Sam Viverito

Sam Viverito, an acclaimed dancer, director, and choreographer who appeared as Paul in A Chorus Line on Broadway and internationally, died at his home in Manhattan on Thursday, March 30, following a two-year battle with thyroid cancer.

Samuel Frank Viverito was born in Niagara Falls, New York on July 10, 1954, to Frank and Grace Lester Viverito. At age 11, he joined his sister Patti as a dance student of the late Beverly Fletcher Bellegia, co-founder of the theater program at Niagara University and Miss Bev's Dance Studio in Niagara Falls.

Sam's professional theater debut was an unusual stroke of luck and opportunity. A Chorus Line creator Michael Bennett, another of "Miss Bev's" proteges, spotted Sam performing while still a student at the University of Buffalo and offered him the role of Mike on the first national tour of the show. Sam preferred to complete his education before working professionally and requested that the offer be delayed until he obtained his theater arts degree. Bennett agreed, and Sam joined the original Chorus Line tour post-graduation.

After advancing to the role of Paul, serving as dance captain, and performing with the first international company, Sam became a member of the Broadway Chorus Line cast as Doug and Paul. He would also appear as one of the "nine Pauls" in the 1983 Chorus Line gala celebrating the show's record-breaking 3,389th performance at the Shubert Theatre. The famous Elson & Swope A Chorus Line poster featuring Sam front and center of the V-line finale was displayed throughout the world.

Four weeks after leaving Chorus Line, Sam was dancing on the Emmy Awards television broadcast where he was spotted by celebrated actress-dancer-singer Rita Moreno. She hired him for her nightclub act, with which he toured for two years. One of his fondest memories was Ms. Moreno's introduction of Sam, as an homage to his father: "Here he is, Frankie's boy, Sam Viverito!"

It was while touring with Harold Prince's Evita as performer and dance captain in 1982 that Sam experienced some significant life changes. He met the production's prolific scenic designer, Michael Hotopp, later a multiple Emmy award winner. Sam and Michael became life partners for nearly 40 years, marrying in New York on February 28, 2017, and remaining together until Hotopp's death in 2020.

Sam also made the decision to, as he said, "hang up my performing shoes and get to the other side of the table." His career as a choreographer began with music videos and venues such as the Baltimore Opera Company, Paper Mill Playhouse, Walnut Street Theatre, Seattle Repertory, and Studio Arena Theatre. His television choreography included the PBS Great Performances premiere of the New Jersey Performing Arts Center, dance segments for multiple episodes of NBC's Another World, and numerous commercials. He worked with such artists as Liza Minnelli, Chita Rivera, Betty White, Lou Gossett, Jr., and Kate Mulgrew.

As director-choreographer, Sam became a foremost interpreter of Bennett's original Chorus Line staging, directing regional productions, national and international tours, including 25th anniversary productions. His other national tours included Spamalot, Gypsy, and Man of La Mancha.

Regional productions included La Cage aux Folles (with Larry Kert and Harvey Evans), Annie (with Sally Struthers), Funny Girl, Sweet Charity, 42nd Street, Evita, Buddy, Guys and Dolls, Broadway Bound, variety productions in Branson, MO, and numerous shows for the noted Council of Stock Theaters (COST). Internationally, Sam directed and choreographed in South Korea (including Korea's first American company of A Chorus Line), England, Australia, Japan, Dubai, Bali, Malaysia, and Canada.

In New York, Sam directed and/or choreographed nearly a dozen Off-Broadway musicals, plays, and cabaret revues, including Cut the Ribbons starring Donna McKechnie, Georgia Engel and Barbara Feldon, and An Intolerant Vaudeville, which Sam created and co-wrote, inspired by his visit to the Museum of Tolerance-Beit HaShoah in Los Angeles.

Through his company, VIVO Inc., Sam created productions for major corporations. One of his final plans was for the creation of Hapi, a series of festival events for the LGBTQ+ community and allies.

Sam often said that he was particularly proud of the fact that he always managed to create a safe, comfortable working environment for his casts. He was known among his friends as an extraordinary kind and generous man who, with his husband, hosted memorable gatherings throughout their lives together.

His generosity included participation for many years in the Manhattan Walk to End Alzheimer's in honor of his parents, uncle, and mentor Beverly Fletcher. Both he and his sister Patti Cugnin-Cook assisted Ms. Fletcher in preparation of her seminal 2002 reference book Tapworks for the Princeton Book Company. He was also a supporter of several non-profits, including Dancers Over 40, Friends of Niagara University Theater, and the Wounded Warrior Project, and initiated a scholarship fund in honor of his husband Michael Hotopp at New York University, Hotopp's alma mater.

In addition to his sister Patti and her husband Jack Cugnin-Cook, Sam is survived by his brother Michael Viverito, all of Florida; cousins, godchildren, and legions of friends. Plans for a memorial service are pending.

In lieu of flowers, Sam requested that donations be made to the Michael Hotopp Scholarship Fund, which he established at NYU in honor of his late husband. The NYU GiveCampus link is: https://www.givecampus.com/campaigns/25654/donations/new; under "Designation," enter "Michael Hotopp Scholarship Fund."