Brooklyn Center for the Performing Arts
will bring some of the top touring shows to Brooklyn College’s
Whitman Theater with its "Broadway Sundays" series.
This season’s BCBC series features three favorites: Rodgers and
Hammerstein’s "State Fair" (Nov. 17); "Crazy for
You" (March 9), based on George and Ira Gershwin’s "Girl
Crazy"; and "The Cotton Club" (May 18), which
celebrates the legendary Harlem nightclub at its heyday.
"State Fair," with a screenplay by Oscar Hammerstein
based on the 1933 adaptation of Phil Stong’s bucolic novel, and
a score by Richard Rodgers is the only musical the team ever
wrote exclusively for the screen.
The story line is virtually the same, but the addition of the
Rodgers score made the film a hit. The 1945 film was directed
by Walter Lang and featured Vivian Blaine, Dana Andrews and Dick
Haymes. The 1962 film was directed by Jose Ferrer and starred
Pat Boone, Bobby Darin and Ann-Margaret.
"State Fair" relates the adventures of Abel and Melissa
Frake and their two children, Margy and Wayne, as they leave
behind the routine of their farm for three days at the Iowa State
Fair.
Each wants a different prize: a blue ribbon for Abel’s pet pig,
first place for Melissa’s homemade pie, and romance for Margy
and Wayne.
Set against the colorful backdrop of the American heartland,
the play features foot-stomping production numbers and dreamy
ballads, including the hits "It’s a Grand Night for Singing"
and "It Might As Well Be Spring."
Sarah Jackson, who plays Margy in this production of "State
Fair," produced by John Hodge and directed by Robert Ennis
Turoff, calls the play "very all-American and very human."
"People can relate to all the characters," she told
GO Brooklyn.
And the music – from foot-tapping waltzes to hoedown numbers
– is just great.
"It’s classic Rodgers and Hammerstein," said Jackson.
"Crazy for You" opened at the Shubert Theatre on Feb.
19, 1992 and closed just over a year later after 1,622 performances,
three Tonys (Best Musical, Best Costume Design and Best Choreography)
and two Drama Desk Awards (musical and choreography).
Although the play was based on Gershwin’s 1930s musical "Girl
Crazy," it had a new book, by Ken Ludwig, and a score in
which songs had been rearranged, deleted, borrowed from other
Gershwin musicals, and even rediscovered. The play was radically
changed because, although it had many classic Gershwin tunes,
such as "I Got Rhythm" and "Embraceable You",
the original story – about a young man, Danny Churchill, who
is banished by his father to a family owned ranch in Clusterville,
Ariz., where it is hoped he will improve – was considered frivolous
by all accounts today.
Ludwig, who called the original book "dumb, silly beyond
silly, and full of ethnic humor that wasn’t funny at all,"
turned Churchill into Bobby Child, the rich son of a banking
family who escapes his domineering mother and his wealthy fiance
by going to Deadrock, Nev., to foreclose on Everett Baker’s Gaiety
Theater.
In Deadrock, Bobby falls in love with Baker’s daughter, Polly.
To win the girl and save the theater, Bobby, who is a frustrated
performer, decides to put on a show to pay off the mortgage.
The result is mistaken identity, confusion and romance – accompanied
by song, dance and, of course, plenty of rhythm. Mainstage Productions’
"Crazy For You" will be performed at Brooklyn Center
on March 9.
The Cotton Club, a Harlem institution in its day, was the home
of such giants as Duke Ellington, Cab Calloway and Ethel Waters.
They are just three of the celebrated performers who come to
life in this revue, which will be staged at Brooklyn Center on
May 18. With 17 costume changes, two tap dance numbers and classics
like "It Don’t Mean a Thing If It Ain’t Got That Swing"
following one after the other, some people may have to take the
A train to keep up with Supreme Talent International’s production.
Alfred Fredel, director of community outreach at the Brooklyn
Center, explained that programming is based mostly on the age
and ethnicity of BCBC’s audiences. "’The Cotton Club’ is
African-American centered. ’Crazy for You’ is for a younger audience,
because the show was just on Broadway. ’State Fair’ is an older
show for older audiences. It’s a good singing show, too,"
he said. "We try to represent the community."
"State Fair" opens at Brooklyn Center for the Performing
Arts on Nov. 17 at 2 pm. "Crazy for You" will be performed
March 9 and "The Cotton Club" on May 18. Tickets are
$40.
Brooklyn Center performances take place at the Whitman Theatre,
located on the campus of Brooklyn College, one block from the
junction of Flatbush and Nostrand avenues, in Midwood. For tickets
and information, call (718) 951-4500 or visit www.brooklyncenter.com.
