It’s the last night of Prohibition, 1933

3 Mamas - 30 Songs - 3 Stories

One Incredible Evening

 THE LOWDOWN:

Cast : The Blues Mama, The Revue Mama, and the Big Band Mama.

Band : 3-6 musicians. Piano, bass, drums (optional reeds, horn)

Running time: 1 hour 50 minutes (with optional intermission).

Single set representing three different clubs; can be performed in traditional theater, nightclub, or black box venues.

Minimal props, one costume per performer, with accessories. Band should also be in period costumes.

Great 1930s songs by J.C. Johnson (“Empty Bed Blues”, co-author of “This Joint Is Jumpin”) and other composers in jazz, blues, revue, and big band styles, many of them rediscovered for NIGHTCLUB MAMAS.

More than a revue, NIGHTCLUB MAMAS has a book with a story arc for each Mama, and significant interaction between the Mamas and the audience.

Prohibition setting provides a perfect ‘hook’ for beverage sales, themed concession offerings, pre- and post-show parties and fundraisers, educational tie-ins, etc.

THE BAND

NIGHTCLUB MAMAS can be performed with a band of three musicians (piano, bass, drums) with optional addition of horn and reeds. The band is part of the show and interacts with the Mamas, especially the pianist/bandleader.

THE CREATORS

J.C. JOHNSON (Music/Lyrics) arrived in Harlem from Chicago in the 1920s, and quickly established his reputation as a composer and lyricist, becoming Fats Waller’s best friend and frequent collaborator. He wrote the classic “Empty Bed Blues” for Bessie Smith and “Lonesome Swallow” for Ethel Waters. Billie Holiday sang his “Trav’lin All Alone” when auditioning for her first singing job, one of several of his songs she went on to record. He also composed songs for Broadway shows and revues, and his Jazz Train played the West End and toured Europe for three years in the 1950s. More recently, his songs have been included in Me and Bessie, Ain’t Misbehavin’, and the West End’s Cotton Club and Rent Party. J.C.’s work has become part of American popular musical history.

 GARY HOLMES (Concept/Book) met J.C. Johnson at age ten and became his friend and protege, listening to his songs and great stories about writing for the nightclub divas of the day, which included Texas Guinan, Bessie Smith, Ella Fitzgerald, Connee Boswell and so many more. Gary got his start in the ‘biz’ stage managing nightclubs in the Catskills, and created and co-wrote TRAV’LIN, a hit at the New York Musical Festival (NYMF), now being produced regionally (most recently – Arvada Theater Center, Denver and Orlando). Gary is a graduate of the Dramatic Writing Department of NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts.