Thu 9/17 @ 7PM
The 1943 movie musical Stormy Weather is in the tradition of the great Fred Astaire/Ginger Rogers movies: a frothy romantic plot, lots of dancing, a plethora of classic tunes and elegant costuming and sets.
The big difference: the cast is all black. The film features the ineffable Lena Horne in the starring role, with dancer Bill “Bojangles” Robinson playing opposite her in a story roughly based on his life. It also features jazz musicians Cab Calloway and Fats Waller, as themselves, and legendary dancer/choreography Katherine Dunham and her troupe. Among the tunes: Waller’s “Ain’t Misbehavin’,” Cab Calloway’s “Jumpin’ Jive,” “I Can’t Give You Anything But Love, Baby,” or of course, the title tune by Harold Arlen and Ted Koehler.
Stormy Weather is topic of the next Movies at Home discussion, sponsored by The Musical Theatre Project. As usual, TMTP’s artistic director Bill Rudman provides an introduction you can watch on their website. Then go to Amazon Prime, iTunes or YouTube to watch the film. Finally join Bill for his post-film discussion and Q&A on Zoom, where he’ll be joined by special guest Treva Offutt. (She’ll also join him for the introduction).
musicaltheaterproject.org/moviesathome