Black and Blue is a musical revue celebrating the
blackThe 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
ParisParis 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 IWorld 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 IIWorld 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. HandyWilliam Christopher Handy was a blues composer and musician. He was widely known as the "Father of the Blues"....
,
Louis ArmstrongLouis Armstrong , nicknamed Satchmo or Pops, was an American jazz trumpeter and singer from New Orleans, Louisiana....
,
Duke EllingtonEdward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington was an American composer, pianist, and big band leader. Ellington wrote over 1,000 compositions...
,
Fats WallerFats Waller , born Thomas Wright Waller, was a jazz pianist, organist, composer, singer, and comedic entertainer...
,
Eubie BlakeJames 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 MaybelleMabel 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 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 productionBroadway 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 TheatreThe 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 LeTangHenry 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 AtkinsCharles “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 ManningFrankie Manning was an American dancer, instructor and choreographer. Manning is considered one of the founding fathers of the Lindy Hop.-Early years:...
, and
Fayard NicholasFayard Antonio Nicholas...
the cast of forty-one singers, dancers, and musicians included
Ruth BrownRuth 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 HopkinsLinda 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 GloverSavion 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 WilliamsClaude "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 HannaRoland 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 TateGrady 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 SlydeJimmy Slyde known as the King of Slides, was a world-renowned tap dancer, especially famous for his innovative tap style mixed with jazz....
,
Bill EasleyBill 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 BriggsBunny 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 AwardA 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
EuropeEurope 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
ParisParis 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-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
BerlinBerlin 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
MunichMunich 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
AmsterdamAmsterdam 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 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 (Produced by Mel Howard, Donald K. Donald) (nominee)
- Outstanding Lighting Design (nominee)
External links