International City Theatre concludes its 2008 season with a revival of The All Night Strut!, an evening of music, song and dance from the big band and swing era that was a hit for ICT ten years ago. Lance Roberts returns to direct and choreograph the smash musical revue conceived by Fran Charnas, and Gerald Sternbach is musical director. Strutting their stuff on the ICT stage will be Rodrick Covington, Robert Moffat, Cassandra Murphy and Victoria Platt. The limited four-week engagement opens on October 17, with low-priced previews on October 14, 15 and 16.
Bands were playing, people were dancing, the music business was booming. It was the big band era, and swing was giving a new shape and sound to American culture. In The All Night Strut!, four performers cakewalk, lindy, shimmy and tap their way through the Depression, World War II and the postwar boom, from the funky jive of Harlem to the sophisticated elegance of El Morocco and the romance of the Stage Door Canteen. It's an evening filled with jazz, blues, be-bop and classic song standards. The All Night Strut! never stops hopping, with such songs as "Chattanooga Choo Choo," "In The Mood," "Minnie The Moocher," It Don't Mean A Thing If It Ain't Got That Swing," "Tuxedo Junction" and many more.
Fran Charnas was living in Cleveland, Ohio, when she heard that the owner of a joint called Pickle Bill's was looking to put on a new musical. "
Jerry Powell was a wild and crazy Irishman, a very adventurous entrepreneur," she explained. "I spent months visiting DJs and record collectors, listening to every version of every song from the big band and swing eras. After I picked the songs, I put them in an order that would evoke a very special time in the American experience, both musically and historically."
"I wasn't trying to recreate the period, just evoke it - the sense of incredible spirit and energy, the buoyancy of the music that refused to be held down by what was happening in the world at the time."
Lance Roberts, who sang and danced in over 1,000 performances of The All Night Strut!, with seven different companies and for a PBS special, has also directed numerous productions of the show. "I've been doing this show for almost 30 years - it's in my bones," he laughed. "I first saw the show when I was a student, and was struck by all those great old songs I'd never heard before. The music is infectious."
Roberts makes it clear that The All Night Strut! is not just a trip down memory lane. "This is the MTV version. It shows the music of the time, but in today's theatrical vernacular."
The All Night Strut! runs Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays at 8 pm and Sundays at 2 pm, October 17 through November 9, with low-priced previews on Tuesday, October 14; Wednesday, October 15; and Thursday, October 16 at 8 pm. Tickets are $35.00 and $40.00 on Thursdays, and $40.00 and $45.00 on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays, except opening night which is $50.00 and $60.00 and includes a reception with the actors following the performance. Preview tickets are $32.00. International City Theatre is located in the Long Beach Performing Arts Center at 300 E. Ocean Boulevard in Long Beach. For reservations and information, call the ICT Box Office at (562) 436-4610 or go to
www.ictlongbeach.org.
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