The
Women of Tin Pan Alley: A musical revue
The Women
of Tin Pan Alley is a one-act, one-woman revue of popular
songs from the first half of the Twentieth Century, with a
twist: They're all written in whole or in part by women.
Joanne Schmoll, familiar to TACT audiences as Venus in One
Touch of Venus and a soloist in Call Me Mister,
has assembled a wonderfully diverse group of standards, comic
songs, ballads, and new finds.
"Popular music
was heavily dominated by men during this period," says TACT
Resident Musical Director Tom Fuller. "Too often we
forget that women, while less visible, made critical contributions
to the repertoire of American standards from this period."
Schmoll agrees wholeheartedly. "Let's not forgot that
Dorothy Fields wrote the lyrics for 'I'm in the Mood for Love',
'I Won't Dance', and many other hits. Others, like Doris Fisher,
Ann Ronnell, Kay Swift, and Dana Suesse, worked side by side
with the men, earning respect for the terrific songs they
wrote." With songs like 'Willow, Weep For Me', 'How
High the Moon', and 'What a Diff'rence a Day Made' you will
come away surprised at how many songs you already know were
written by women.
The revue is embellished
with quotations from the composers themselves and from those
who knew them and their work. Reenie Codelka is the musical
accompanist to Schmoll. The Women of Tin Pan Alley
is presented during the run of Drama Under the Influence,
TACT's evening of one-act plays written by women during the
same years.
The Women
of Tin Pan Alley will be performed at Theater II, Gunston
Arts Center, 2700 S. Lang Street, Arlington, Virginia 22206.
Shows are March 13, 19, 20 at 8 PM, and 5:15 PM matinee on
March 24. Ticket price is $10 ($8 for students and seniors).
Admission is free to subscribers of American Century Theater.
As a special discount offer, bring a ticket stub from Drama
Under the Influence and receive the ticket price of $5.
Purchase of a full price adult ticket entitles free admission
to one child under 18.
Call 703-553-8782
or visit www.americancentury.org for
reservations. The American Century Theater is a 501(c)(3)
professional nonprofit theater company dedicated to producing
great, important and neglected 20th Century American
plays and playwrights. TACT is funded in part by Arlington
County
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