revue
A revue is a type of multi-act popular theatrical entertainment that combines music, dance, and sketches. The revue has its roots in 19th century popular entertainment and melodrama but grew into a substantial cultural presence of its own dur ...
conceived, directed and choreographed by
Twyla Tharp
Twyla Tharp (; born July 1, 1941) is an American dancer, choreographer, and author who lives and works in New York City. In 1966 she formed the company Twyla Tharp Dance. Her work often uses classical music, jazz, and contemporary pop music.
Fr ...
, around the songs of
Frank Sinatra
Francis Albert Sinatra (; December 12, 1915 – May 14, 1998) was an American singer and actor. Nicknamed the " Chairman of the Board" and later called "Ol' Blue Eyes", Sinatra was one of the most popular entertainers of the 1940s, 1950s, and ...
. The musical, set in a New York City nightclub, follows four couples as they look for love.
It premiered on
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 ...
in March 2010 after tryouts in Atlanta and has received mostly warm reviews.
Production
''Come Fly Away'', originally titled ''Come Fly with Me'', ran at the
Alliance Theatre
The Alliance Theatre is a theater company in Atlanta, Georgia, based at the Alliance Theatre, part of the Robert W. Woodruff Arts Center, and is the winner of the 2007 Regional Theatre Tony Award. The company, originally the Atlanta Municipal T ...
,
Atlanta
Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,7 ...
, in September 2009. It started Broadway previews at the
Marquis Theatre
The Marquis Theatre is a Broadway theater on the third floor of the New York Marriott Marquis hotel in the Theater District of Midtown Manhattan in New York City. Opened in 1986, it is operated by the Nederlander Organization. There are abou ...
on March 1, 2010, and opened on March 25. The cast included
Keith Roberts
Keith John Kingston Roberts (20 September 1935 – 5 October 2000) was an English science fiction author. He began publishing with two stories in the September 1964 issue of ''Science Fantasy'' magazine, "Anita" (the first of a series of stor ...
, John Selya, Ashley Tuttle, Charlie Neshyba-Hodges, Holley Farmer, Laura Mead, Rika Okamoto and Karine Plantadit. The set design is by James Youmans, costumes by Katherine Roth, lighting by Donald Holder and sound by Peter McBoyle.
The songs are danced to the voice of Frank Sinatra, backed by 18 live instrumentalists arranged and produced by Dave Pierce, with additional vocals by Hilary Gardner or Rosena Hill (alternately).Kourlas, Gia "Tharp Is Back Where the Air Is Rarefied" ''The New York Times'', March 5, 2010, accessed March 26, 2010
The musical closed on September 5, 2010. The show had struggled at the box office since March 25 (Opening Night) but for the week ending July 25 it grossed $574,465 and played to 48.97% of capacity.
After the Broadway production, Twyla Tharp's ''Come Fly Away'' re-opened in
Las Vegas
Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Veg ...
at the Wynn Las Vegas resort under the new name ''SINATRA Dance With Me''. Only a few changes were made from Broadway to Las Vegas. The show opened on December 11, 2010 as a limited engagement till April 23, 2011. The show was extended another week because of high demand and ran through April 30, 2011
2011 U.S. National Tour
Troika Entertainment presents the US National Tour of ''Come Fly Away'', which started in August 2011 at the Fabulous Fox Theatre in
Atlanta
Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,7 ...
, Georgia. The tour reunites several cast members from the Broadway and Las Vegas productions, including John Selya, Matthew Stockwell Dibble, Cody Green, Laurie Kanyok, Marielys Molina and Ron Todorowski. The cast also includes Ashley Blair Fitzgerald, Martin Harvey, Ramona Kelley, Christopher Vo, Anthony Burrell, Mallauri Esquibel, Marina Lazzaretto, Meredith Miles, Marceea Moreno, Candy Olsen, Julius Anthony Rubio, Amy Ruggiero, Justin Urso, Tanairi Sade Vazquez, Chehon Wespi-Tschopp and Michael Williams. Cities include:
Atlanta
Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,7 ...
,
Detroit
Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at t ...
,
Chicago
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
, image_map =
, map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago
, coordinates =
, coordinates_footnotes =
, subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...
,
Miami
Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a coastal metropolis and the county seat of Miami-Dade County in South Florida, United States. With a population of 442,241 at ...
,
Baltimore
Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic, and the 30th most populous city in the United States with a population of 585,708 in 2020. Baltimore was ...
,
Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world ...
,
Hartford
Hartford is the capital city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It was the seat of Hartford County until Connecticut disbanded county government in 1960. It is the core city in the Greater Hartford metropolitan area. Census estimates since t ...
,
Cleveland
Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the United States, U.S. U.S. state, state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County, Ohio, Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along ...
, and
Toronto
Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...
.
Concept and background
Tharp has been choreographing Sinatra songs since the 1970s, including ''
Nine Sinatra Songs
''Nine Sinatra Songs'' is a ballet choreographed by Twyla Tharp to songs sung by Frank Sinatra. The ballet is danced by seven couples, portraying different stages of romantic relationships, with ballroom dancing incorporated into the choreography. ...
'', in 1982, and ''Sinatra Suite'', in 1984, featuring
Mikhail Baryshnikov
Mikhail Nikolayevich Baryshnikov ( rus, Михаил Николаевич Барышников, p=mʲɪxɐˈil bɐ'rɨʂnʲɪkəf; lv, Mihails Barišņikovs; born January 28, 1948) is a Soviet Latvian-born Russian-American dancer, choreograp ...
. The new piece includes some of her earlier choreography.
''Come Fly Away'', set in a New York City nightclub, follows the relationships of four dancing couples as they seek love and romance. "The pas de deux as a flirtatious battle of wills is a recurring theme in 'Come Fly Away,' which is structured as a series of romantic encounters in a club vaguely redolent of the 1940s."Isherwood, Charle "Up and Down, Over and Out, That's Sinatra (and Tharp)" ''The New York Times'', March 26, 2010 Kate and Hank resolve their ambiguous, tempestuous relationship by becoming "just friends". Marty and Betsy are innocent and shy. Slim and Chanos have a one-night affair, and Babe and Sid circle each other as they each seek to be the center of attention.
Tharp put a full band on stage and a singer, Hilary Gardner, who sang duets with Sinatra recordings.
Jimmy Van Heusen
James Van Heusen (born Edward Chester Babcock; January 26, 1913 – February 6, 1990) was an American composer. He wrote songs for films, television and theater, and won an Emmy and four Academy Awards for Best Original Song.
Life and care ...
Sammy Cahn
Samuel Cohen (June 18, 1913 – January 15, 1993), known professionally as Sammy Cahn, was an American lyricist, songwriter, and musician. He is best known for his romantic lyrics to films and Broadway songs, as well as stand-alone songs premi ...
, Music By Jimmy Van Heusen)
*
I've Got the World on a String
"I've Got The World on a String" is a 1932 popular jazz song composed by Harold Arlen, with lyrics written by Ted Koehler. It was written for the twenty-first edition of the Cotton Club series which opened on October 23, 1932, the first of th ...
Harold Arlen
Harold Arlen (born Hyman Arluck; February 15, 1905 – April 23, 1986) was an American composer of popular music, who composed over 500 songs, a number of which have become known worldwide. In addition to composing the songs for the 1939 film ' ...
)
* Let's Fall in Love (Music and Lyrics By Ted Koehler and Harold Arlen)
*
I've Got You Under My Skin
"I've Got You Under My Skin" is a song written by American composer Cole Porter in 1936. It was introduced that year in the Eleanor Powell musical film ''Born to Dance'' in which it was performed by Virginia Bruce. It was nominated for the Aca ...
(
Cole Porter
Cole Albert Porter (June 9, 1891 – October 15, 1964) was an American composer and songwriter. Many of his songs became standards noted for their witty, urbane lyrics, and many of his scores found success on Broadway and in film.
Born to ...
)
*
Summer Wind
Summer is the hottest of the four temperate seasons, occurring after spring and before autumn. At or centred on the summer solstice, the earliest sunrise and latest sunset occurs, daylight hours are longest and dark hours are shortest, wit ...
(Lyrics By
Johnny Mercer
John Herndon Mercer (November 18, 1909 – June 25, 1976) was an American lyricist, songwriter, and singer, as well as a record label executive who co-founded Capitol Records with music industry businessmen Buddy DeSylva and Glenn E. Wallic ...
Ira Gershwin
Ira Gershwin (born Israel Gershovitz; December 6, 1896 – August 17, 1983) was an American lyricist who collaborated with his younger brother, composer George Gershwin, to create some of the most memorable songs in the English language of the 2 ...
, Music By
George Gershwin
George Gershwin (; born Jacob Gershwine; September 26, 1898 – July 11, 1937) was an American composer and pianist whose compositions spanned popular, jazz and classical genres. Among his best-known works are the orchestral compositions ' ...
Johnny Green
John Waldo Green (October 10, 1908 – May 15, 1989) was an American songwriter, composer, musical arranger, conductor and pianist. He was given the nickname "Beulah" by colleague Conrad Salinger. His most famous song was one of his earl ...
It's All Right with Me
"It's All Right with Me" is a popular song written by Cole Porter, for his 1953 musical '' Can-Can'', where it was introduced by Peter Cookson as the character Judge Aristide Forestier.
The song is also used in the Cole Porter musical '' High S ...
(Porter)
* You Make Me Feel So Young (Lyrics By Mack Gordon, Music By Josef Joe Myrow)
*September of My Years (Lyrics By Sammy Cahn, Music By Jimmy Van Heusen)
*
Witchcraft
Witchcraft traditionally means the use of magic or supernatural powers to harm others. A practitioner is a witch. In medieval and early modern Europe, where the term originated, accused witches were usually women who were believed to have ...
(Lyrics By
Carolyn Leigh
Carolyn Leigh (August 21, 1926 – November 19, 1983) was an American lyricist for Broadway, film, and popular songs. She is best known as the writer with partner Cy Coleman of the pop standards "Witchcraft" and " The Best Is Yet to Come". With ...
, Music By
Cy Coleman
Cy Coleman (born Seymour Kaufman; June 14, 1929 – November 18, 2004) was an American composer, songwriter, and jazz pianist.
Life and career
Coleman was born Seymour Kaufman in New York City, United States, to Eastern European Jewish parents ...
Gus Kahn
Gustav Gerson Kahn (November 6, 1886October 8, 1941) was an American lyricist who contributed a number of songs to the Great American Songbook, including " Pretty Baby", " Ain't We Got Fun?", " Carolina in the Morning", " Toot, Toot, Tootsie (Goo ...
, Music By
Walter Donaldson
Walter Donaldson (February 15, 1893 – July 15, 1947) was an American prolific popular songwriter and publishing company founder, composing many hit songs of the 1910s to 1940s, that have become standards and form part of the Great American Song ...
)
*Learnin' the Blues (Music and Lyrics By Dolores "Vicki" Silvers
* That's Life (Music and Lyrics By Dean Kay and Kelly L. Gordon)
*Nice 'n' Easy (Lyrics By
Alan and Marilyn Bergman
Alan Bergman (born September 11, 1925) and Marilyn Keith Bergman (November 10, 1928 – January 8, 2022) were an American songwriting duo. Married from 1958 until Marilyn's death, together they wrote music and lyrics for numerous celebrated telev ...
, Music By
Lew Spence Lew Spence (June 29, 1920, Cedarhurst, New York – January 9, 2008, Los Angeles) was an American songwriter.
Spence received little formal musical training, and led a dance band in his hometown as a teenager.Makin' Whoopee (Lyrics By Gus Kahn, Music By Walter Donaldson)
*
Jumpin' at the Woodside
"Jumpin' at the Woodside" is a song first recorded in 1938 by the Count Basie Orchestra, and considered one of the band's signature tunes. When first released it reached number 11 on the ''Billboard'' charts and remained on them for four weeks. ...
(Lyrics By
Jon Hendricks
John Carl Hendricks (September 16, 1921 – November 22, 2017), known professionally as Jon Hendricks, was an American jazz lyricist and singer. He is one of the originators of vocalese, which adds lyrics to existing instrumental songs and re ...
, Music By
Count Basie
William James "Count" Basie (; August 21, 1904 – April 26, 1984) was an American jazz pianist, organist, bandleader, and composer. In 1935, he formed the Count Basie Orchestra, and in 1936 took them to Chicago for a long engagement and the ...
)
;Act 2
*Saturday Night Is the Loneliest Night (Lyrics By Sammy Cahn, Music By
Jule Styne
Jule Styne (; born Julius Kerwin Stein; December 31, 1905 – September 20, 1994) was an English-American songwriter and composer best known for a series of Broadway musicals, including several famous frequently-revived shows that also becam ...
)
*I'm Gonna Live 'Til I Die (Music and Lyrics By
Al Hoffman
Al Hoffman (September 25, 1902 – July 21, 1960) was an American song composer. He was a hit songwriter active in the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s, usually co-writing with others and responsible for number-one hits through each decade, many of wh ...
Manny Kurtz
Manny Curtis (born Emanuel Kurtz, Nov 15, 1911 – Dec 6, 1984) was an American songwriter. He wrote the lyrics for over 250 songs, including " In a Sentimental Mood" (1935) and " Let It Be Me" (1957). He was born in Brooklyn, New York, United ...
Dorothy Fields
Dorothy Fields (July 15, 1904 – March 28, 1974) was an American librettist and lyricist. She wrote over 400 songs for Broadway musicals and films. Her best-known pieces include "The Way You Look Tonight" (1936), "A Fine Romance" (1936), " On t ...
, Music By
Jerome Kern
Jerome David Kern (January 27, 1885 – November 11, 1945) was an American composer of musical theatre and popular music. One of the most important American theatre composers of the early 20th century, he wrote more than 700 songs, used in ove ...
)
*"
Wave
In physics, mathematics, and related fields, a wave is a propagating dynamic disturbance (change from equilibrium) of one or more quantities. Waves can be periodic, in which case those quantities oscillate repeatedly about an equilibrium (re ...
" (Music and Lyrics By
Antonio Carlos Jobim
Antonio is a masculine given name of Etruscan origin deriving from the root name Antonius. It is a common name among Romance language-speaking populations as well as the Balkans and Lusophone Africa. It has been among the top 400 most popular ma ...
Irving Berlin
Irving Berlin (born Israel Beilin; yi, ישראל ביילין; May 11, 1888 – September 22, 1989) was a Russian-American composer, songwriter and lyricist. His music forms a large part of the Great American Songbook.
Born in Imperial Russ ...
)
*
Teach Me Tonight
Teach Me Tonight is a popular song that has become a jazz standard. The music was written by Gene De Paul, the lyrics by Sammy Cahn. The song was published in 1953.
Early recordings
Five versions charted in 1954 and 1955:
*Janet Brace was appa ...
(Lyrics By Sammy Cahn, Music By
Gene de Paul
Gene Vincent de Paul (June 17, 1919 – February 27, 1988) was an American pianist, composer and songwriter.
Biography
Born in New York City, he served in the United States Army during World War II. He was married to Billye Louise Files (Novem ...
)
*
Take Five
"Take Five" is a jazz standard composed by saxophonist Paul Desmond and originally recorded by the Dave Brubeck Quartet for their album ''Time Out'' at Columbia Records' 30th Street Studios in New York City on July 1, 1959. Two years later it b ...
(Music and Lyrics By
Paul Desmond
Paul Desmond (born Paul Emil Breitenfeld; November 25, 1924 – May 30, 1977) was an American jazz alto saxophonist and composer, best known for his work with the Dave Brubeck Quartet and for composing that group's biggest hit, " Take Five". He ...
)
*
Just Friends
''Just Friends'' is a 2005 American Christmas comedy film directed by Roger Kumble, written by Adam 'Tex' Davis and starring Ryan Reynolds, Amy Smart, Anna Faris, Chris Klein and Christopher Marquette. The plot focuses on a formerly obese high ...
Billy May
Edward William May Jr. (November 10, 1916 – January 22, 2004) was an American composer, arranger and trumpeter. He composed film and television music for ''The Green Hornet'' (1966), ''The Mod Squad'' (1968), '' Batman'' (with ''Batgirl'' them ...
)
* Makin' Whoopee (Reprise)(Lyrics By Gus Kahn, Music By Walter Donaldson)
* One for My Baby (Lyrics By Johnny Mercer, Music By Harold Arlen)
*
My Funny Valentine
"My Funny Valentine" is a show tune from the 1937 Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart coming of age musical '' Babes in Arms'' in which it was introduced by teenaged star Mitzi Green. The song became a popular jazz standard, appearing on over 1300 ...
(Music and Lyrics By
Richard Rodgers
Richard Charles Rodgers (June 28, 1902 – December 30, 1979) was an American composer who worked primarily in musical theater. With 43 Broadway musicals and over 900 songs to his credit, Rodgers was one of the most well-known American ...
and
Lorenz Hart
Lorenz Milton Hart (May 2, 1895 – November 22, 1943) was an American lyricist and half of the Broadway songwriting team Rodgers and Hart. Some of his more famous lyrics include "Blue Moon", " The Lady Is a Tramp", "Manhattan", " Bewitched, B ...
)
*Air Mail Special (Music By
Benny Goodman
Benjamin David Goodman (May 30, 1909 – June 13, 1986) was an American clarinetist and bandleader known as the "King of Swing".
From 1936 until the mid-1940s, Goodman led one of the most popular swing big bands in the United States. His conc ...
,
Jimmy Mundy
James Mundy (June 28, 1907 – April 24, 1983) was an American jazz tenor saxophonist, arranger, and composer, best known for his arrangements for Benny Goodman, Count Basie, and Earl Hines.
Mundy died of cancer in New York City at the age of 75 ...
Paul Anka
Paul Albert Anka (born July 30, 1941) is a Canadian-American singer, songwriter and actor. He is best known for his signature hit songs including " Diana", " Lonely Boy", " Put Your Head on My Shoulder", and "(You're) Having My Baby". Anka also ...
and Gilles Thibault, Music By
Claude François
Claude Antoine Marie François (; 1 February 1939 – 11 March 1978), also known by the nickname Cloclo, was a French pop singer, composer, songwriter, record producer, drummer and dancer. François co-wrote the lyrics of " Comme d'habitude" ( ...
New York, New York
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
(Lyrics By
Fred Ebb
Fred Ebb (April 8, 1928 – September 11, 2004) was an American musical theatre lyricist who had many successful collaborations with composer John Kander. The Kander and Ebb team frequently wrote for such performers as Liza Minnelli and Chita Riv ...
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'',
Charles Isherwood
Charles Isherwood (born 1964/65) is an American theater critic.
Education
Isherwood is a graduate of Stanford University.
Career
Isherwood wrote for '' Backstage West'' in Los Angeles. In 1993, he joined the staff of ''Variety'', where he was pr ...
opined: "A sleek, energizing mixture of Sinatra's inimitable cool and Ms. Tharp's kinetic heat, "Come Fly Away" sweeps you up in a spell so complete that only those resistant to the seductions of dance or the swing of Sinatra will be left on the other side of the velvet rope." The ''
USA Today
''USA Today'' (stylized in all uppercase) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth on September 15, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headquarters in Tysons, Virgini ...
'' reviewer was even more enthusiastic: "It's hard to imagine a Broadway show delivering a more dazzling combination of talent ... this homage features the spine-tingling arrangements of Sinatra's best-loved recordings, zestfully revived by an expert live band. Tharp's dancers, too – playing couples who grapple with that tender trap called love – mix technical prowess with a visceral punch that can be as playful as it is poignant." The Village Voice raved: "And what performers!"
However, ''New York Times'' dance writer Alastair Macaulay disagreed with his colleague Isherwood. He called the choreograph "less sensational than sensationalistic ... this is intimacy perverted into exhibitionism." He also wrote, "Some of the individual dances in the Tharp show are good or better than that, but the context stops making them look good: they're miscast or they're wasted in this undramatic clubland non-event." The '' Variety (magazine), Variety'' reviewer also found that the "dance revue only intermittently gets off the ground."Diamond, Robert "Review Roundup" Broadwayworld.com, March 25, 2010 Natasha Jibladze of the Georgia Post described the production as "Very interesting and moving performance."