FLASHBACK FRIDAY: JOYFUL NOISEs

This week, we are highlighting the unparalleled career of legendary director/choreographer Michael Bennett with a newly unearthed clip of the original Broadway cast of A JOYFUL NOISE performing Bennett's choreography on the Ed Sullivan Show, as well as a near-three-hour interview with his associates that was recorded last week as part of a benefit for Dancers Over 40 also titled A JOYFUL NOISE. There's certainly a lot to love and embrace here in this crash-course in Bennett for the uninitiated among us.

Michael Bennett choreographed and/or directed many of the greatest musicals of all time, his crowning achievements perhaps being the choreography for the original Broadway productions of PROMISES, PROMISES, A JOYFUL NOISE, COCO and COMPANY, choreography/co-direction on FOLLIES, and at that point in time he inherited the crown of his idol Jerome Robbins and became the captain of the ship (aka director/choreographer/producer) for all his next productions, among them: A CHORUS LINE, BALLROOM and DREAMGIRLS. Perhaps no one has been more of a choreographic chameleon in his career than Bennett, who along with collaborator and co-choreograher Bob Avian created many of the most memorable dances in musical theatre history. But, before "Turkey Lurkey Time" and "The Grapes of Roth" in PROMISES, PROMISES; before "Tick Tock" and "Side By Side By Side" in COMPANY; before "Who's That Woman" and "Loveland" in FOLLIES; before "And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going" and "One Night Only" in DREAMGIRLS; there was A JOYFUL NOISE.

Though it lasted less than two weeks following its opening night on December 15, 1966 - closing on Christmas Eve of that year - it introduced the choreography of Michael Bennett to Broadway and for that, and if only for that alone, it is worth mentioning and cherishing. In the cast were a number of individuals who would work with Bennett on future shows, among them: Baayork Lee (who also participates in the Dancers Over 40: A JOYFUL NOISE discussion linked below) and Tommy Tune who would go on to be one of the greatest director/choreographers of his generation in his own right in the 1980s with NINE, THE BEST LITTLE WHOREHOUSE IN TEXAS, GRAND HOTEL and, later, the also Tony-winning THE Will Rogers FOLLIES. This breathtaking performance of "Clog Dance" is taken by a television performance by the cast on the Ed Sullivan Show and even with rudimentary camera angles and production accoutrement, it clearly exhibits Bennett's burgeoning genius about to burst into full bloom with the series of masterpieces that followed it.

https://www.youtube.com/embed?v=sCNGTQUPIbw

Now that that clip has whetted your appetite, without further ado I welcome you to dig into this absolutely thrilling, endlessly informative and richly rewarding roundtable discussion from last week's Dancers Over 40 benefit honoring Michael Bennett. Some rare clips are shown, and there are some surprise appearances, but the thrill that comes with the treat of hearing these stories from the lips of those who were there is something truly special and worthwhile to experience for any theatre fan or aspiring performer out there. I could not recommend this enough, and please don't let the sporadic sound issues of the 16-part video put you off in the slightest from digging into this dish of delectable delight served up by Bob Avian, Baayork Lee, Margo Sappington, Kelly Bishop, Harvey Evans and the others here. Enjoy!

That's all for this week. Please remember that if you have discovered a particularly thrilling, unique, bizarre or hilarious Broadway-related clip to please send us a line at the link below. Until next week…