- Black and Blue (musical)
Infobox Musical
name= Black and Blue
subtitle=
caption=
music=W. C. Handy
Louis Armstrong
Duke Ellington
Fats Waller
Eubie Blake
Big Maybelle
lyrics=
book=
basis=
productions=1985 Paris
1989 Broadway
European Tours
1993PBS Television
awards="Black and Blue" is a musical revue celebrating the black culture of dance and music in
Paris betweenWorld War I andWorld War II .Based on an idea by Mel Howard and conceived by Hector Orezzoli and Caludio Segovia, it consists of songs by artists such as
W. C. Handy ,Louis Armstrong ,Duke Ellington ,Fats Waller ,Eubie Blake , andBig Maybelle and skits peppered with bits of bawdy humor.It first was presented at the Chatelet Theatre in
Paris in 1985. The Broadway production opened onJanuary 26 ,1989 at theMinskoff Theatre and closed onJanuary 20 ,1991 after 829 performances and 32 previews. Directed by Orezzoli and Segovia and choreographed byHenry LeTang ,Cholly Atkins ,Frankie Manning , andFayard Nicholas the cast of forty-one singers, dancers, and musicians includedRuth Brown ,Linda Hopkins ,Carrie Smith,Savion Glover , Claude Williams,Roland Hanna ,Grady Tate ,Jimmy Slyde ,Bill Easley ,Jimmy "Preacher" Robins 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 inParis , The Thalia inHamburg , Theater des Westens inBerlin , The Deutsches Theater inMunich , and The Carre Theater inAmsterdam .A television production directed by Robert Altman aired on
PBS in 1993 [http://www.variety.com/review/VE1117900456.html?categoryid=32&cs=1 "Variety review, February 17, 1993]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
*Outstanding Musical (Produced by Mel Howard, Donald K. Donald) (nominee)
*Outstanding Lighting Design (nominee)References
External links
*ibdb title | id=4528 | title=Black and Blue
* [http://theater2.nytimes.com/mem/theater/treview.html?_r=1&res=950DE7D8153CF934A15752C0A96F948260&oref=slogin "New York Times" review, January 27, 1989]
* [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9D0CE6DA1631F93BA35751C1A967958260 "New York Times" obituary of Orezzoli]
* [http://www.nodanw.com/shows_b/black_and_blue.htm synopsis at NODANW]
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.