. While he is not apologizing she is taking off her makeup and telling him that the play has already been cancelled after catastrophic reviews.The gamut of emotions run on her face as it is reflected in the mirror. Later on she visits her friend Joan Simon (Aya Cash) who indicates that she knows she’s dying from cancer. The two actresses give us a wonderfully touching and emotional scene that telegraphes the deep friendship and love between their characters.
There’s a gift for award show lovers as the show recreates Fosse’s acceptance speeches in a montage as he wins his Emmys, Tonys and Oscar. Fittingly he only thanks Verdon at the Oscars. We also get a comic scene as he comes back home, Oscar in hand, drunk climbs into bed with Verdon and finds a surprise: Jake Lacy as Verdon’s new boyfriend Ron. Earlier in the episode Verdon told Simon about his very talented finger. Glad she was having fun.
The episode ends with the nervous breakdown it has been foreshadowing for most of its running time. I grew impatient with that repetitiveness. We end with Fosse checking himself into a mental health facility, while his daughter Nicole sings. He didn't set himself on fire after all but he sure burned himself.