Bennett made his choreographic debut with "A Joyful Noise" (1966), which lasted only twelve performances, and in 1967 followed it with another failure, "Henry, Sweet Henry" (based on the Peter Sellers film "The World of Henry Orient"). Success finally arrived in 1968, when he choreographed the hit musical "Promises, Promises" on Broadway. With a contemporary pop score by Burt Bacharach and Hal David, a wisecracking book by Neil Simon and Bennett's well-received production numbers, including "Turkey Lurkey Time", the show ran for 1,281 performances. Over the next few years, he earned praise for his work on the straight play "Twigs" with Sada Thompson and the musical "Coco" with Katharine Hepburn. These were followed by two Stephen Sondheim productions, "Company," and "Follies" co-directed with Hal Prince.