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April 2000
THE SWING! FIRST
NATIONAL TOUR OPENS
WITH AN EIGHT-WEEK ENGAGEMENT
AT THE AHMANSON THEATRE
OF LOS ANGELES, NOV. 20, 2000 - JAN 14, 2001
The producers of the
critically acclaimed Broadway Musical SWING! are proud to announce that the first national
tour will open at the Ahmanson Theatre of Los Angeles county to play an eight-week
engagement, November 20 through January 14, 2000-2001.
Gordon Davidson, Artistic Director/Producer of Center Theatre Group at the Ahmanson
Theatre said, "We are very pleased to open the tour of this entertaining new
musical in Los Angeles. We are certain that the subscribers and patrons of the Ahmanson
will respond to the energy and skill of the dance numbers, and to the musical and
emotional power the show evokes. We expect that SWING! will have our audiences literally
dancing in the aisles."
SWING! is a celebration of the music and dance phenomenon that swept the nation in the
'30s and '40s and has returned to become one of today's fastest growing trends and has
recently been nominated for 'Outstanding Broadway Musical' and for 'Outstanding
Choreography' by the Outer Critics Circle.
SWING! opened on Broadway at the St. James Theatre December 9th to powerful praise for its
music, its dance and its style. More than a dance revue, SWING! crosses ethnic and
cultural barriers, hi-lighting an eclectic mix of Jive, Latin Swing, West Coast Swing,
Hip-Hop Swing and Country Western Swing. It is this multi-dimensional quality of SWING!
that garnered critics' praise: Anna Kisselgoff of The New York Times wrote "SWING!
is terrific! Flashy artistry and virtuosity in distilled emotional vignettes that also
speak of human relationships, time and place." Clive Barnes of the New York
Post called SWING! "A major breakthrough and the most exhilarating show in town!"
This all-singing, all-dancing evening features classic as well as new songs written by the
Broadway cast --over 30 tour de force dance numbers -- some comic, some romantic, some
nostalgic, some sexy. SWING! also features spectacular vocal performances, while the
entire show is driven by the dynamic sound of a hot neo-Swing band. In addition to several
original songs, SWING! features classic Swing tunes such as "Boogie Woogie Bugle
Boy," "Harlem Nocturne," "It Don't Mean a Thing (If It Ain't Got That
Swing)," "Jumpin' at the Woodside," "Sing, Sing, Sing!,"
"Stompin' at the
Savoy" and "Blues in the Night".
Lynne Taylor-Corbett (Director and Choreographer) has worked extensively in theatre,
ballet, film and television. Her credits include the choreography for the Broadway
productions of Titanic and Chess, Off-Broadway's Song of Singapore and Randy Newman's
Faust at the La Jolla Playhouse.
Jerry Zaks (Production Supervisor) is a four-time Tony Award winner in addition to four
Drama Desks, two Outer Critics Circle Awards, an Obie, a Drama-Logue and an NAACP Image
Award nomination. He served as resident director of Lincoln Center Theatre and directed
the original New York productions of Assassins, Lend Me a Tenor, Wenceslas Square and The
Front Page, The Marriage of Bette and Boo, Baby with the Bathwater, Sister Mary Ignatius',
Beyond Therapy and the recent Broadway hit productions of A Funny Thing Happened on the
Way to the Forum, Guys and Dolls, Laughter on the 23rd Floor and Smokey Joe's Cafi.
SWING! has sets by Thomas Lynch, costumes by William Ivey Long, lighting by Kenneth Posner
and orchestrations by Harold Wheeler and is based on an original idea by Paul Kelly.
SWING! is produced by Marc Routh, Richard Frankel, Steven Baruch, Tom Viertel, Lorie Cowen
Levy/Stanley Shopkorn, Dede Harris/Jeslo Productions and Jujamcyn Theaters in association
with BB Promotion, Libby Adler Mages/Mari Glick, Douglas L. Meyer/James D. Stern and SFX
Theatrical Group. Associate producers are TV Asahi/Hankyu, MARS Theatrical Productions and
Judith Marinoff.
The SWING! original cast recording is produced by Sony Classical.
For further
information, visit the official website:
www.SwingOnBroadway.com
