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."Videos