Black and Blue (musical)
Encyclopedia
Black and Blue is a musical revue celebrating the black
culture of dance and music in Paris
between World War I
and World War II
.
Based on an idea by Mel Howard and conceived by Hector Orezzoli and Claudio Segovia, it consists of songs by artists such as W. C. Handy
, Louis Armstrong
, Duke Ellington
, Fats Waller
, Eubie Blake
, and Big Maybelle
and skits peppered with bits of bawdy humor.
in 1985. The Broadway production
opened on January 26, 1989 at the Minskoff Theatre
and closed on January 20, 1991 after 829 performances and 32 previews. Directed by Orezzoli and Segovia and choreographed by Henry LeTang
, Cholly Atkins
, Frankie Manning
, and Fayard Nicholas
the cast of forty-one singers, dancers, and musicians included Ruth Brown
, Linda Hopkins
,Carrie Smith, Savion Glover
, Claude Williams
, Roland Hanna
, Grady Tate
, Jimmy Slyde
, Bill Easley
, Jimmy "Preacher" Robins, Lon Chaney (the jazz tap dancer, not the actor) and Bunny Briggs
.
The score included "St. Louis Blues," "I Can't Give You Anything But Love," "In a Sentimental Mood," "Am I Blue?," "Stompin' at the Savoy," and the title tune.
The original cast recording won a Grammy Award
.
Following the Broadway engagement, Howard took Black and Blue on two Europe
an tours, performing at such venues as The Chatelet Theater in Paris
, The Thalia in Hamburg
, Theater des Westens in Berlin
, The Deutsches Theater in Munich
, and The Carre Theater in Amsterdam
.
A television production directed by Robert Altman aired on PBS in 1993. The Variety reviewer wrote:"'Black and Blue' never looked as good on Broadway as it does in Robert Altman's keenly observed, briskly paced small-screen version of the rhythm and blues revue. This is a slightly reduced edition of Altman's February 1991 taping at the Minskoff Theater, sold as a pay-per-view in Japan."
Black people
The term black people is used in systems of racial classification for humans of a dark skinned phenotype, relative to other racial groups.Different societies apply different criteria regarding who is classified as "black", and often social variables such as class, socio-economic status also plays a...
culture of dance and music in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
between World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
and World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
.
Based on an idea by Mel Howard and conceived by Hector Orezzoli and Claudio Segovia, it consists of songs by artists such as W. C. Handy
W. C. Handy
William Christopher Handy was a blues composer and musician. He was widely known as the "Father of the Blues"....
, Louis Armstrong
Louis Armstrong
Louis Armstrong , nicknamed Satchmo or Pops, was an American jazz trumpeter and singer from New Orleans, Louisiana....
, Duke Ellington
Duke Ellington
Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington was an American composer, pianist, and big band leader. Ellington wrote over 1,000 compositions...
, Fats Waller
Fats Waller
Fats Waller , born Thomas Wright Waller, was a jazz pianist, organist, composer, singer, and comedic entertainer...
, Eubie Blake
Eubie Blake
James Hubert Blake was an American composer, lyricist, and pianist of ragtime, jazz, and popular music. In 1921, Blake and long-time collaborator Noble Sissle wrote the Broadway musical Shuffle Along, one of the first Broadway musicals to be written and directed by African Americans...
, and Big Maybelle
Big Maybelle
Mabel Louise Smith , known professionally as Big Maybelle, was an American R&B singer and pianist. Her 1956 hit single "Candy" received the Grammy Hall of Fame Award in 1999.-Biography:...
and skits peppered with bits of bawdy humor.
Productions
The revue was first presented at the Chatelet Theatre in ParisParis
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
in 1985. The Broadway production
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
opened on January 26, 1989 at the Minskoff Theatre
Minskoff Theatre
The Minskoff Theatre is a legitimate Broadway theatre, located at 1515 Broadway in midtown-Manhattan. It is now showing the musical The Lion King, based on the Disney animated film of the same name....
and closed on January 20, 1991 after 829 performances and 32 previews. Directed by Orezzoli and Segovia and choreographed by Henry LeTang
Henry LeTang
Henry LeTang was an American theatre,film, and television choreographer and a dance instructor.-Biography:Born in the Harlem neighbourhood of Manhattan, LeTang was the second son of Clarence, born in Dominica, and his wife Marie, who emigrated from St. Croix. The couple owned and operated a radio...
, Cholly Atkins
Cholly Atkins
Charles “Cholly” Atkins was an American dancer and vaudeville performer, who later became noted as the house choreographer for the various artists on the Motown label.-Biography:...
, Frankie Manning
Frankie Manning
Frankie Manning was an American dancer, instructor and choreographer. Manning is considered one of the founding fathers of the Lindy Hop.-Early years:...
, and Fayard Nicholas
Fayard Nicholas
Fayard Antonio Nicholas...
the cast of forty-one singers, dancers, and musicians included Ruth Brown
Ruth Brown
Ruth Brown was an American pop and R&B singer-songwriter, record producer, composer and actress, noted for bringing a pop music style to R&B music in a series of hit songs for Atlantic Records in the 1950s, such as "So Long", "Teardrops from My Eyes" and " He Treats Your Daughter Mean".For these...
, Linda Hopkins
Linda Hopkins
Linda Hopkins is an African American actress and blues and gospel singer. She has recorded classic, traditional, and urban blues, and performed R&B and soul, jazz, and show tunes, all with distinction and style since the 1950s....
,Carrie Smith, Savion Glover
Savion Glover
Savion Glover is an American tap dancer, actor, and choreographer. As a learning prodigy, he was taught by notable dancers from previous generations. Glover is currently interested in restoring African roots to tap...
, Claude Williams
Claude Williams (musician)
Claude "The Fiddler" Williams was an American jazz violinist and guitarist.Williams was born in Muskogee, Oklahoma, in 1908, and by 10 he had learned to play guitar, mandolin, banjo and cello. Upon hearing Joe Venuti play, he was inspired to take up the violin...
, Roland Hanna
Roland Hanna
Roland Hanna was an American Jazz pianist.Hanna studied classical piano as a boy, but was strongly interested in jazz. This increased after his time in military service.He studied at Eastman School of Music and Juilliard School...
, Grady Tate
Grady Tate
Grady Tate, , is a hard bop and soul-jazz drummer and singer.He has played with Lional Hampton, Jimmy Smith, Grant Green, Lena Horne, Astrud Gilberto, Ella Fitzgerald, Miles Davis, Blossom Dearie, Chris Connor, Sarah Vaughan, Ray Charles, Cal Tjader, Peggy Lee, Bill Evans, Duke Ellington, Count...
, Jimmy Slyde
Jimmy Slyde
Jimmy Slyde known as the King of Slides, was a world-renowned tap dancer, especially famous for his innovative tap style mixed with jazz....
, Bill Easley
Bill Easley
Bill Easley plays alto, tenor and the flute, and the clarinet. He worked with George Benson in the late 60s Isaac Hayes in the 70s. He Attended Memphis State University in the 1970s. He also did sessions at Stax and Hi Records . Easley moved back to New York in 1980 and has recorded sessions for...
, Jimmy "Preacher" Robins, Lon Chaney (the jazz tap dancer, not the actor) and Bunny Briggs
Bunny Briggs
Bunny Briggs is an American tap dancer who was inducted into the American Tap Dancing Hall of Fame in 2006.Briggs was born in Harlem, New York on February 26, 1922. At one point he thought about becoming a Catholic priest but instead began performing as a tap dancer and singer. He performed with...
.
The score included "St. Louis Blues," "I Can't Give You Anything But Love," "In a Sentimental Mood," "Am I Blue?," "Stompin' at the Savoy," and the title tune.
The original cast recording won a Grammy Award
Grammy Award
A Grammy Award — or Grammy — is an accolade by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry...
.
Following the Broadway engagement, Howard took Black and Blue on two Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
an tours, performing at such venues as The Chatelet Theater in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, The Thalia in Hamburg
Hamburg
-History:The first historic name for the city was, according to Claudius Ptolemy's reports, Treva.But the city takes its modern name, Hamburg, from the first permanent building on the site, a castle whose construction was ordered by the Emperor Charlemagne in AD 808...
, Theater des Westens in Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
, The Deutsches Theater in Munich
Munich
Munich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...
, and The Carre Theater in Amsterdam
Amsterdam
Amsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...
.
A television production directed by Robert Altman aired on PBS in 1993. The Variety reviewer wrote:"'Black and Blue' never looked as good on Broadway as it does in Robert Altman's keenly observed, briskly paced small-screen version of the rhythm and blues revue. This is a slightly reduced edition of Altman's February 1991 taping at the Minskoff Theater, sold as a pay-per-view in Japan."
Awards and nominations
Tony Awards- Best Musical (nominee)
- Best Actress in a Musical (Brown, winner; Hopkins, nominee)
- Best Featured Actor in a Musical (Briggs and Glover, nominees)
- Best Scenic Design (Scenery conceived by Claudio Segovia, Héctor Orezzoli) (nominee)
- Best Costume Design (Costumes conceived by Claudio Segovia, Héctor Orezzoli) (winner)
- Best Lighting Design (Neil Peter Jampolis, Jane Reisman) (nominee)
- Best Choreography (Cholly Atkins, Henry LeTang, Frankie Manning, Fayard Nicholas) (winner)
- Best Direction of a Musical Musical (Claudio Segovia, Héctor Orezzoli) (nominee)
- Drama Desk AwardDrama Desk AwardThe Drama Desk Awards, which are given annually in a number of categories, are the only major New York theater honors for which productions on Broadway, Off-Broadway, Off-Off-Broadway compete against each other in the same category...
- Outstanding Musical (Produced by Mel Howard, Donald K. Donald) (nominee)
- Outstanding Lighting Design (nominee)