Black and Blue is a musical revue celebrating the black culture of dance and music in Paris between World War I and World War II. Choreographed by Henry LeTang, Cholly Atkins, Frankie Manning, and Fayard Nicholas the cast of forty-one singers, dancers, and musicians included Ruth Brown, Linda Hopkins, Carrie Smith, Savion Glover, Claude Williams, Roland Hanna, Grady Tate, Jimmy Slyde, Bill Easley, Jimmy “Preacher” Robins, Lon Chaney (the jazz tap dancer, not the actor) Bunny Briggs and Dianne Walker. The Broadway production opened on January 26, 1989.
Ain’t Nobody Business featuring Ruth Brown and Linda Hopkins is a fun bawdy number featuring two seasoned artists at the top of their craft. In the cast of the dance number that follows Ain’t Nobody Business is a 16 year old clean cut Savion Glover.
Dr. Jimmy Slyde
Shoes Behind
The musical won three Tony Awards, Ruth Brown- Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Musical, Cholly Atkins, Henry LeTang, Frankie Manning and Fayard Nicholas- Best Choreography and Claudio Segovia and Héctor Orezzoli- Best Costume Design
