Broadway music arranger Howard dead at 80

ENGLEWOOD, N.J., May 4 (UPI) -- Dance music arranger Peter Howard, highly regarded for his work on several Broadway hits, has died of pneumonia in Englewood, N.J., at the age of 80.

Howard enjoyed a successful career on dozens of Broadway productions between 1949 and 2000, including versions of "Annie," "Chicago" and "Hello, Dolly!," The New York Times reported Sunday.

Tony Award-winning director Susan Stroman said Howard's dance numbers were not only entertaining but stylish thanks to his impressive talents.

"A composer writes 32 bars of a song -- for example, Gershwin's 'I Got Rhythm' -- and Peter turns it into a 12-minute dance arrangement," she said. "He understood style, entertainment value, when the characters were in love, when they were supposed to have a comic or a dramatic moment and, most of all, how to support the choreography with the

music."

In addition to working with Stroman, Howard also paired with noted choreographers Bob Fosse, Danny Daniels and Gower Champion.

The Times said Howard, who died April 18, is survived by his son, Jason, and a granddaughter.