Le monde des musicals

1 Runnin' Wild peut-être considéré comme un musical ethnique. L'ethnie abordée est: Un des premiers musicals all-blacks.

Runnin’ Wild, a two-act musical comedy taking place in Jimtown and St. Paul, MN, about the adventures of two likable scamps played by F. E. Miller and Aubrey Lyles, was presented in other eastern cities before it opened on Broadway. The show had a successful two-week run in the Howard Theatre in Washington DC beginning on August 25, 1923. From there the show moved to the Selwynn Theatre in Boston, MA where it was reviewed very favorably. It then opened in the New Colonial Theatre on Broadway at 63rd where it ran from October 29, 1923 to May 3, 1924, and again, as a new edition, from June 23, 1924 to June 28, 1924. The theatre, with a capacity of about 1300, was inaugurated in 1905 as the Colonial Music Hall. In 1917, it was renamed New Colonial Theatre, and in the 1920s it presented musical comedies based on black themes, The Chocolate Dandies among them. Runnin’ Wild was produced by George White (famous for his Scandals productions), music by James P. Johnson, book by F. E. Miller and Aubrey L. Lyles; lyrics by Cecil Mack, choreographed by Lyda Webb. Oddly enough, the tune Runnin’ Wild, composed by Johnson and Mack in 1922, was not included in the production.
Interestingly, the feature tune of the show was Old Fashioned Love. The August 30, 1923 issue of Variety declared “Of the musical numbers, which are the work of James Johnson while the lyrics are by Cecil Mack, there isn't one but that will register. The "love number" is the theme song and will undoubtedly be one of the big sellers of the coming season.” Of course, the tune that went on to become the “theme song” of the jazz age was Charleston. Among the performers on opening night on Broadway were Adelaide Hall and Elizabeth Welsh. The number was sung by Elizabeth Welsh with the male chorus line singing and dancing the Charleston. The reviewer of the show for the October 30, 1923 issue of the New York Times wrote, “Runnin’ Wild excels in eccentric dancing-some of the most exciting steps of the season (steps is not always the word, for knees are used more often than ankles) are now on view at the Colonial.”

Aucun dossier informatif complémentaire concernant Runnin' Wild

Aucun dossier informatif complémentaire concernant Runnin' Wild