Broadway by the Year: 1924

The ninth season of the Siegels’ Broadway by the Year began this week at Town Hall, presenting songs from shows that opened in 1924—the earliest year yet selected for a BBTY retrospective.  Somewhat surprisingly, this stroll down musical-memory lane featured fewer hit songs than many other editions.

This worked to the show’s favor, however. Monday’s concert seemed to hearken back to Broadway by the Year’s origins, when the shows emphasized forgotten shows and songs and reminded audiences of pieces they would probably never have heard of otherwise. Not many hits came out of 1924, but that left some wonderfully worthy numbers to shine in the spotlight once again. (On the other hand, the entire audience got to sing what may well be 1924’s most enduring song: “Happy Birthday to You.” Copyright infringement notices will now be served on all ticket holders.)

In keeping with last season’s trend of highlighting dance numbers, many of the evening’s best moments incorporated dance styles that evoked the ‘20s. Director Jeffry Denman and his wife Erin celebrated the decade’s most famous footwork with “I’d Rather Charleston” from the Gershwins’  Lady Be Good, originally performed by Fred and Adele Astaire (though not on Broadway—the song was added for the 1926 London production, thus raising the debate of whether a later addition to a show belongs in a BBTY concert. If it means the Denmans get to dance to it, then the answer is yes). Young KendRick Jones got to perform a fierce self-choreographed tap solo to the title song from Lady Be Good, and Melinda Sullivan and Kevin Worley danced to a very cute “Make Ev’ry Day a Holiday” from Greenwich Village Follies of 1924. Late in the evening, all five of the dancers stomped their way through “Fascinatin’ Rhythm,” backed by the Howard Fishman Quartet and bordering chaos and control—if the number wasn’t meant to be symbolic of the jazz age as a whole, it certainly seemed to evoke the era perfectly.

The Quartet, which specializes in recreating classic songs and giving them a contemporary life, also gave the 
Ross Patterson Little Big Band a break on “Don’t Take Your Troubles to Bed” from Plain Jane, and an instrumental “Limehouse Blues” from Charlot’s Revue of 1924. Not that Patterson and his Band don’t do a terrific job whenever they perform, but it was quite exciting to hear a different band’s take on some classic songs.

Also in keeping with BBTY’s tradition, six of the evening’s songs were performed sans microphone, letting us hear them the way audiences in 1924 did. Sarah Jane McMahon sang a lovely “The Door of My Dream” early in the program, and later dueted with Marc Kudisch for a refreshingly non-ironic “Indian Love Call.” (You know the song: “When I’m calling you-oooo-ooo…” Now imagine it without a smirk and with absolute emotional honesty. That’s what it was like.) Ryan Silverman sang the title song to Rose Marie, and later sang a lovely “Deep in my Heart” from The Student Prince with McMahon. James Barbour then sang a very rich “Serenade” from the same show.

Other highlights included director Jeffry Denman accompanying himself on a ukulele for “All Alone” from The Music Box Revue of 1924, Kerry O’Malley’s torchy and gorgeous “The Man I Love” and Marc Kudisch’s surprisingly introspective and quiet “Somebody Loves Me” from George White’s Scandals. Jason Graae deserves special kudos for bringing his manic humor to “Tulip Time in Sing Sing” from Sitting Pretty and “Don’t Send Me Back to Petrograd” from The Music Box Revue, and for stealing “The Mounties” from Rose Marie away from Barbour, Kudisch, Silverman and Worley.

The further back Broadway by the Year goes, the more little-known gems get dusted off and presented to a new generation. These living and breathing musical museum presentations remind us not only of how timeless a well-written song can be, but of how art reflects the time and place of its creation. Adding history to the music makes the songs that much more meaningful, and adding music to history makes it come alive in ways no other lesson could.