Editing Jerome Robbins (section)

===1950s===
[[File:Jerome Robbins 1951.jpg|thumb|upright|right|alt=close-up portrait shot of a man in his 30s.  The image appears to have been shot from above the man and slightly to the right of him, so his head appears at an angle.  The man has a full head of wavy black hair, he appears to be slightly smiling as he regards the viewer, and enough of his shirt can be viewed to see that his collar is open.|Robbins in 1951]]

At New York City Ballet Robbins distinguished himself immediately as both dancer and choreographer.  He was noted for his performances in Balanchine's 1929 "The Prodigal Son" (revived expressly for him), Til Eulenspiegel, and (with Tanaquil LeClercq) Bouree Fantasque, as well as for his own ballets, such as Age of Anxiety, The Cage, Afternoon of a Faun, and The Concert, in all of which LeClercq played leading roles. He continued working on Broadway, as well as, staging dances for [[Irving Berlin]]'s ''[[Call Me Madam]]'', starring [[Ethel Merman]], [[Rodgers and Hammerstein]]'s ''[[The King and I]],'' in which he created the celebrated "Small House of Uncle Thomas" ballet in addition to other dances, and the revue Two's Company, starring Bette Davis.

He also performed uncredited show doctoring on the musicals ''[[A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (musical)|A Tree Grows in Brooklyn]]'' (1951), ''[[Wish You Were Here (musical)|Wish You Were Here]]'' (1952), ''[[Wonderful Town]]'' (1953), and choreographed and directed several sketches for [[The Ford 50th Anniversary Show]], starring [[Mary Martin]] and Ethel Merman on CBS.<ref name= Harris-23>{{cite book |editor-last1=Harris |editor-first1=Jay S. |title=TV Guide: The First 25 Years | year=1978 |publisher=New American Library |location=New York |isbn=0-452-25225-3 | page=23}}</ref>

In 1954, Robbins collaborated with [[George Abbott]] on ''[[The Pajama Game]]'' (1954), which launched the career of [[Shirley MacLaine]], and created, choreographed, and directed the Mary Martin vehicle, ''[[Peter Pan (1954 musical)|Peter Pan]]''  (which he re-staged for an Emmy Award-winning television special in 1955, earning himself a nomination for best choreography). He also directed and co-choreographed (with [[Bob Fosse]]) ''[[Bells Are Ringing (musical)|Bells Are Ringing]]'' (1956), starring [[Judy Holliday]]. Robbins recreated his stage dances for The King and I for the [[The King and I (1956 film)|1956 film version]]. In 1957, he conceived, choreographed, and directed ''[[West Side Story]]''.

''West Side Story'' is a contemporary version of ''[[Romeo and Juliet]]'', set on the [[Upper West Side]]. The show, with music by Leonard Bernstein, marked the first collaboration between Robbins and [[Stephen Sondheim]], who wrote the lyrics, as well as [[Arthur Laurents]], who wrote the book. Because book, music, and dance were envisioned as an organic whole, the cast, in a Broadway first, had to be equally skilled as actors, singers, and dancers. To help the young cast grow into their roles, Robbins did not allow those playing members of opposite gangs (Jets and Sharks) to mix during the rehearsal process.  He also, according to dancer Linda Talcott Lee, "played psychological games" with the cast: "And he would plant rumors among one gang about the other, so they really hated each other."<ref name=gihring>{{cite news| last1=Gihring| first1=Tim| last2=Scott| first2= Gregory J.| title=July 2011 Arts Calendar| url=http://www.minnesotamonthly.com/media/Minnesota-Monthly/July-2011/July-2011-Arts-Calendar/| work=Minnesota Monthly| date=July 2011| publisher=Greenspring Media Group Inc| access-date=February 25, 2014}}</ref>  Although it opened to good reviews, it was overshadowed by [[Meredith Willson]]'s ''[[The Music Man]]'' at that year's Tony Awards. ''West Side Story'' did, however, earn Robbins his second [[Tony Award]] for [[Tony Award for Best Choreography|choreography]].

The streak of hits continued with ''[[Gypsy: A Musical Fable|Gypsy]]'' (1959), starring [[Ethel Merman]].  Robbins re-teamed with Sondheim and Laurents, and the music was by [[Jule Styne]]. The musical is based (loosely) on the life of stripper [[Gypsy Rose Lee]].

In 1956 Robbins's muse, [[Tanaquil LeClercq]], contracted polio and was paralyzed; for the next decade Robbins largely withdrew from his activities at New York City Ballet, but he established his own small dance company, Ballets USA, which premiered at the inaugural season of Gian Carlo Menotti's Festival of the Two Worlds in Spoleto, Italy in June 1958, toured Europe and the US under the auspices of the State Department, and appeared on television on The Ed Sullivan Show.  Among the dances he created for Ballets USA were N.Y. Export: Opus Jazz and Moves.

==== House Un-American Activities Committee ====
In 1950, Robbins was called to testify before the [[House Un-American Activities Committee|House Committee on Un-American Activities]] (HUAC), suspected of Communist sympathies. Robbins, though willing to confess to past party membership, resisted naming names of others with similar political connections; he held out for three years until, according to two family members in whom he confided, he was threatened with public exposure of his homosexuality.<ref name=pbs>{{cite web| title=Jerome Robbins-About the Artist| last=Vaill| first=Amanda| date=January 27, 2009| url=https://www.pbs.org/wnet/americanmasters/episodes/jerome-robbins/about-the-artist/1099/| work=[[American Masters]]| publisher=[[PBS]]| access-date=February 25, 2014}}</ref> Robbins named the names of persons he said were Communists, including actors Lloyd Gough and Elliot Sullivan, dance critic Edna Ocko, filmmaker Lionel Berman, playwright Jerome Chodorov, his brother Edward Chodorov, Madeline Lee Gilford and her husband [[Jack Gilford]], who were blacklisted for their perceived political beliefs and had their careers suffer noticeably, to the point Gilford and his wife often had to borrow money from friends to make ends meet.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.nysun.com/obituaries/madeline-lee-gilford-84-actress-and-activist/74950/|title=Madeline Lee Gilford, 84, Actress and Activist - April 18, 2008 - The New York Sun|work=The New York Sun |date=October 12, 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081012193912/http://www.nysun.com/obituaries/madeline-lee-gilford-84-actress-and-activist/74950/|archive-date=October 12, 2008}}</ref> Because he cooperated with HUAC, Robbins's career did not visibly suffer and he was not blacklisted.<ref name=vaill>{{cite book| first=Amanda| last=Vaill| title=Somewhere: The Life of Jerome Robbins| location=New York| publisher=Broadway Books| date=May 6, 2008| url=https://archive.org/details/somewherelifeofj00vail| isbn=978-0767904216| url-access=registration}}</ref>