Smokey joe's cafe song wiki
Smokey Joe's Cafe (revue)
Musical by Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller
Smokey Joe's Cafe is a musical revue showcasing 39 pop standards, including rock and roll and rhythm and bluessongs written by songwriters Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller. The Original Broadwaycast recording, Smokey Joe's Cafe: The Songs of Leiber and Stoller, won a Grammy Award in
After a Los Angeles tryout, the revue opened on Broadway in , running for 2, performances, making it the longest-running musical revue in Broadway history.[1] It also had a London run in
Synopsis
In revue format with no unifying theme, the 39 songs are presented by various members of the cast in various combinations with no dialogue.[2] There are novelty songs ("Charlie Brown"), romantic ballads ("Spanish Harlem"), and infectious melodies ("There Goes My Baby").[2]
Songs
Music and lyrics for all songs are by Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller, unless otherwise noted.
The song "Smokey Joe's Cafe" is not performed in the show, although a brief instrumental excerpt is used in Act II as transitional music.
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Productions
Original Production
Conceived by Stephen Helper, Jack Viertel and Otis Sallid,[3]Smokey Joe's Cafe premiered at the Doolittle Theatre in Los Angeles, where it ran from November to January 22, [4] The revue opened on Broadway on March 2, , at the Virginia Theatre.
Directed by Jerry Zaks with choreography by Joey McKneely and vocal arrangements by Chapman Roberts, the original nine-person cast featured Ken Ard, Adrian Bailey, Brenda Braxton, Victor Trent Cook, B. J. Crosby, Pattie D'Arcy Jones, DeLee Lively, Frederick B. Owens, and Michael Park, and later included Deb Lyons (replacement for Jones) and Matt Bogart (replacement for Park), both of whom performed in the final filmed DVD performance on January 18, Throughout its run, there were special appearances by popular singers including Ben E.
King (December ),[5]Pam Tillis (April ), Gladys Knight (May ), Tony Orlando (June ), Lou Rawls (April ),[6]Gloria Gaynor (August )[7] and Rick Springfield (October ).[8] Gladys Knight also appeared in the tour when it played Boston in February ,[9] and Caesar's Palace Circus Maximus, Las Vegas in March–June [10] A film crew captured the final Broadway performance and it appeared on DVD in
West End
It premiered in the West End at the Prince of Wales Theatre on October 1, and ran through October 1, Zaks and McKneely return to direct and choreograph respectively, with some of the Broadway cast (Cook, Lively, and Crosby) repeating their roles.[11][12][13]
54 Sings
On February 9, , original cast members Brenda Braxton, Adrian Bailey, DeLee Lively, Frederick Owens, Ken Ard, and Michael Park, Deb Lyons, Darryl Williams, and Ramona Keller reunited for a performance at New York's 54 Below as part of the "54 Sings Series" under direction of Braxton.
Arena Stage
The Arena Stage in Washington, DC produced the revue in The production was directed by Randy Johnson and choreographed by Parker Esse, opening on April 25, and running through June 8,
and Argentinian Productions
The revue was also produced in Argentina by G&C Entertainment, directed by Alejandro Guevara, musically directed by Daniel Landea, vocally coached by Katie Viqueira and choreographed by Delfina García Escudero.
It has its opening at Teatro La Comedia on September 7, , and ran through November 19, The Argentinian cast includes Belén Cabrera (B.J.), Cristian Centurión (Adrian), Mariano Condoluci (Victor), Emmanuel Degracia (Ken), Daniela Flombaum (Pattie), Diego Jaraz (Michael), Patrissia Lorca (DeLee), Sofía Val (Brenda) and Sebastián Ziliotto (Fred).
Smokey joes cafe characters pictures
Smokey Joe's Cafe is a musical revue showcasing 39 pop standards , including rock and roll and rhythm and blues songs written by songwriters Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller. After a Los Angeles tryout, the revue opened on Broadway in , running for 2, performances, making it the longest-running musical revue in Broadway history. In revue format with no unifying theme, the 39 songs are presented by various members of the cast in various combinations with no dialogue. Music and lyrics for all songs are by Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller, unless otherwise noted. The song "Smokey Joe's Cafe" is not performed in the show, although a brief instrumental excerpt is used in Act II as transitional music.In , a production took place in a new season in Buenos Aires, Argentina, directed by Diego Jaraz, musical supervision by Federico Vilas, vocal coaching by Katie Viqueira, and choreographed by Delfina Garcia Escudero. It had its opening night at Sala Siranush on May 6, , closing on June 24, This Argentinian cast included Belén Cabrera (B.J.), Cristian Centurión (Adrian), Mariano Condoluci (Victor), Emmanuel Degracia (Ken), Daniela Flombaum (Pattie), Patricio Wittis (Michael), Patrissia Lorca (DeLee), Sofía Val (Brenda) and Sebastián Ziliotto (Fred).
This Argentinian production had 4 ACE Awards nominations, and 7 Hugo Awards nominations.
Revival
In Smokey Joe's Cafe was revived by the original producers, Steven Baruch, Marc Routh, Richard Frankel, and Tom Viertel.
The production ran at the Ogunquit Playhouse, Maine, between May 16 to June 9. The production then opened Off-Broadway at Stage 42 with previews from July 6, opening July [14] The show closed on November 4 the same year. Choreography and direction was done and made by Joshua Bergasse, scenic design by Beowulf Boritt, original vocal arrangements by Chapman Roberts, and orchestrations by Steve Margoshes and Sonny Paladino; however, Roberts has claimed that his original vocal arrangements were reused without his permission.[15]
Response
The theatre critic for the magazine Variety, in reviewing the Los Angeles tryout, noted that "the songwriters, director Jerry Zaks and choreographer Joey McKneely don't do enough packaging of the material, don't go far enough taking songs first heard on transistor radios and re-imagining them for the stageThere are a couple of halfhearted [sic] attempts at structure.
The show opens and closes with the obscurity "Neighborhood," which suggests this will be a scrapbook of memories."[4]
Ben Brantley, in his review for The New York Times wrote that the revue "is a strangely homogenized tribute to one of popular music's most protean songwriting teamsThere has obviously been a decision not to go for literal period nostalgia, so the songs are freed from their distinctive original contextsToo often, though, the performers are simply singing into space without any ostensible reason for being there."[16]
The theatre critic for The Guardian (London), noted that the London cast consists of "acting singers rather than singing actors, which suits a show where there's almost no acting to be done.
Whew - no pesky plot development or subtexts, just a glut of glowing pop tunesThere's no attempt at chronology, or even biography."[12]
According to Peter Marks, reviewing in The Washington Post, the revue "never quite attained smash-hit status," but it made popular the musical fashioned on the existing work of "pop composers already beloved by baby boomers."[17]
Bob Gaudio cited Smokey Joe's Cafe as the first show that inspired him to commission Jersey Boys, as it showed that a musical with repurposed pop songs could be a success.[18]
Awards and nominations
Original Broadway production
References
- ^Ehren, Christine (2 June ).
"Smokey Joe's Becomes Longest-Running B'way Musical Revue-". Playbill. Archived from the original on 11 April Retrieved 25 March
- ^ abStoudt, Charlotte."Review: 'Smokey Joe's Cafe' at El Portal Theatre",L.A. Times, December 16,
- ^"Internet Broadway Database listing, Smokey Joe's Cafe, 3/2/ - 1/16/" , accessed August 24,
- ^ abTaylor, Jonathan (November 17, ).
"Review: 'Smokey Joe's Cafe'". Variety. Retrieved 18 April
- ^Jones, Kenneth; Simonson, Robert (14 Dec ). "Ben E. King to "Stand By" Smokey Joe's Cafe Dec. ". Playbill. Archived from the original on 11 April Retrieved 25 March
- ^Feldberg, Robert. "Broadway seeks out big names", Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (Wisconsin), April 5, , Section: Cue & Jump p.
3
- ^Barron, James. "Public Lives", The New York Times, August 5, , p. B2
- ^Edel, Raymond. "People", The Record (Bergen County, NJ), September 23, , p.Smokey joes cafe characters names Smokey Joe's Cafe. Owens, and Michael Park. According to union rules, musicals staged at the Virginia Theatre required a minimum of 16 musicians in the pit. The song "On Broadway" was performed live from the Virginia Theatre as part of the opening number, and the cast members were filmed singing and dancing across Times Square to the Minskoff Theatre. The cast was also scheduled to perform "Woman" at the Tony Awards, but due to timing constraints, the number was cut.
A2
- ^"Gladys Knight to star in touring version of 'Smokey Joe's Cafe'", The Patriot Ledger (Quincy, MA), December 11, , p. 40
- ^Delaney, Joe (17 March ). "Knight, company enliven 'Smokey Joe's Cafe'". Las Vegas Sun. Retrieved 25 March
- ^Chronology of London Shows, , accessed August 22,
- ^ abSullivan, Caroline.
"First Night: Air Of Nostalgia At Smokey Joe's", The Guardian (London), October 24, , p.2
- ^Benedict, David.
Smokey joes cafe characters full: Packed with memorable tunes like, “Hound Dog”, “Love Potion #9”, “On Broadway” and “Stand By Me”, it is the longest-running revue in Broadway history. Smokey Joe's Cafe plot summary, character breakdowns, context and analysis, and performance video clips.
"Theatre: Smokey Joe's Cafe Prince of Wales Theatre, London", The Independent (London), October 25, , p. 19
- ^McPhee, Ryan (March 8, ). "Smokey Joe's Café Will Return to New York for Summer Off-Broadway Run | Playbill". Playbill.Smokey joes cafe Incredibly, they are all the work of a single songwriting team: Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller. It has the distinction of being the longest-running musical revue in Broadway history. Owens Virginia Woodruff. Download Program. Message :.
Retrieved
- ^BWW News Desk. "Review Roundup: Ogunquit's Off-Broadway Bound SMOKEY JOE'S CAFE". . Retrieved Stephi Wild. "Chapman Roberts Files Lawsuit Alleging Infringement on SMOKEY JOE'S CAFE Vocal Arragements". . Retrieved
- ^Brantley, Ben. "Theatre Review: 'Smokey Joe's Cafe', The Song's the Thing: A Leiber-Stoller Revue", The New York Times, March 3, , p.
C1
- ^Marks, Peter.Smokey joes cafe characters Grosses More to Do. Ken Ard. Adrian Bailey. Brenda Braxton. Brenda Braxton, who earned a Tony Award nomination for her performance in the Broadway musical revue Smokey Joe's Cafe, has an illustrious career that includes starring as Velma Kelly in Chicago and notable roles in Jelly's Last Jam, Cats, Legs Diamond, and the original production of Dreamgirls.
"'Smokey Joe's Cafe': Same Old Same Oldies", Washington Post, April 12,
- ^Ghomeshi, Jian (October 20, ). Bob Gaudio on QTV (Radio broadcast). Q. Toronto, Ontario, Canada: CBC Radio One. Retrieved August 1,