Frances Willard would not be pleased. In the Theatre and Interpretation Center’s world premiere of “Irving Berlin’s American Vaudeville,” speakeasys, ragtime and flappers are again all the rage.
David H. Bell wrote, choreographed and directed “American Vaudeville,” which compiles Berlin’s early music in order to illustrate America’s progress through the first half of the 1900s.
“We in America so often live as if we have no history, no heritage,” says Bell. “I think this is true in the entertainment business as much as anything. There are great themes in American theater that have disappeared in the past 100 years. Vaudevilles, saloons, speakeasys — this is intended as a tribute to those lost venues.”
Bell, a director since age 17, has theater experience around the world, including Broadway and Carnegie Hall. He also has been nominated for 30 Jeff Awards, a prestigious Chicago theater honor. Bell says he adapted “Vaudeville” to fit the young cast.
“There is something about Irving Berlin in the beginning of his career I think is very appropriate in the hands of a young ensemble,” Bell says. “There is a vitality and energy in early ragtime that suggests youth.”
Berlin dominated the musical scene in the first half of the 20th century, producing the music for “Annie Get Your Gun” and the 1942 hit “White Christmas.”
Although much of Berlin’s music has strong patriotic tones (fellow composer Jerome Kern once said, “Irving Berlin has no place in American music. Irving Berlin is American music.”), “American Vaudeville” concentrates on Berlin’s lesser known, earlier songs. Berlin had a number one hit almost every year from 1907 to 1962, but the vast majority of Berlin’s music is no longer performed, Bell says.
“He wrote thousands of songs and it was wonderful to delve into them,” Bell says. “He captures the changing voice of America over each decade. We’re breathing life into music that might have vanished forever.”
In six sections, including a prologue and epilogue, the show covers such topics as the “melting pot” phenomenon of early America, Prohibition-era speakeasys and a Horatio Alger-like rags to riches story. In one scene, Bell honors and satirizes Ziegfield’s “Follies” by arming scantily clad flappers with suffragette slogans, says dramaturg Jordan Mann.
The dialogue of “American Vaudeville” consists in part of quotes and personalities which emulate historic figures such as Will Rogers and F. Scott Fitzgerald. In the prologue of the play, a character based on Boss Tweed proclaims, “Money, politics and power is the name of the game.”
Elaborate and colorful costumes follow the march through American eras, complete with bowler hats, feather headpieces and canes. The cast of 17 has over 154 costumes for the production, and each performer averages eight to 10 costumes in the show.
“At first I researched the original photographs of entertainment of the era and then I started researching the normal clothing of the era,” costume designer Ana Kuzmanic says. “I wanted to combine the reality of the period with the entertainment so that there is something a little off.”
The costumes and adaptations of Berlin’s music seek to revitalize a time when American entertainment was the most lively and revered in the world.
“The experience I’m creating is actually entertainment with resonances,” Bell says. “If all (the audience) does is perceive the entertainment I’ll be happy.”