Swing!
Encyclopedia
Swing! is a musical
conceived by Paul Kelly with music by various artists. It celebrates the music of the Swing
era of jazz
(1930s-1946), including many well-known tunes by artists like Duke Ellington
, William "Count" Basie, Benny Goodman
and others. It received a nomination for the 2000 Tony Award for Best Musical
and other Tony award
s.
at the St. James Theatre
on December 9, 1999 and closed on January 14, 2001, running for 461 performances. The director and choreographer was Lynne Taylor-Corbett
, and the production was supervised by Jerry Zaks
. Among the cast were Laura Benanti
, Ann Hampton Callaway
and Everett Bradley. A US tour began Nov. 20, 2000 at the Ahmanson Theatre in Los Angeles
.
The Pitsburgh Civic Light Opera production, directed and choreographed by one of the original cast members, Dana Solimando, ran in June 2009.
The original cast album was released by Sony Classical on January 18, 2000.
There are also story-driven numbers for example "I'll Be Seeing You", with Scott Fowler and Carol Bentley doing a Gene Kelly kind of ballet.
The show includes music and dance styles from early swing, West Coast, to other jazz styles, and even hip-hop (as shown as in an all-male version of "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy"). Some of the individual couples, for example Ryan Francois and Jenny Thomas, perform their own choreography. Francois and Thomas are established stars in the world of swing, having been the Lindy champions in 1997 The American Swing Dance Championships and the U.S. Open Championships.
Some of the songs have new lyrics, but most are well-known swing-era hits, including "It Don't Mean a Thing (If It Ain't Got That Swing)"; "Sing, Sing, Sing
", "Jumpin at the Woodside"; and "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy (of Company B)".
Act II
Musical theatre
Musical theatre is a form of theatre combining songs, spoken dialogue, acting, and dance. The emotional content of the piece – humor, pathos, love, anger – as well as the story itself, is communicated through the words, music, movement and technical aspects of the entertainment as an...
conceived by Paul Kelly with music by various artists. It celebrates the music of the Swing
Swing (genre)
Swing music, also known as swing jazz or simply swing, is a form of jazz music that developed in the early 1930s and became a distinctive style by 1935 in the United States...
era of jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
(1930s-1946), including many well-known tunes by artists like Duke Ellington
Duke Ellington
Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington was an American composer, pianist, and big band leader. Ellington wrote over 1,000 compositions...
, William "Count" Basie, Benny Goodman
Benny Goodman
Benjamin David “Benny” Goodman was an American jazz and swing musician, clarinetist and bandleader; widely known as the "King of Swing".In the mid-1930s, Benny Goodman led one of the most popular musical groups in America...
and others. It received a nomination for the 2000 Tony Award for Best Musical
Tony Award for Best Musical
This 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...
and other Tony award
Tony Award
The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Theatre, more commonly known as a Tony Award, recognizes achievement in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ceremony in New York City. The awards are given for Broadway...
s.
Productions
Swing! premiered on BroadwayBroadway 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...
at the St. James Theatre
St. James Theatre
The St. James Theatre is located at 246 W. 44th St. Broadway, New York City, New York. It was built by Abraham L. Erlanger, theatrical producer and a founding member of the Theatrical Syndicate, on the site of the original Sardi's restaurant. It opened in 1927 as The Erlanger...
on December 9, 1999 and closed on January 14, 2001, running for 461 performances. The director and choreographer was Lynne Taylor-Corbett
Lynne Taylor-Corbett
Lynne Taylor-Corbett is a choreographer, director, lyricist, and composer. She was born in Denver, Colorado.She works in theatre and film, and also choreographs for dance companies, both ballet and modern, and is the principal guest choreographer for Carolina Ballet...
, and the production was supervised 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...
. Among the cast were Laura Benanti
Laura Benanti
Laura Benanti is an American actress of television, film and Broadway theatre noted for her award winning performance as Louise in the 2008 production of Gypsy.-Early years:...
, Ann Hampton Callaway
Ann Hampton Callaway
Ann Hampton Callaway is a multiplatinum-selling singer, composer, lyricist, pianist, and actress. She is best known for writing and singing the theme to the TV series The Nanny, writing songs for Barbra Streisand and starring in the Broadway musical Swing!.-Career:Callaway was described by the New...
and Everett Bradley. A US tour began Nov. 20, 2000 at the Ahmanson Theatre 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...
.
The Pitsburgh Civic Light Opera production, directed and choreographed by one of the original cast members, Dana Solimando, ran in June 2009.
The original cast album was released by Sony Classical on January 18, 2000.
Premise
Swing! combines high energy dancing, singing and acrobatics. There is no dialogue in the show, and the story is told entirely through music and dance. The show tries to recreate the swing style of jazz, which used large bands, fixed musical arrangements and solo-driven improvisations. Together with the development of the music, various forms of swing dancing emerged, varying by geographic regions, such as the Lindyhop or Jitterbug in Harlem or the Whip in Houston.There are also story-driven numbers for example "I'll Be Seeing You", with Scott Fowler and Carol Bentley doing a Gene Kelly kind of ballet.
The show includes music and dance styles from early swing, West Coast, to other jazz styles, and even hip-hop (as shown as in an all-male version of "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy"). Some of the individual couples, for example Ryan Francois and Jenny Thomas, perform their own choreography. Francois and Thomas are established stars in the world of swing, having been the Lindy champions in 1997 The American Swing Dance Championships and the U.S. Open Championships.
Some of the songs have new lyrics, but most are well-known swing-era hits, including "It Don't Mean a Thing (If It Ain't Got That Swing)"; "Sing, Sing, Sing
Sing, Sing, Sing
"Sing, Sing, Sing " is a 1936 song, written by Louis Prima and first recorded by him with the New Orleans Gang and released in March 1936 as a 78 as Brunswick 7628 . It is strongly identified with the big band and swing eras. It was covered by Fletcher Henderson and most famously Benny Goodman...
", "Jumpin at the Woodside"; and "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy (of Company B)".
Songs
Act I- "It Don't Mean a Thing (If It Ain't Got That Swing)It Don't Mean a Thing (If It Ain't Got That Swing)"It Don't Mean a Thing " is a 1931 composition by Duke Ellington, with lyrics by Irving Mills, now accepted as a jazz standard. The music was written and arranged by Ellington in August 1931 during intermissions at Chicago's Lincoln Tavern and was first recorded by Ellington and his orchestra for...
" - Lyrics By Irving MillsIrving MillsIrving Mills was a jazz music publisher, also known by the name of "Joe Primrose."Mills was born to Jewish parents in the Lower East Side of Manhattan in New York City. He founded Mills Music with his brother Jack in 1919...
, Music By Duke Ellington - "Airmail Special" - Music By Benny Goodman, James R. Mundy and Charles Christian
- "Jersey Bounce" - Music By Duke Ellington, B. Feyhe, E. Johnson, T. Bradshaw and B. Plater
- "Opus OneOpus No. 1 (1943 song)"Opus No. 1" is a popular song, composed in 1943 by Sy Oliver, with lyrics by Sid Garris. The tune is often titled Opus One, or Opus #1. It has become a standard song in the swing, jazz and big band repertoire....
" - Music By Don George, Johnny Hodges and Harry James - "Jumpin at the Woodside" - Music By Count Basie
- "Bounce Me, Brother (with a Solid Four)" (from Buck PrivatesBuck PrivatesBuck Privates is the 1941 comedy/World War II film that turned Bud Abbott and Lou Costello into bonafide movie stars. It was the first service comedy based on the peacetime draft of 1940. The comedy team made two more service comedies before the United States entered the war...
) - Music and Lyrics By Don Raye and Hughie Prince - "Two and Four" - Music By Ann Hampton Callaway
- "Hit Me with a Hot Note and Watch Me Bounce" - Lyrics By Don George, Music By Duke Ellington
- "Rhythm" - Music By Casey MacGill
- "Throw That Girl Around" - Music and Lyrics By Everett Bradley, Ilene Reid and Michael Heitzman
- "Show Me What You Got" - Music By Jonathan Smith and Everett Bradley
- "Bli-Blip" (from Jump for JoyJump for Joy (Cannonball Adderley album)Jump for Joy is the final album by jazz saxophonist Cannonball Adderley released on the EmArcy label and features Adderley with an orchestra arranged by Bill Russo...
) - Lyrics By Sid Kuller, Music By Duke Ellington - "Billy-A-Dick" - Paul Francis Webster and Additional lyrics by Seán Martin Hingston, Music By Hoagy Carmichael
- "Harlem NocturneHarlem Nocturne"Harlem Nocturne" is a jazz standard written by Earle Hagen and Dick Rogers in 1939. The song was adopted by bandleader Randy Brooks the next year as his theme song."Harlem Nocturne" has been frequently recorded...
" - Music By Earle HagenEarle HagenEarle Harry Hagen was an American composer who created music for movies and television. He is remembered for co-writing and whistling "The Fishin' Hole", the melody of the main theme to The Andy Griffith Show, the instrumental classic "Harlem Nocturne" used as the theme to television's Mickey...
and Dick Rogers - "Kitchen Mechanics' Night Out" - Music and Lyrics By Jonathan Smith, Paul Kelly, Lynne Taylor-Corbett and Casey MacGill
- "Shout and Feel It" - Music By Count Basie
- "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy (of Company B)" (from Buck PrivatesBuck PrivatesBuck Privates is the 1941 comedy/World War II film that turned Bud Abbott and Lou Costello into bonafide movie stars. It was the first service comedy based on the peacetime draft of 1940. The comedy team made two more service comedies before the United States entered the war...
) - Music and Lyrics By Don Raye and Hughie Prince - "G.I. Jive" - Music and Lyrics By Johnny Mercer
- "A String of Pearls" - Lyrics By Eddie de Lange, Music By Jerry Gray
- "I Got a Gal in Kalamazoo" - Lyrics By Mack Gordon, Music By Harry Warren
- "Candy" - Music and Lyrics By Mack David, Joan Whitney and Alex J. Kramer
- "I'm Gonna Love You Tonight" - Lyrics By Jack Murphy, Music By Casey MacGill
- "I'll Be Seeing You" (from Right This WayRight This WayRight This Way is a Broadway production that opened at the 46th Street Theatre on January 5, 1938, and ran for fifteen performances. It was categorized as an original musical comedy and was set in Paris and Boston....
) - Lyrics By Irving Kahal, Music By Sammy Fain - "In the Mood" - Lyrics By Andy Razaf, Music By Joe Garland
- "Don't Sit Under the Apple Tree" - Music and Lyrics By Lew Brown, Sam H. Stept and Charlie Tobias
Act II
- "Swing, Brother, Swing" - Music and Lyrics By Walter Bishop, Lewis Raymond and Clarence Williams
- "Caravan" - Lyrics By Irving Mills, Music By Juan Tizol and Duke Ellington
- "Dancers in Love" - Music By Duke Ellington
- "Cry Me a River" - Music and Lyrics By Arthur Hamilton
- "Blues in the Night" - Lyrics By Johnny Mercer, Music By Harold Arlen
- "Take Me Back To TulsaTake Me Back to Tulsa"Take Me Back To Tulsa" is a Western swing standard song. Bob Wills and Tommy Duncan added words to one of Bob Wills old fiddle tunes in 1940. The song takes its name from the chorus:The song is a series of unrelated, mostly nonsense, rhyming couplets, i.e.:Modern covers of the song, in order to...
/Stay A Little LongerStay A Little Longer"Stay a Little Longer" is a Western swing dance tune written by Bob Wills and Tommy Duncan. The title comes from a refrain in the chorus:*Whitburn, Joel. The Billboard Book of Top 40 Country Hits. Billboard Books, 2006. ISBN 0-8230-8291-1...
" - Music By Bob Wills and Tommy Duncan - "Boogie Woogie Country" - Music By Jack Murphy and Jonathan Smith
- "All of Me" - Lyrics By Seymour Simons, Music By Gerald Marks
- "I Won't Dance" (from RobertaRoberta (1935 film)Roberta is a 1935 musical film by RKO starring Irene Dunne, Fred Astaire, Ginger Rogers, and Randolph Scott. It was an adaptation of a 1933 Broadway theatre musical of the same name, which in turn was based on the novel Gowns by Roberta by Alice Duer Miller...
) - Dorothy Fields and Additional lyrics by Ann Hampton Callaway, Music By Jerome Kern - "Bill's Bounce" - Music By Bill Elliott
- "Stompin' at the Savoy" - Additional lyrics by Ann Hampton Callaway and Andy Razaf, Music By Benny Goodman, Edgar Sampson and Chick Webb
- "Swing, Brother, Swing" (Reprise) - Music and Lyrics By Walter Bishop, Lewis Raymond and Clarence Williams
- "Sing, Sing, Sing" - Music and Lyrics By Louis Prima, Andy Razaf and Leon Berry
- "It Don't Mean a Thing (If It Ain't Got That Swing)" (Reprise) - Lyrics By Irving Mills, Music By Duke Ellington
Original Broadway production
| Year | Award Ceremony | Category | Nominee | Result | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | Drama Desk Award Drama Desk Award The 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 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Musical The Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Musical was first awarded at the 1974-1975 Drama Desk Awards and has been awarded every year since. Before the 21st Drama Desk Awards, acting awards were given without making distinctions between roles in straight dramas as opposed to musicals, nor were there... |
|||
| Outstanding Choreography Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Choreography -1970s:* 1970: Ron Field – Applause** No nominees* 1971: Michael Bennett – Follies and Donald Saddler – No, No, Nanette** No nominees* 1972: Patricia Birch – Grease and Jean Erdman – Two Gentlemen of Verona... |
Lynne Taylor-Corbett Lynne Taylor-Corbett Lynne Taylor-Corbett is a choreographer, director, lyricist, and composer. She was born in Denver, Colorado.She works in theatre and film, and also choreographs for dance companies, both ballet and modern, and is the principal guest choreographer for Carolina Ballet... |
||||
| Outstanding Orchestrations Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Orchestrations The Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Orchestrations is presented by the Drama Desk, a committee of New York City theatre critics, writers, and editors... |
Harold Wheeler Harold Wheeler Harold Wheeler is an orchestrator, composer, conductor, arranger, record producer, and music director. He has received numerous Tony Award and Drama Desk Award nominations for orchestration, and won the 2003 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Orchestrations for Hairspray.-Biography:Wheeler was named... |
||||
| Theatre World Award Theatre World Award The Theatre World Award, first awarded for the 1945-46 season, is an American honor presented annually to actors and actresses in recognition of an outstanding New York City stage debut performance, either on Broadway or off-Broadway.-History:... |
Everett Bradley | ||||
| Ann Hampton Callaway Ann Hampton Callaway Ann Hampton Callaway is a multiplatinum-selling singer, composer, lyricist, pianist, and actress. She is best known for writing and singing the theme to the TV series The Nanny, writing songs for Barbra Streisand and starring in the Broadway musical Swing!.-Career:Callaway was described by the New... |
|||||
| Tony Award Tony Award The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Theatre, more commonly known as a Tony Award, recognizes achievement in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ceremony in New York City. The awards are given for Broadway... |
Best Musical Tony Award for Best Musical This 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... |
|
|||
| Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Musical Tony Award for Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Musical This is a list of the winners and nominations of the Tony Award for the Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Musical. The award, introduced in 1950, was previously named as Best Performance by a Featured or Supporting Actress in a Musical until 1976.... |
Laura Benanti Laura Benanti Laura Benanti is an American actress of television, film and Broadway theatre noted for her award winning performance as Louise in the 2008 production of Gypsy.-Early years:... |
||||
| Ann Hampton Callaway Ann Hampton Callaway Ann Hampton Callaway is a multiplatinum-selling singer, composer, lyricist, pianist, and actress. She is best known for writing and singing the theme to the TV series The Nanny, writing songs for Barbra Streisand and starring in the Broadway musical Swing!.-Career:Callaway was described by the New... |
|||||
| Best Direction of a Musical Tony Award for Best Direction of a Musical This 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... |
Lynne Taylor-Corbett Lynne Taylor-Corbett Lynne Taylor-Corbett is a choreographer, director, lyricist, and composer. She was born in Denver, Colorado.She works in theatre and film, and also choreographs for dance companies, both ballet and modern, and is the principal guest choreographer for Carolina Ballet... |
||||
| Best Choreography Tony 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... |
|||||
| Best Orchestrations Tony Award for Best Orchestrations -1990s:1997*Jonathan Tunick – Titanic**Michael Gibson - Steel Pier**Luther Henderson - Play On!**Don Sebesky and Harold Wheeler - The Life1998*William David Brohn – Ragtime**Robert Elhai, David Metzger and Bruce Fowler - The Lion King... |
Harold Wheeler Harold Wheeler Harold Wheeler is an orchestrator, composer, conductor, arranger, record producer, and music director. He has received numerous Tony Award and Drama Desk Award nominations for orchestration, and won the 2003 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Orchestrations for Hairspray.-Biography:Wheeler was named... |
||||