BWW Exclusive: Dawn Derow Releases Music Video From Album MY SHIP: SONGS FROM 1941

Singer Dawn Derow has recently released a studio album on the Zoho Music Label titled MY SHIP: SONGS FROM 1941. The disc is based on her 2017/2018 cabaret show of the same name and will be celebrated in a live concert on January 15th at The Green Room 42 (ticket link HERE). In preparation for the celebration, Derow has released a music video of "Chattanooga Choo Choo," one of the hit 1941 songs on the CD. The video, as an EXCLUSIVE on BroadwayWorld.com.

Directed and choreographed by Broadway creative Marc Kimelman and filmed by Michael Lee Stever at Baza Studios in New York, Derow's video and vocal interpretation of the Glenn Miller Band classic by Mack Gordon and Harry Warren is sensual and playful at the same time. As critic Alix Cohen wrote on TheaterPizzazz.com about Derow's performance of the number in My Ship, "One of the show's highlights is the completely original treatment of 'Chattanooga Choo Choo.' It surprisingly begins with a 'Pardon me, boy . . .' that oozes with seduction. Derow runs hands down her body, invitingly bending towards the front row. Heat rises. Eyebrows shift . . . 'Choo Choo me' . . . her tongue rolls around her cheek . . . 'won't you Choo Choo me' . . . Hips are in sync. This otherwise breezy, innocent ditty becomes an undulating come-on. And it works. In spades!"

Ms. Derow says that when she performed "Choo Choo" on stage, her subtext for the song was always to start a flirtation with whomever was sitting in the first row. "I wanted to imagine what it would be like for a single woman from 1941 to objectify a man for once," Dawn says. "Once we came up with the funky arrangement, to me the lyrics conveyed a lot of sexual inuendo . . . so we just went with it." For the music video, Derow hired Jagged Little Pill alum Marc Kimelman as Director and Choreographer, and four fantastic dancers dubbed by Derow as the "Loose Caboose Pin Up Girl Dancers." Says Derow:"By the end of the video we are all together to entice you."

"I had such a fun time bringing Dawn's vision to life," says Kimelman. "Her passion for this nostalgic era is infectious."

"Filming this music video was like getting shot out of a cannon," notes Michael Stever, who also edited the "Choo Choo'' video and was the videographer for Derow's original presentation of My Ship at the Laurie Beechman Theatre in 2017. "The energy was great and it was like stepping back in time."

Dawn Derow's "Chattanooga Choo Choo" video was produced by Derow Enterprises and John Williams. The music video features (in order of appearance): Benny Benack III, Markelle Grutsch (Assistant Choreographer), Kayla Dianne Pecchioni, Jenna Lindsey Ho, and Chloe Lafleur. Musicians include: Ian Herman: Music Director, Piano; Tom Hubbard: Bass; Daniel Glass: Percussion; Benny Benack III: Trumpet; Aaron Heick: Saxophone; Dan Levine: Trombone.

Other credits-Mixing Engineer & Producer: Paul Rolnick; Arrangements by Ian Herman and Barry Levitt ; Show conceived by Dawn Derow, Jeff Harnar & Barry Levitt; Orchestrations by Tom Kochan; Hair and makeup by Fredrick Sanders; Assistant: Shamar Green; Select Costumes: Unique Vintage, Amy Go-Go & Red Dolly Swimwear; Production Assistants: Jessica Harkreader & Philip Carrubba.

Derow's album My Ship: Songs From 1941 is now streaming on all platforms. Go to DawnDerow.com for more information.