structural:reformatting, quality:correction, structural:scholar_edition, information:classification
1954–1958: Work as a choreographer

In 1954, Fosse choreographed his first musical, The Pajama Game, followed by My Sister Eileen and George Abbott 's Damn Yankees in 1955. It was while working on Damn Yankees that he first met rising star Gwen Verdon, whom he married in 1960. For her work in Damn Yankees, Verdon won her first Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical in 1956. She had previously won a Tony for Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Musical for Can-Can (1954). In 1957, Fosse choreographed New Girl in Town, also directed by Abbott, and Verdon won her second Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical in 1958.

In 1957, Fosse choreographed the film version of The Pajama Game starring Doris Day. The next year, Fosse appeared in and choreographed the film version of Damn Yankees, in which Verdon reprised her stage triumph as the character Lola. Fosse and Verdon were partners in the mambo number "Who's Got the Pain". In 1959, Fosse directed and choreographed the musical Redhead. For his work on Redhead, Fosse won the Tony Award for Best Choreography while Verdon won her third Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical. Redhead won the Tony Award for best musical. Fosse's next feature was supposed to be the musical The Conquering Hero based on a book by Larry Gelbart, but he was replaced as director/choreographer.

In 1961, Fosse choreographed the satirical Broadway musical How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying starring Robert Morse. The story revolves around an ambitious man, J. Pierrepont Finch (Morse), who, with the help of the book How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, rises from window washer to chairman of the board of the World Wide Wicket Company. The musical was an instant hit. In 1963, Fosse was nominated for two Tony Awards for Best Choreography and Best Direction of a Musical for the musical Little Me, winning the former. He choreographed and directed Verdon in Sweet Charity in 1966.