| The Band Wagon | |
|---|---|
 Sheet music cover (cropped) | |
| Music | Arthur Schwartz |
| Lyrics | Howard Dietz |
| Book | George S. Kaufman and Howard Dietz |
| Productions | June 3, 1931 until January 16, 1932 Broadway |
The Band Wagon is a musical revue with book by George S. Kaufman and Howard Dietz, lyrics also by Dietz and music by Arthur Schwartz. It first played on Broadway in 1931, running for 260 performances. It introduced the song "Dancing in the Dark" and inspired two films. [1]
The revue opened on Broadway at the New Amsterdam Theatre on June 3, 1931, and concluded on January 16, 1932, running a total of 260 performances. Produced by Max Gordon, staging and lighting were by Hassard Short, choreography by Albertina Rasch, and scenic design by Albert R. Johnson. The cast included Fred Astaire, Adele Astaire, Helen Broderick, Tilly Losch, and Frank Morgan. [1]
According to Steven Suskin, "very few people are around who saw The Band Wagon, but they all seem to insist that it was the finest Broadway revue ever." [2] According to Furia and Lasser, The Band Wagon is "arguably the greatest of the 'little' revues of the 1930s". [3] Ken Bloom states that The Band Wagon "is considered the greatest of all revues." [4]
The show introduced one of the best [5] Schwartz-Dietz songs, "Dancing in the Dark", which was also the title of one of the two motion pictures made from this show. (The other was The Band Wagon.) This was the first New York production to use the double revolving stage for the songs and sketches. [6] [7] Although it had incomparable dancing by Fred and Adele Astaire, it was the last time the brother and sister team appeared together.
In 2011, Lost Musicals, aka The Lost Musicals Charitable Trust, presented the UK premier of The Band Wagon. Ian Marshall Fisher, director, Jason Carr, music director.
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A parody of the set pieces of the typical show, involved moonlight serenade, the waltz number, and the overworked blackout ("Where Can He Be?") and ("Nanette"). In the "Pour le Bain" sketch, Helen Broderick is a Westchester matron shopping for bathroom fixtures in an expensive store, including bathtubs and washbowls. Noting that there was no mention of the "other fixture," the salesman replies with a line of poetry from Keats -- "Heard melodies are sweet, but those unheard/ Are sweeter," followed by a blackout. Frank Morgan, a Southern colonel in "The Pride of the Claghornes," throws his daughter out because she never did anything wrong, thereby going against Southern tradition. Percy Hammond repeatedly noted about the attractive chorus girls "They look, as Miss Laurette Taylor used to say, as if they all had mothers." [8] In "Good Old Nectar," instead of cheering the football star, the old graduates cheer the history champion (Adele Astaire, Fred Astaire, John Barker, Phillip Loeb, Frank Morgan, Francis Pierlot, Roberta Robinson, Jay Wilson). [9]
On October 5, 1931, RCA Victor pressed a two-sided record (program transcription) cut at 331⁄3 RPM of the Band Wagon score, featuring Fred and Adele Astaire, composers Dietz and Schwartz, and Leo Reisman's Orchestra (including jazz trumpeter Bubber Miley). This record (L-24003) was one of the first commercially recorded at that speed. (This was part of the new long playing "Program Transcription" series requiring a special 2-speed phonograph. Due to the Depression, they were never good sellers.) [10] The program concluded with Fred and Leo Reisman's Orchestra performing a medley of "White Heat" and "Dancing In the Dark" (Astaire only sings on the former); the ending by the Orchestra is reminiscent of Paul Whiteman's 1927 "When Day Is Done".
In 1954, the composer/arranger John Serry Sr. recorded s swing jazz arrangement of the song I Love Louisa from the musical for the RCA Victor transcription series which was broadcast over the radio throughout the USA (See RCA Thesaurus ).
Fred Astaire was an American dancer, actor, singer, choreographer, and presenter. He is widely regarded as the "greatest popular-music dancer of all time". He received numerous accolades including an Honorary Academy Award, three Primetime Emmy Awards, a BAFTA Award, two Golden Globe Awards, and a Grammy Award. He was honored with the Film Society of Lincoln Center tribute in 1973, the Kennedy Center Honors in 1978, and AFI Life Achievement Award in 1980. He was inducted into the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1960, American Theatre Hall of Fame in 1972, and the Television Hall of Fame in 1989.
The Band Wagon is a 1953 American musical romantic comedy film directed by Vincente Minnelli, starring Fred Astaire and Cyd Charisse. It tells the story of an aging musical star who hopes a Broadway show will restart his career. However, the play's director wants to make it a pretentious retelling of the Faust legend and brings in a prima ballerina who clashes with the star. Along with Singin' in the Rain (1952), it is regarded as one of the finest Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer musicals, although it was a modest box-office success on first release.
Adele Astaire Douglass, was an American dancer, stage actress, and singer. After beginning work as a dancer and vaudeville performer at the age of nine, Astaire built a successful performance career with her younger brother, Fred Astaire.
Jean Schwartz was a Hungarian-born Jewish American composer and pianist. He is best known for his work writing the scores for more than 30 Broadway musicals, and for his creation of more than 1,000 popular songs with the lyricist William Jerome. Schwartz and Jerome also performed together on the vaudeville stage in the United States; sometimes in collaboration with Maude Nugent, Jerome's wife, and the Dolly Sisters. Schwartz was married to Jenny Dolly from 1913-1921.
Arthur Schwartz was an American composer and film producer, widely noted for his songwriting collaborations with Howard Dietz.
Howard Dietz was an American publicist, lyricist, and librettist, best remembered for his songwriting collaboration with Arthur Schwartz.
Gay Divorce is a musical with music and lyrics by Cole Porter and book by Dwight Taylor, adapted by Kenneth Webb and Samuel Hoffenstein. It was Fred Astaire's last Broadway show and featured the hit song "Night and Day" in which Astaire danced with co-star Claire Luce.
That's Entertainment! is a 1974 American compilation film released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer to celebrate the studio's 50th anniversary. The success of the retrospective prompted a 1976 sequel, the related 1985 film That's Dancing!, and a third installment in 1994.
"That's Entertainment!" is a popular song with music written by Arthur Schwartz and lyrics by Howard Dietz. The song was published in 1952 and was written especially for the 1953 Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer musical film The Band Wagon. The song is performed in the film by Jack Buchanan supported by Fred Astaire, Nanette Fabray, and Oscar Levant.
"Dancing in the Dark" is a popular American song, with music by Arthur Schwartz and lyrics by Howard Dietz, that was introduced by John Barker with Tilly Losch dancing in the 1931 revue The Band Wagon. The song was first recorded by Bing Crosby on August 19, 1931 with Studio Orchestra directed by Victor Young, staying on the pop charts for six weeks, peaking at #3, and helping to make it a lasting standard.
Leo F. Reisman was an American violinist and bandleader in the 1920s and 1930s. Born and reared in Boston, Massachusetts, United States, he was of Jewish ancestry, from German immigrants who immigrated to the United States in the 19th century. Inspired by the Russian-American violinist Jascha Heifetz, Reisman studied violin as a young man. After being rejected by the Boston Symphony Orchestra, he formed his own band in 1919. He became famous for having over 80 hits on the popular charts during his career. Jerome Kern called Reisman's orchestra "The String Quartet of Dance Bands".
Funny Face is a 1927 musical composed by George Gershwin, with lyrics by Ira Gershwin, and book by Fred Thompson and Paul Gerard Smith. When it opened on Broadway on November 22, 1927, as the first show performed in the newly built Alvin Theatre, it starred Fred Astaire and his sister Adele Astaire. It was in this show that Astaire first danced in evening clothes and a top hat.
"Easter Parade" is a popular song, written by Irving Berlin and published in 1933. Berlin originally wrote the melody in 1917, under the title "Smile and Show Your Dimple", as a "cheer up" song for a girl whose man has gone off to fight in World War I. A recording of "Smile and Show Your Dimple" by Sam Ash enjoyed modest success in 1918.
"I Guess I'll Have to Change My Plan" is a popular song published in 1929, with music by Arthur Schwartz and lyrics by Howard Dietz.
Inside U.S.A. is a musical revue by Arthur Schwartz (music) and Howard Dietz (lyrics). It was loosely based on the book Inside U.S.A. by John Gunther. Sketches were written by Arnold M. Auerbach, Moss Hart, and Arnold B. Horwitt.
Revenge with Music is a musical comedy with book and lyrics by Howard Dietz and music by Arthur Schwartz, that opened on Broadway in 1934. This was the first "book" musical by Dietz and Schwartz.
The Little Show was a musical revue with lyrics by Howard Dietz and music by Arthur Schwartz. It was the first of 11 musicals that featured the songs of Dietz and Schwartz. The revue opened at the Music Box Theatre on Broadway on April 30, 1929 and ran for 321 performances until February 1930.
The Second Little Show is a musical revue with lyrics by Howard Dietz and music mostly by Arthur Schwartz.
Up and Down Broadway is a musical revue in two acts with music by Jean Schwartz, lyrics by William Jerome, and a book Edgar Smith. The musical's loose plot concerns the god Apollo who arrives in New York City in the accompany of other Greek deities vowing to improve the theatrical tastes of the American public. In the end they decide Broadway knows more about great entertainment than the Greek gods do. The musical was written as a starring vehicle for Eddie Foy who portrayed the main servant of Apollo, Momus, and provided much of the work's comedic thrust.
