OXFORD, Miss. – One of the longest-running Broadway hits of the 1990s
opens this season’s Ford Series at the University of Mississippi.
“Smokey
Joe’s Cafe,” a revue of songs by songwriters Jerry Leiber and Mike
Stoller, is scheduled at 8 p.m. Friday (Oct. 17) in the Gertrude C.
Ford Center for the Performing Arts.
The performance is the
first of five shows in the center’s Ford Series, which has become known
for offering high-quality, entertaining Broadway-class touring
productions.
“The music in ‘Smokey Joe’s Cafe’ is what many of
us listened to in our formative years, and it remains popular today
with folks of all ages and backgrounds,” said Norm Easterbrook, Ford
Center director. “The only difference is that the 45 record has been
replaced with the MP3 digital file. To see this music performed live
together with others in an audience is always the most fun way to
experience the tunes that shaped rock ‘n’ roll.”
Tickets, priced at $30 to $40 for various seating, are available by calling 662-915-7411 or by visiting the UM Box Office in the Ole Miss Student Union from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. or the Ford Center Box Office from noon to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday. Discounts are available to UM retirees, faculty, staff and students before the day of the performance.
Eric Marchese, a reviewer for The Orange County Register described “Smokey Joe’s Cafe” as “really more of a Leiber and Stoller concert … it’s also a tribute to the songwriters’ place in rock ‘n’ roll history.”
“The show’s vocal harmonies and varied instrumental flourishes are distinctive and pleasing,” Marchese said.
The production has a simple, age-old plot: Swinging singles try to woo and court each other at a neighborhood nightclub named Smokey Joe’s. The players, namely a lovelorn DeLee Lively and master of ceremonies Adrian Bailey, and seven other stylish singers and dancers, guide the audience through such hits as ”Love Potion #9,” ”Hound Dog” and ”Stand by Me.”
Other Ford Series musicals this season include “Sweeney Todd” on Nov. 7, “Oliver!” on Dec. 13, “Hairspray” on Jan. 29 and “Las Vegas Tribute to Motown” on May 1.
For a complete list of events scheduled at the Gertrude C. Ford Center for the Performing Arts, visit http://www.olemiss.edu/fordcenter/. For assistance related to a disability, call 662-915-7411.