#jazz-age-musical-theater

#jazz-age-musical-theater

All but one of the song titles on Body Sound, the debut album from experimental string trio Whitney Johnson, Lia Kohl, and Macie Stewart, line up nicely-a few words, usually two, usually nouns, separated by a vertical line. The straight line in the middle means different things in different disciplines. In computing, it's called a 'pipe' and serves as a conduit. In poetry, it denotes a pause or break. In music, it marks the beginning and end of measures.

"Decorative, escapist, imaginary princesses and swans and flowers," said Janet Eilber, a former member of the company and its current artistic director. "And she wanted to dance about real human beings, real human challenges." Graham wanted to use dance to tell American stories, which at the time was a revolutionary idea, when so much of American cultural life was focused on Europe.

Officer Scott was sort of born by accident. He was a character in a sketch I wrote, written for a male actor, but I always would direct to give more Chris Farley energy to the character. Unfortunately, the actor that was supposed to play Officer Scott became sick the day before the show, but as showrunner and writer of the sketch, I figured I'd buy a costume and perform Scott myself.

"It has been a bucket-list dream of mine to perform on a New York stage, and I couldn't think of a better way to do that than becoming a part of the 11 to Midnight family," Morris said in a statement.

Many of these posters are the only surviving proof of certain shows, with no recordings of plays, and certain films, having been lost over time. They offer a history of Black Americans trying to counter harmful stereotypes and provide vital and humanizing contributions to a growing Black culture.

Celebrated by the BBC as one of the city's top 8 literary destinations, The Urbane Arts Club is more than just a venue-it's a vibrant hub for culture and creativity. Through an eclectic mix of literary launches, musical showcases, and theatrical performances, it fosters an environment rich in conversation and artistic expression.

Prohibition was the nationwide ban on the sale, manufacturing, and transportation of alcohol in the United States from 1920 to 1933. During this period, gangsters and bootleggers produced illegal booze, smuggled it across state lines, and ran secret bars throughout the country. While some bars were raided by the authorities, others thrived as a result of deals with the police or extensive protective measures.

Set during the Roaring Twenties, the show takes place at the Manhattan apartment of Queenie (Jasmine Amy Rogers), a vaudeville bombshell, and her man of the moment, the comedian Burrs (Jordan Donica). Guests include a former prizefighter, a pair of piano-playing twins, an "ambisextrous" playboy, a stage diva past her prime, and someone's kid sister from Poughkeepsie.

As Broadway heads into the busy spring theater season, a wave of new productions and high-profile revivals is arriving across Midtown. This year's lineup leans heavily on recognizable titles including revivals of classics and stage adaptations of familiar screen properties as well as star casting.

If City Center Encores! was originally founded as a kind of musical-theater seance devoted to raising the dead, or at least the long-forgotten then High Spirits is about as literal a mission statement as you could ask for. The rarely revived 1964 musical opens with a seance and arrives at City Center like a theatrical ghost itself: long unseen, mostly forgotten, and faintly glowing with the promise of pleasures from another era. That alone makes High Spirits worth summoning.

For the first time ever, Brooklyn's premier professional orchestra, the Brooklyn Chamber Orchestra, is dedicating a full program to jazz, featuring the work of the late Charlie Parker, "Charlie Parker with Strings," on Feb. 13 at St. Ann & the Holy Trinity Church in Brooklyn Heights. It is also the first time in more than a decade that "Charlie Parker with Strings" will be heard live in New York.

Comedy shows on Broadway are one of the best past times for NYC locals and tourists alike. Ironically, they're some of the most over-looked attractions when it comes to searching for tickets for a Broadway show when they're next to competitors like Hamilton, Sweeney Todd, and Some Like It Hot. If you want to know what Broadway has to offer right now, check out my list of the best current Broadway shows in NYC.

First performed in 1910 by Serge Diaghilev's Ballets Russes and adapted by George Balachine for New York City Ballet in 1949, Firebird was inspired by a Russian folk tale. The ballet tells the story of Prince Ivan, who captures the firebird, a creature who is part bird, part woman, and then lets her go.

"Many found the music offensive, the dancing objectionable, and the popularity of both with young people verging on a mental health crisis." So writes music historian Susan C. Cook about ragtime, the heavily syncopated ancestor of jazz that arose in the late 1800s. Like all things, ragtime's subversiveness faded over time, and, a century later, the works of Scott Joplin and other practitioners had been relegated to carnivals and fairs, their jaunty piano melodies now evoking quaint notions of old-timey fun.

The architect of the bestselling jazz album of all time, 1959's Kind of Blue, trumpeter Miles Davis is a towering figure in the history of the genre. Possessed of a piercing tone, innate melodic sensibility and a singularly uncompromising approach on the bandstand, Davis spent his five-decade career presiding over numerous stylistic shifts: bebop to cool jazz, modal jazz, electronic fusion, jazz funk and even hip-hop.

Two years ago, the annual Under the Radar festival (which showcases international, experimental and multidisciplinary theater) was unexpectedly canceled by the Public Theater, its longtime presenter, due to financial issues. In response, the festival was quickly reconceived as a citywide effort involving several other theater companies, allowing it to move forward. The festival, now in its 21st edition, returns this month with productions at theaters across the city from Jan. 7 to 25.

There's plenty to enjoy in Amber Martin and Shannon Conley's production of The Carnaby Street Girls regardless of whether you're old enough to remember the British Invasion or just discovering that there was a whole lot of great music that came out of England in the '60s. Playing last weekend at The Cutting Room in Kips Bay, the two powerful singers had a great time, singing together and separately, with a repertoire of fab tunes that were hits for a number of swinging British gals.

Even if you're just a casual jazz fan, you probably recognize "Take the A Train," Duke Ellington's swinging theme song. Or you've heard the melancholy ballad "Lush Life" sung by Nat King Cole, by Linda Ronstadt during her Great American Songbook era, or by Lady Gaga on the album she recorded with Tony Bennett. Both of those - and many other tunes - were written by a gay man, musician, composer, and arranger Billy Strayhorn.

They should have known right off the bat that they had something special, as the opening night had Dr. John, Stevie Wonder and Johnny Winter performing to the likes of Mick Jagger and Carly Simon in the audience. Over the years, the 400-person capacity club became the place to be to see one's favorite artist up close or catch an up-and-coming unknown.

Flipping through the jazz section on a visit to his local record store a few years ago, artist Kye Potter found a battered tape by American pianist and composer Jessica Williams. It looked every bit the quintessential DIY release. The labels had come off the tape, he says. It was home-dubbed, with photocopied notes, a little bit of highlighter to accentuate the artwork, and released on her own label, Ear Art.