RSC announces one-off live streamed concert production of musical Swingin’ The Dream

Pictured: Kwame Kwei-Armah (Credit: Leon Puplett)

The RSC has announced it will  be teaming up with London’s Young Vic and Theatre for a New Audience (New York) to produce a one-off live streamed concert of musical Swingin’ The Dream on Saturday 9 January 2021.

Gilbert Seldes and Erik Charell’s jazz-infused version of A Midsummer Night’s Dream premiered at The Centre Theatre in New York in 1939, and is widely regarded as one of the most ambitious and intriguing Broadway musical adaptations of Shakespeare ever.

The original musical featured lyrics by Eddie de Lange and music by Jimmy Van Heusen with choreography by Agnes Demille. Relocating Shakespeare’s comedy from 16th Century Athens to 1890s New Orleans, Erik Charell’s pioneering production combined original music with popular jazz standards from the great American songbook including Ain't Misbehavin', Blue Moon, St Louis Blues and Darn That Dream.

The 1939 musical also featured some of the most popular African-American performers of the day including Louis Armstrong, Moms Mabley, Maxine Sullivan, the Dandridge Sisters and Butterfly McQueen alongside musical contributions from Count Basie, Fats Waller and Benny Goodman.

Presented by Kwame Kwei-Armah,  the concert will feature a selection of original songs from the production performed by RSC musicians Peter Edwards (MD/Arranger/Piano), Neil Charles (Bass), Chris Storr (Trumpet) and Zara McFarlane (Vocals). The cast includes Alfred Clay, Andrew French, Kemi-Bo Jacobs, Cornell S John, Georgia Landers, Mogali Masuku, Baker Mukasa and Anne Odeke.

RSC Artistic Director Gregory Doran said: “The story of Swingin’ the Dream brings together so many different elements: Shakespeare, Jazz and some extraordinary talent. But it also touches on the deeply challenging issues of representation, of exploitation, of segregation and cultural ownership. The way these issues have gained in prominence, and the urgent need to tell stories which illuminate and articulate the historical and contemporary Black experience, makes the resonances of this story even more powerful.”

Artistic Director of the Young Vic Kwame Kwei-Armah said; “The fact that this production of Swingin’ the Dream existed, and that the manuscript has since disappeared and has never been found, simply intrigues me. I am really excited by the idea that Louis Armstrong was once in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and the fact that there was a Producer who wanted to make a statement on Broadway at that time about people coming together to simply create great art. So, the moment Greg pulled my coat to this project, I wanted in. And I wanted in because I think we can build something beautiful in the spirit of that original ‘dream’.”

For more information and to book tickets, please click here.