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“Sophisticated Ladies” is an all-singing, all-dancing romp through Duke Ellington’s enduring songs, including “Take the ‘A’ Train,” “Caravan,” “It Don’t Mean a Thing (If It Ain’t Got That Swing)” and “Don’t Get Around Much Anymore.”
Beef & Boards Dinner Theatre will pay tribute to Ellington by presenting “Sophisticated Ladies” July 14 through Aug. 20.
The musical, which debuted on Broadway in 1981 and last hit the Beef & Boards stage in 1987, captures the energy of the Harlem Renaissance—the setting where Ellington made his name a century ago—cast member Tiffany Gilliam said.
“The music brought everybody together, and it just woke everybody up,” said Gilliam, an Indianapolis native and Indiana University alum. “It was a time when people were enjoying life. I think this is an appropriate time to remind each other that we should be enjoying life and having some fun in the midst of all that’s going on around us. It’s still OK to enjoy life. And music brings us all together. It always has and it always will.”
To execute the revue of Ellington tunes, the Beef & Boards production spotlights three female performers and four male performers.
Gilliam said one of her favorite parts of the show is the opportunity to sing “Love You Madly”/ “Perdido.”
“I get to play between two gentlemen and see them fight over me,” Gilliam said. “We have some fun footwork that we get to do. It’s just a fun piece.”
Gilliam, who appeared in this spring’s production of “An American in Paris” at Beef & Boards, is not a trained dancer. Choreography, however, is a major component of “Sophisticated Ladies,” which featured Gregory Hines in its original Broadway cast.
Kenney M. Greene-Tilford, the show’s director and choreographer, deserves credit for a skillful adaptation, Gilliam said.
“The choreography is dynamite,” she said. “It’s beautifully done. But it’s something I felt comfortable being able to pull off.”
Because Ellington was known for taking his big band around the world, “Sophisticated Ladies” doesn’t downplay its live orchestra.
“I think the audience is going to be surprised,” Gilliams said. “I love the way our director, Kenney, puts it: The star of the show is the orchestra and everything else revolves around what they’re doing.”
Gillam’s fellow female leads are Yvette Monique Clark and Kelliann DeCarlo. The quartet of male leads are made up of Darius-Anthony Robinson, Joseph Perkins Jr., Sean Blake and Zachary Dyer.
The history of “Sophisticated Ladies” in Indianapolis includes a 1983 run by national touring company at the bygone Starlight Musicals on the campus of Butler University. Two-time Grammy Award winner Dee Dee Bridgewater was part of the cast.
Following the 1987 staging at Beef & Boards, 9301 Michigan Road, the Indianapolis Civic Theatre presented “Sophisticated Ladies” in 1996.
Gilliam said she appreciates the chance to be part of a show that’s not frequently produced in the city.
“It’s going to be exciting to bring something new to people, or something that people haven’t seen before,” she said. “We get to play with it and make it our own, because most people don’t have a reference for it.”
‘Sophisticated Ladies’
- When: July 14-Aug. 20.
- Where: Beef & Boards Dinner Theatre, 9301 Michigan Road.
- Tickets: $52.50 to $79.50, including meal.
- Info: Visit beefandboards.com.
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