"Song and Dance" opened in London on 26th March 1982, after "Variations", a musical piece composed by Andrew Lloyd Webber for his brother Julian, was combined with "Tell Me On A Sunday", written with Don Black.
"Variations" was choreographed by Anthony van Laast, and had an electric team of dancers including Wayne Sleep, Graham Fletcher, Sandy Strallen, Linda Mae Brewer and Jane Darling.
The album "Variations" was released in 1978. Based on Paganini’s Caprice in A minor, the recording featured Andrew Lloyd Webber’s cellist brother Julian and a number of the rock world’s leading musicians.
This work was then combined with "Tell Me on a Sunday" (an Andrew Lloyd Webber/Don Black song cycle) to produce Song and Dance. The show opened in London at the Palace Theatre and enjoyed a run of 781 performances, closing on 31st March 1984. The title song, “Tell Me on a Sunday”, was sung by Marti Webb originally and subsequently by, amongst others, Gemma Craven, Carol Nielsson, Lulu and Liz Robertson.
"Song and Dance" was subsequently rewritten for a Broadway opening starring Bernadette Peters. She won her first Tony Award for the role.
This production is a presentation of the Broadway version of the first act, with minor changes to modernize the themes by exploring homosexuality in the 1980s.
I wrote a one act chamber musical that was originally supposed to be presented with a small cast, but the dark and intimate tale proved to be too intense for a school-related run. As a result, I chose to use this piece for presentation.
Please consider donating tonight. Although this presentation is free, this production is raising money for Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS and we would greatly appreciate any donation.
I hope you enjoy this presentation of "Tell Me On A Sunday". This is one of the only productions of this version since the 1985 Broadway run.
- Sam Yankovich
