PR 2006 Jul U2

Smash Hit SMOKEY JOE’S CAFÉ Comes to Theatre Tuscaloosa

Tuscaloosa - "Hound Dog." "Love Potion #9." "Stand By Me." "On Broadway." "Jailhouse Rock." These songs provide the soundtrack to a generation of Americans. What's more, they are the work of a single song-writing team: Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller. These tunes and many more will have audiences dancing in the aisles when the seven-time Tony Award-nominated, Grammy Award-winning musical, SMOKEY JOE'S CAFÉ - The Songs of Leiber and Stoller, hits Theatre Tuscaloosa’s Bean-Brown Theatre on the campus of Shelton State Community College for eight performances July 21 through 30.

Powerful performances and razor-sharp staging bring songs from the black-and-white 1950's and '60's colorfully and vibrantly alive. The music of Leiber and Stoller lives on the radio, in our heads and triumphantly on the stage. These are songs that are meant to be performed, really performed.

Winner of the Grammy Award for Best Musical and nominated for seven Tony® Awards, including Best Musical, Best Director, and Best Choreography, SMOKEY JOE'S CAFE celebrates the world of first kisses and last dances, hot summer nights and cool midnight struts, blue-light diners and red hot rock and roll.

Theatre Tuscaloosa is presenting SMOKEY JOE’S CAFÉ in cooperation with Summerfest Musical Theatre.  The show is directed and choreographed by Keith Cromwell, executive director of Summerfest.  His directing and choreography credits include Gypsy, Annie, Footloose, and Grease as well as numerous Cabaret productions each year. Prior to coming to Birmingham, he was the Associate Director/Choreographer for the Off-Broadway show Pete ‘n’ Keely which featured Phyllis Diller, Jo Anne Worley and Charo. Keith has also served as Show Supervisor and Associate Choreographer for the Off-Broadway production of Howard Crabtree’s When Pigs Fly!, which won the Drama Desk, Obie, Outer Critics Circle and American Theatre Wing awards.

Starring in the production are Caprina Anthony, Mitch Dean, Kendall Jackson, Belenda George, Molly Proffitt and Cameron White.  Musical director for the production is Derek Jackson with costume design by Mary Taylor Gurney.

"We didn't write songs," Leiber and Stoller are fond of saying. "We wrote records." The revolution in popular music that was born of the 45, the juke box, and the car radio sounding off at the drive-in began when Elvis's recording of Leiber and Stoller's "Hound Dog" smoked up the charts in 1956. The hits continued from there: "Charlie Brown," "Loving You," "Treat Me Nice," "Kansas City," and countless others - an unprecedented string of Top 40 songs that defined the '50s and early '60s. The Coasters, The Drifters, Peggy Lee, and Elvis all had their greatest successes with Leiber and Stoller tunes.

"SMOKEY JOE’S CAFE is about the music that defines America. With energy and humor, the show gives audiences as much fun as they'll ever experience in a theater," explained Paul Looney, Theatre Tuscaloosa’s artistic director emeritus. "After the success of our collaboration on “Cats” last summer, we were eager to work with Keith and the folks at Summerfest Musical Theatre again."

Performances of SMOKEY JOE’S CAFÉ are scheduled for 7:30 PM. on July 21, 22, 27, 28, 29 and at 2:00 P.M. on July 23, 26 and 30.  A special “Pay What You Can Dress Rehearsal” will be held on July 20 at 7:30 P.M.

Tickets for the production are $22 for adults, $17 for senior citizens, $10 for students and children.  Shelton State Community College students may purchase a special discounted ticket for $6 when they present their student I.D. card.  For information about tickets, group rates or to purchase tickets by phone, call 205-391-2277 or visit the Theatre Tuscaloosa website at www.theatretusc.com.

Theatre Tuscaloosa, one of the largest community theatres in the state, works in partnership with Shelton State Community College to provide quality theatrical experiences to the citizens of West Alabama through performances, workshops and classroom instruction.  By combining the talent and resources of the non-profit theatre company with the facilities and administrative support of “Alabama’s Community College of the Fine Arts,” Theatre Tuscaloosa and Shelton State Community College have created a partnership model that has enriched the lives of countless of Alabamians.