"Turkey Lurkey Time" is a song-and-dance number from Act 1 of '' Promises, Promises'', the

Burt Bacharach Burt Freeman Bacharach ( ; born May 12, 1928) is an American composer, songwriter, record producer and pianist who composed hundreds of pop songs from the late 1950s through the 1980s, many in collaboration with lyricist Hal David. A six-time Gra ...

Hal David Harold Lane David (May 25, 1921 – September 1, 2012) was an American lyricist. He grew up in New York City. He was best known for his collaborations with composer Burt Bacharach and his association with Dionne Warwick. Early life David ...

musical, with a book by

Neil Simon Marvin Neil Simon (July 4, 1927 – August 26, 2018) was an American playwright, screenwriter and author. He wrote more than 30 plays and nearly the same number of movie screenplays, mostly film adaptations of his plays. He has received mo ...

. It was originally choreographed for the 1968

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

production by Michael Bennett. The dance takes place as part of an office

Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating Nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus, Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people Observance of Christmas by country, around t ...

party scene.

The dance

As conceived by Bennett "with stunning energy and inventiveness",Long, p. 227 "Turkey Lurkey Time" is a dance performed by three secretaries at an office Christmas party. Their infectious singing and gyrations build into a frenetic chorus dance, as the office staff copy the trio, climaxing with some atop the office desks. According to

, "we were having some problems at the end of the first act ... the number ennettcame up with didn't just solve the problem, it was a sensation." Some of the dancers later claimed they had needed regular trips to the chiropractor, so severe was the strain of Bennett's relentless head-bopping choreography. The secretaries of the original cast were

Margo Sappington Margo Sappington (born July 30, 1947 in Baytown, Texas) is an American choreographer and dancer. She was nominated in 1975 for both a Tony Award as Best Choreographer and a Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Choreography for her work on the pla ...

Baayork Lee Baayork Lee (born December 5, 1946) is an American actress, singer, dancer, choreographer, theatre director, and author. Early life and career Lee was born in New York City's Chinatown, to an Indian mother and Chinese father. She started dancing ...

and

Donna McKechnie Donna McKechnie (born November 16, 1942) is an American musical theater dancer, singer, actress, and choreographer. She is known for her professional and personal relationship with choreographer Michael Bennett, with whom she collaborated on ...

. The number was televised at the 1969

Tony Awards The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Broadway Theatre, more commonly known as the Tony Award, recognizes excellence in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual cer ...

and also performed in the 2003 movie ''

Camp Camp may refer to: Outdoor accommodation and recreation * Campsite or campground, a recreational outdoor sleeping and eating site * a temporary settlement for nomads * Camp, a term used in New England, Northern Ontario and New Brunswick to descri ...

''. The song was also featured in a season four episode of the hit Fox show ''

Glee Glee means delight, a form of happiness. Glee may also refer to: * Glee (music), a type of English choral music * ''Glee'' (TV series), an American musical comedy-drama TV series, and related media created by Ryan Murphy * ''Glee'' (Bran Van 30 ...

''.

Watch

* *

Notes

References

*Long, Robert Emmet (2001). ''Broadway, the Golden Years: Jerome Robbins and the Great Choreographer-directors: 1940 to the Present'', Continuum International Publishing Group, *Mandelbaum, Ken (1990). A Chorus Line' and the Musicals of Michael Bennett''. St Martins Press, *McKechnie, Donna; Lawrence, Greg (2006). ''Time Steps: My Musical Comedy Life'', New York: Simon & Schuster, {{ISBN, 0-7432-5520-8. 1968 songs American Christmas songs Songs from musicals Songs with music by Burt Bacharach Songs with lyrics by Hal David