Smokey Joe's Cafe
Encyclopedia
Smokey Joe's Cafe is a musical revue
showcasing 39 pop standards, including rock and roll
, rhythm and blues
songs written by songwriters Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller. The Original Broadway
cast recording
, Smokey Joe's Cafe: The Songs Of Leiber And Stoller won a Grammy award
in 1996.
After a Los Angeles
tryout, the revue opened on Broadway
in 1995, running for 2,036 performances, and had a London run in 1996.
Act I
Act II
in Los Angeles
where it ran from November 1994 to January 22, 1995.
The revue opened on Broadway
on March 2, 1995 at the Virginia Theatre and closed on January 16, 2000 after 2,036 performances. Directed by Jerry Zaks
with choreography by Joey McKneely, the nine person cast featured Ken Ard, Brenda Braxton, Victor Trent Cook, B. J. Crosby, and DeLee Lively. Throughout its run, there were special appearances by many popular singers, including Pam Tillis
(April 1999), Gladys Knight
(May 1999), Tony Orlando
(June 1999), Lou Rawls
(April 1999), Gloria Gaynor
(August 1999) and Rick Springfield
(October 1999). Gladys Knight also appeared in the tour when it played Boston in February 2000. The final performance was filmed and later released on DVD in 2001.
It premiered in the West End
at the Prince of Wales Theatre
on October 1, 1996 and ran through January 1, 1997. Zaks directed and McKneely choreographed, with some of the Broadway cast (Cook, Lively and Crosby) repeating their roles.
, in reviewing the Los Angeles tryout, noted that "the songwriters, director Jerry Zaks and choreographer Joey McKneely don't do enough packaging of the material, don't go far enough taking songs first heard on transistor radios and re-imagining them for the stage...There are a couple of halfhearted attempts at structure. The show opens and closes with the 1974 obscurity "Neighborhood," which suggests this will be a scrapbook of memories."
Ben Brantley, the theatre critic for The New York Times
wrote that the revue "is a strangely homogenized tribute to one of popular music's most protean songwriting teams...There has obviously been a decision not to go for literal period nostalgia, so the songs are freed from their distinctive original contexts...Too often, though, the performers are simply singing into space without any ostensible reason for being there."
The theatre critic for The Guardian (London), noted that the London cast consists of "acting singers rather than singing actors, which suits a show where there's almost no acting to be done. Whew - no pesky plot development or subtexts, just a glut of glowing pop tunes...There's no attempt at chronology, or even biography."
According to the theatre critic for the Washington Post, Peter Marks, the revue "never quite attained smash-hit status", but it made popular the musical fashioned on the existing work of "pop composers already beloved by baby boomers."
The original cast recording
won the Grammy Award for Best Musical Show Album
in 1996.
Revue
A revue is a type of multi-act popular theatrical entertainment that combines music, dance and sketches. The revue has its roots in 19th century American popular entertainment and melodrama but grew into a substantial cultural presence of its own during its golden years from 1916 to 1932...
showcasing 39 pop standards, including rock and roll
Rock and roll
Rock and roll is a genre of popular music that originated and evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s, primarily from a combination of African American blues, country, jazz, and gospel music...
, rhythm and blues
Rhythm and blues
Rhythm and blues, often abbreviated to R&B, is a genre of popular African American music that originated in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predominantly to urban African Americans, at a time when "urbane, rocking, jazz based music with a...
songs written by songwriters Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller. The Original Broadway
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...
cast recording
Cast recording
A cast recording is a recording of a musical that is intended to document the songs as they were performed in the show and experienced by the audience. An original cast recording, as the name implies, features the voices of the show's original cast...
, Smokey Joe's Cafe: The Songs Of Leiber And Stoller 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...
in 1996.
After a Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
tryout, the revue opened on Broadway
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...
in 1995, running for 2,036 performances, and had a London run in 1996.
Synopsis
In revue format with no unifying theme the 39 songs are presented by various members of the cast in various combinations, with no dialogue. There are novelty songs ("Charlie Brown"), romantic ballads ("Spanish Harlem") and infectious melodies ("There Goes My Baby").Songs
Lyrics and music by Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller (unless otherwise noted)Act I
- Neighborhood (Music and Lyrics By John Sembello, Ralph Dino, Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller)
- Young BloodYoung Blood"Young Blood" is a song written by the songwriting team Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller, together with Doc Pomus, in 1957.The song was included in the musical revue Smokey Joe's Cafe.-Structure:...
(Music and Lyrics By Doc Pomus, Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller) - Falling
- Ruby BabyRuby Baby"Ruby Baby" is a song written by Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller. It was originally recorded by The Drifters and was a major R&B hit for them in 1956...
- Dance With Me (Music and Lyrics By Louis Lebish, George Treadwell, Irv Nathan, Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller)
- Neighborhood (Reprise) (Music and Lyrics By John Sembello, Ralph Dino, Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller)
- Keep On Rollin'
- Searchin'Searchin'"Searchin" is a song written by Leiber and Stoller specifically for The Coasters. It was released as a single on Atco Records in March 1957, and topped the Rhythm and Blues Chart for twelve weeks...
- Kansas City
- TroubleTrouble (Elvis Presley song)Amanda Lear's debut single was a recording of "Trouble", released in the UK by Creole Records. A French language translation by Vline Buggy, titled "La Bagarre", was released in France by Polydor. Lear performed the song on an episode of Musikladen aired 29 May 1976 in West Germany. Clad in black...
- Love MeLove Me (Leiber/Stoller song)"Love Me" is a sentimental song composed by Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller and popularized by Elvis Presley in 1956. Conceived as a parody of a country western music, it was initially interpreted by R&B duo Willy and Ruth in 1954 , then by Georgia Gibbs the same year...
/ Don'tDon't (Elvis Presley song)"Don't" is a song performed by Elvis Presley, which was released in 1958. It was Presley's eleventh number-one hit in the United States. "Don't" also peaked at number four on the R&B charts .... - Fools Fall In LoveFools Fall In LoveFools Fall In Love is a song by Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller. It was originally recorded by the Drifters, who took it to #10 on the R&B charts in 1957. Elvis Presley recorded a more up-tempo version in 1966....
- Poison IvyPoison Ivy (song)"Poison Ivy" is a popular song by American songwriting duo Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller. It was originally recorded by The Coasters in 1959. It went to #1 on the R&B chart and #7 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart...
- Don Juan
- Shoppin' for Clothes (Music and Lyrics By Kent Harris, Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller)
- I Keep Forgettin'I Keep Forgettin'"I Keep Forgettin'" is a song written by Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller in the early 1960s, and it was originally recorded by Chuck Jackson. It reached #55 on the Billboard Top 100 and remained on the chart for 7 weeks. It did not chart on the R&B chart...
- On Broadway (Music and Lyrics By Barry Mann, Cynthia Weil, Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller)
- D.W. Washburn
- Saved
Act II
- Baby That Is Rock & Roll
- Yakety YakYakety Yak"Yakety Yak" is a song written, produced, and arranged by Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller for The Coasters and released on Atlantic Records in 1958, spending seven weeks as number one on the R&B charts and a week as number one on the Hot 100 pop list...
- Charlie BrownCharlie Brown (song)"Charlie Brown" is a popular Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller song that was a top-ten hit for The Coasters in the spring of 1959 . It went to #2 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles charts, and was the first of three top-ten hits for the Coasters that year...
- Stay a While
- Pearl's a SingerPearl's A Singer"Pearl's a Singer" is a song made famous by the UK singer Elkie Brooks, as taken from her 1977 album, Two Days Away. It was first recorded by its principal writers Ralph Dino and John Sembello in 1974....
(Music and Lyrics By John Sembello, Ralph Dino, Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller) - Teach Me How to Shimmy
- You're the Boss
- Loving You
- Treat Me Nice
- Hound DogHound Dog (song)"Hound Dog" is a twelve-bar blues written by Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller and originally recorded by Willie Mae "Big Mama" Thornton in 1952. Other early versions illustrate the differences among blues, country, and rock and roll in the mid-1950s. The 1956 remake by Elvis Presley is the best-known...
- Little Egypt
- I'm a WomanI'm a Woman (song)The song "I'm a Woman" was written by famed songwriting duo Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller, and was first recorded in 1962 by Christine Kittrell. It was also the title song to Peggy Lee's 1963 album I'm a Woman . It was a minor hit single for Lee, reaching number 54 on U.S...
- There Goes My Baby (Music and Lyrics By Benjamin Earl Nelson, Lover Patterson, George Treadwell, Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller)
- Love Potion #9Love Potion No. 9 (song)"Love Potion No. 9" is a song written in 1959 by Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller. It was originally performed by The Clovers.-Story:The song describes a man seeking help finding love, so he talks to a Gypsy, who determines through palm reading that he needs "love potion number 9"...
- Some Cats Know
- Jailhouse RockJailhouse Rock (song)"Jailhouse Rock" is a song written by Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller that first became a hit for Elvis Presley. The song was released as a 45rpm single on September 24, 1957, to coincide with the release of Presley's motion picture, Jailhouse Rock...
- Fools Fall In Love(Reprise)
- Spanish HarlemSpanish Harlem (song)"Spanish Harlem" is a song released by Ben E. King in 1960 on Atco Records, written by Jerry Leiber and Phil Spector and produced by Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller...
(Music and Lyrics By Phil Spector and Jerry Leiber) - I (Who Have Nothing)I (Who Have Nothing)"I " is a song originally released in English by Ben E. King in 1963."I " is based on the Italian song "Uno Dei Tanti," with music by Carlo Donida and lyrics by Giulio "Mogol" Rapetti. "Uno Dei Tanti" was released by Joe Sentieri in 1961...
(Music and Lyrics By Carlo Donida, Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller) - Stand by MeStand by Me (song)"Stand by Me" is the title of a song originally performed by Ben E. King and written by King, Jerry Leiber, and Mike Stoller, based on the spiritual "Lord Stand by Me,", plus two lines rooted in Psalms 46:2-3...
(Music and Lyrics By Ben E. King, Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller) - That Is Rock & Roll
Productions
Smokey Joe's Cafe was conceived by Stephen Helper, Jack Viertel, and Otis Sallid. Presented in a revue format with no unifying theme, it showcases 39 songs, sung by members of the cast in various combinations, with no dialogue. The musical had its world premiere at the Ahmanson TheatreAhmanson Theatre
The Ahmanson Theatre is one of the four main venues that comprise the Los Angeles Music Center.Through the generosity of philanthropist Robert H. Ahmanson, construction began on March 9, 1962. The theatre opened on April 12, 1967 with a production of More Stately Mansions starring Ingrid Bergman,...
in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
where it ran from November 1994 to January 22, 1995.
The revue opened on Broadway
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...
on March 2, 1995 at the Virginia Theatre and closed on January 16, 2000 after 2,036 performances. Directed by Jerry Zaks
Jerry Zaks
Jerry Zaks is a German-born American stage and television director, and actor. He won the Tony Award for Best Direction of a Play and Drama Desk Award for directing The House of Blue Leaves, Lend Me A Tenor, and Six Degrees of Separation and the Tony Award for Best Direction of a Musical and Drama...
with choreography by Joey McKneely, the nine person cast featured Ken Ard, Brenda Braxton, Victor Trent Cook, B. J. Crosby, and DeLee Lively. Throughout its run, there were special appearances by many popular singers, including Pam Tillis
Pam Tillis
Pamela Yvonne "Pam" Tillis is an American country music singer-songwriter and actress. She is the daughter of country music singer Mel Tillis....
(April 1999), Gladys Knight
Gladys Knight
Gladys Maria Knight , known as the "Empress of Soul", is an American singer-songwriter, actress, businesswoman, humanitarian, and author...
(May 1999), Tony Orlando
Tony Orlando
Michael Anthony Orlando Cassavitis , better known as Tony Orlando, is an American show business professional, best known as the lead singer of the group Tony Orlando and Dawn in the early 1970s. Discovered by producer Don Kirshner, Orlando had songs on the charts in 1961 when he was 16, "Halfway to...
(June 1999), Lou Rawls
Lou Rawls
Louis Allen "Lou" Rawls was an American soul, jazz, and blues singer. He was known for his smooth vocal style: Frank Sinatra once said that Rawls had "the classiest singing and silkiest chops in the singing game"...
(April 1999), Gloria Gaynor
Gloria Gaynor
Gloria Gaynor is an American singer, best known for the disco era hits; "I Will Survive" , "Never Can Say Goodbye" , "Let Me Know " and "I Am What I Am" .-Early career:Gaynor was a singer with the Soul...
(August 1999) and Rick Springfield
Rick Springfield
Rick Springfield is an Australian-born singer-songwriter, musician, and actor. He was a member of pop rock group Zoot from 1969 to 1971 and then started his solo career with his début single "Speak to the Sky" reaching the top 10 in Australia. In mid-1972, he relocated to the United States...
(October 1999). Gladys Knight also appeared in the tour when it played Boston in February 2000. The final performance was filmed and later released on DVD in 2001.
It premiered in the West End
West End theatre
West End theatre is a popular term for mainstream professional theatre staged in the large theatres of London's 'Theatreland', the West End. Along with New York's Broadway theatre, West End theatre is usually considered to represent the highest level of commercial theatre in the English speaking...
at the Prince of Wales Theatre
Prince of Wales Theatre
The Prince of Wales Theatre is a West End theatre on Coventry Street, near Leicester Square in the City of Westminster. It was established in 1884 and rebuilt in 1937, and extensively refurbished in 2004 by Sir Cameron Mackintosh, its current owner...
on October 1, 1996 and ran through January 1, 1997. Zaks directed and McKneely choreographed, with some of the Broadway cast (Cook, Lively and Crosby) repeating their roles.
Response
The theatre critic for the magazine VarietyVariety (magazine)
Variety is an American weekly entertainment-trade magazine founded in New York City, New York, in 1905 by Sime Silverman. With the rise of the importance of the motion-picture industry, Daily Variety, a daily edition based in Los Angeles, California, was founded by Silverman in 1933. In 1998, the...
, in reviewing the Los Angeles tryout, noted that "the songwriters, director Jerry Zaks and choreographer Joey McKneely don't do enough packaging of the material, don't go far enough taking songs first heard on transistor radios and re-imagining them for the stage...There are a couple of halfhearted attempts at structure. The show opens and closes with the 1974 obscurity "Neighborhood," which suggests this will be a scrapbook of memories."
Ben Brantley, the theatre critic for The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
wrote that the revue "is a strangely homogenized tribute to one of popular music's most protean songwriting teams...There has obviously been a decision not to go for literal period nostalgia, so the songs are freed from their distinctive original contexts...Too often, though, the performers are simply singing into space without any ostensible reason for being there."
The theatre critic for The Guardian (London), noted that the London cast consists of "acting singers rather than singing actors, which suits a show where there's almost no acting to be done. Whew - no pesky plot development or subtexts, just a glut of glowing pop tunes...There's no attempt at chronology, or even biography."
According to the theatre critic for the Washington Post, Peter Marks, the revue "never quite attained smash-hit status", but it made popular the musical fashioned on the existing work of "pop composers already beloved by baby boomers."
Awards and nominations
1995 Tony Award nominations- Tony Award for Best MusicalTony Award for Best MusicalThis is a list of winners and nominations for the Tony Award for Best Musical, first awarded in 1949. This award is presented to the producers of the musical.-1940s:* 1949: Kiss Me, Kate – Music and lyrics by Cole Porter, book by Samuel and Bella Spewack...
- Produced by Richard Frankel, Thomas Viertel, Steven Baruch, Jujamcyn Theaters (James H. Binger: Chairman; Rocco Landesman: President; Paul Libin: Producing Director; Jack Viertel: Creative Director), Rick Steiner, Frederic H. Mayerson, Center Theatre Group / Ahmanson Theatre (Gordon Davidson, Artistic/Producing Director) - Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Musical - Ken Ard, Victor Trent Cook
- Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical - Brenda Braxton, B.J. Crosby, DeLee Lively
- Tony Award for Best ChoreographyTony Award for Best Choreography-1940s:* 1947: Agnes de Mille – Brigadoon / Michael Kidd – Finian's Rainbow* 1948: Jerome Robbins – High Button Shoes* 1949: Gower Champion – Lend An Ear-1950s:* 1950: Helen Tamiris – Touch and Go* 1951: Michael Kidd – Guys and Dolls...
- Joey McKneely - Tony Award for Best Direction of a MusicalTony Award for Best Direction of a MusicalThis is a list of winners and nominations for the Tony Award for Best Direction of a Musical. Prior to 1960, category for direction included plays and musicals.-1950s:Note: this category was for both dramatic and musical productions...
- Jerry Zaks
The original cast recording
Cast recording
A cast recording is a recording of a musical that is intended to document the songs as they were performed in the show and experienced by the audience. An original cast recording, as the name implies, features the voices of the show's original cast...
won the Grammy Award for Best Musical Show Album
Grammy Award for Best Musical Show Album
The Grammy Award for Best Musical Theater Album has been awarded since 1959. The award was given only to the album producer, and to the composer and lyricist who wrote at least 51% of the music which had not been recorded previously....
in 1996.
External links
http://www.ibdb.com/show.php?id=8112- http://www.allmusicals.com/s/smokeyjoescafe.htm