Broadway's Lee Wilson to Sign 'REBEL ON POINTE' Memoir at Barnes & Noble Next Month

Lee Wilson, former cast member of Hello Dolly!, A Chorus Line, You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown and Meet Me in St. Louis, will discuss and sign her new book, Rebel on Pointe: A Memoir of Ballet and Broadway, at Barnes & Noble on Broadway on Dec. 8.

In 1964, Wilson moved to New York and joined the Metropolitan Opera Ballet at the age of 18. She performed in the operas Samson and Delilah, Aida, The Last Savage, La Périchole, Queen of Spades and Antony and Cleopatra, and in the ballets Les Sylphides and Polovetsian Dances, among others. Yet Wilson had her sights on Broadway.

"Every day, as I walked to the Metropolitan Opera House, I passed through the Broadway theatre district," she recounts in her memoir. "I wanted to become a part of this magical, musical, mind-expanding world," she says.

Wilson left ballet for Broadway when she joined the cast of Hello, Dolly! in 1967. She continued her Broadway career with Here's Where I Belong, How Now Dow Jones, the Lincoln Center revival of Oklahoma! and the original Broadway company of You're A Good Man, Charlie Brown. In 1983 Wilson starred in Broadway's record-breaking 3,389th performance of A Chorus Line, and in 1989 she starred in Meet Me in St. Louis, receiving the Gypsy Robe on opening night.

Wilson's memoir recounts her journey from a pigeon-toed ballerina-in-training to a professional Broadway performer. She made her debut as a classical ballet dancer at the age of 16 in a command performance for Prince Rainier and Princess Grace in Monte Carlo. She toured Europe with the Hommage au Marquis de Cuevas and was première danseuse of the Bordeaux Opera Ballet.

In addition to revealing her life story, Wilson's memoir offers her firsthand accounts of dance icons like George Balanchine, Rosella Hightower, Erik Bruhn and Rudolf Nureyev. The book also depicts women's fight for equality and their struggle to overcome the rigid gender roles of the 1950s. Through her narrative, Wilson portrays dancing as a leading force in the liberation of women from the prison of patriarchal postwar society.

The event will take place on Monday, Dec. 8, at 7 p.m. at Barnes & Noble on 82nd and Broadway (2289 Broadway). Lee Wilson will discuss her time in Europe, dancing with the Metropolitan Opera Ballet, and starring on Broadway. Wilson will answer audience questions and sign copies of her book.

REBEL ON POINTE: A MEMOIR OF BALLET AND BROADWAY

By Lee Wilson

ISBN: 978-0-8130-6008-8 Hardcover $24.95 • 224 pages

Available for purchase from booksellers worldwide.