Black and Blue

It began as a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Two Argentinians were touring the United States, searching for Black singers and dancers for a Broadway musical revue that would showcase the blues, jazz and tap from an almost forgotten era. For the old pros who were recruited, it sounded too good to be true.

Initially, veteran tap dancer Bunny Briggs was reluctant to leave Las Vegas, and jazz singer Carrie Smith was too busy with performances in Europe to give the musical serious consideration. Even Ruth Brown, a premier rhythm and blues singer of the 1950s, felt her audition would end--as so many other "cattlecall" tryouts -- with the producers dismissing her for a younger woman. "I didn't bring any music," she recalls. "I didn't bring a piano player. I didn't bring anything. I just came in with a blood-red suit and a Jheri-curl wig. I figured, 'Yeah! This is a waste of time.'"

Fortunately the show's creators, Hector Orezzoli and Caludio Segovia were persuasive. After repeated calls and an invitation to perform, first in Paris and then on Broadway, they assembled a stellar cast, and what began as a unique opportunity is now one of the hottest tickets on Broadway--the musical Black and Blue. In just six short months, the musical captured the attention of New York's theater district. The show received 10 Tony nominations; both Ms. Brown and Linda Hopkins were nominated for "Best Leading Actress in a Musical." Ms. Brown eventually won the honor, along with Cholly Atkins, Henry LeTang, Frankie Manning and Fayard Nicholas for best choreography, and Orezzoli and Segovia for best costumes. "To receive the Tony is one of the highest honors people can give you," says Ms. Brown. "And for what? For singing. I've been doing that for 42 years."

The musical is an exciting, energetic all-Black ensemble of talent. If features stylish music, breathtaking dance routines, elegant costumes and memorable singing, complete with bits of delightful bawdy humor. In short, Black and Blue celebrates the rich Black culture of dance and music in Paris between World War I and World War II when Black American artists -- notably Josephine Baker -- received much acclaim.

The show's original cast features a stellar array of 41 singers, dancers and musicians, ranging in age from 13-year-old dancer Cyd Glover to 81-year-old jazz violinist Claude Williams. Each number is backed up by a 13-piece orchestra, which includes such jazz greats as pianist "Sir" Roland Hanna and drummer Grady Tate.

Ruth Brown, Linda Hopkins and Carrie Smith co-star as lead singers; each--a diva in her own right--brings her individual style and energy to a song, whether it's the melodic pace of Ms. Smith's "I Want a Big Butter and Egg Man," or the sass between Ms. Brown and Ms. Hopkins in their duet, "T' Ain't Nobody's Bizness If I Do."

Legendary tap dancers Bunny Briggs, Ralph Brown, Lon Chaney and Jimmy Slyde display their dazzling jazz and tap steps to the tunes of Eubie Blake, Duke Ellington and Fats Waller. They are joined by talented young dancers, such as Savion Glover, the 15-year-old star of the movie, Tap and the Broadway play, The Tap Dance Kid. While Black and Blue reflects the artistry of choregrapher Henry LeTang, whose Broadway credits include Sophisticated Ladies and The Wiz, the musical also provides veteran dancers Cholly Atkins, Frankie Manning and Fayard Nicholas with their first crack at choreographing a Broadway musical. "There's a difference between what Broadway wants and what you're feeling you want to do," Manning says. "We were doing what we would naturally do. It's not that we were trying to do Broadway stuff. We were doing our own thing."

The musical, which is expected to run on Broadway through this year, is credited with keeping a legendary segment of Black music and dance alive. "This is one of those rare projects where there are no checkered shirts, no bandanas around the heads and no one sitting on a bale of cotton singing," Ms. Brown says. "It's gorgeous."