Song and Dance comprises of two acts, one told entirely in Song and one told entirely in Dance, tied together by a love story.

The Song act is Tell Me on a Sunday which tells the story of a young British woman and her romantic misadventures in New York and Hollywood, originally written specifically for Marti Webb and recorded as a one-hour television special by the BBC.

The Dance act is a ballet choreographed to Variations.  It was composed by Andrew Lloyd Webber for his cellist brother Julian and is based on the A Minor Caprice No. 24 by Paganini. It almost became incorporated into the musical Cats and was subsequently used as the theme tune to the South Bank Show for London Weekend Television.

The original idea was conceived by Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber, but Lloyd Webber realised that Rice was writing specifically for Elaine Paige, (with whom the married Rice was having an affair), and he felt that this would suggest that he approved of the relationship, so Rice was replaced with Don Black. 

It was Cameron Mackintosh’s suggestion that the two pieces be combined under the title Song and Dance and billed the piece as “a concert for the theatre”.

The world premiere of the musical took place on 26 March 1982 at The Palace Theatre in London and ran for 781 performances, with Marti Webb in the Song half and followed by Gemma Craven, Lulu and Liz Robertson taking over the role. The Dance half was choreographed by Anthony Van Laast and featured Wayne Sleep and Jane Darling.

After the production closed, it was filmed for television broadcast with Sarah Brightman and Wayne Sleep in the lead roles.

Further productions took place in Australia in 1983 and Broadway in 1985 and a cast recording was released in 1985 including the songs ‘Take That Look Off Your Face’ and ‘Tell Me on a Sunday’.

The Song part again became a stand-alone musical as Tell Me on a Sunday in 2003 at The Gielgud Theatre in London with five new songs and additional material by Jackie Clune. It was directed by Christopher Luscombe and starred Denise Van Outen, running for 10 months.

The role was then taken over by Marti Webb who toured the UK with Faye Tozer and Patsy Palmer alternating the role.

FACTS:

Music: Andrew Lloyd Webber

Lyrics: Don Black and Richard Maltby Jr.

Theatre: The Palace Theatre, London

Run: 26 March 1982, 781 performances.

OLIVIER AWARD:

1982 (Nominated): Outstanding Achievement in a Musical and Actress of the Year in a Musical (Marti Webb).

DRAMA DESK AWARD:

1986 (Nominated): Outstanding Featured Actor in a Musical (Gregg Burke), Outstanding Choreography (Peter Martins), Outstanding Music (Andrew Lloyd Webber).

(Won): Outstanding Actress in a Musical (Bernadette Peters).

GRAMMY AWARD: 

1986 (Nominated): Best Musical Show Album.

TONYS: 

1986 (Nominated): Best Musical, Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Musical (Christopher d’Amboise, Best Original Score (Andrew Lloyd Webber, Don Black and Richard Maltby Jr.), Best Costume Design (Willa Kim), Best Lighting Design (Jules Fisher), Best Choreography (Peter Martins), Best Direction of a Musical (Richard Maltby Jr.).

(Won): Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Musical (Bernadette Peters).