Struttin'
On

The All Night Strut's' fast pace and music
continues to draw crowds for Fran Charnas.

SUZANNE CHESSLER SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH NEWS

ran Charnas enjoys
theatrical success on
two levels.
As creator, director
and choreographer of
The All Night Strut!,
which is at the Strand
Theatre in Pontiac until
May 22, she enjoys her
personal achievements.
In addition, as a teacher
at the Boston Conserva-
tory, she enjoys the
achievements of her for-
mer students, including
John Freedson, who

directs and produces
Forbidden Broadway,
and Lori Flynn, who
entertains in Strut.
"I love to see all my
students do really well,"
said Ms. Charnas. Her
show, which captures the
Swing era music of the
'30s and '40s, has been
performed at the Gem,
Music Hall and Birming-
ham Theatre.
"It's a kaleidoscope
from that time, and it
has ballads, jazz, hot

jazz, boogie-woo-
gie and gospel,"
she said about the
content that has
changed only once
since its premiere
in the '70s. In-
stead of the Porgy
and Bess medley
that originally
closed the first
act, there is a
medley of World
War II songs,
which a producer
felt would be
more in keeping
with the other
numbers in the
program.
"I tried to take
what I thought
was the best pop-
ular American
music from that
period," she ex-
plained about her
choices, which
include "As Time
Goes By," "Java
Jive" and "Ain't
Misbehavin'." "I
approached each
song as if it were
a little play and
gave it a begin-
ning, middle and
end."
The show's title
comes from the
song "Gimme a Pig and a
Bottle of Beer," part of
the first act: "They all
congregate at an All
Night Strut; what they
do is tut, tut, tut." The
message, according to
Ms. Charnas, gives a
sense of mystery and
mischief.
Planned at the request
of an Ohio club owner,
Strut features four sing-
ers and dancers who are
in every number.

"I liked the romantic
energy and the funkiness
of that music, and the
lyrics say something to
you," said Ms. Charnas,
who has a Bachelor of
Fine Arts degree from
Ohio University and a
master's degree from
Emerson College, "The
texture is rich, exciting
and interesting."
What she believes
makes her approach
unique consists of the
ways the songs are
ordered, arranged and
performed, using a three-
piece combo and no dia-
logue. The numbers are
highly staged to create a
sense of fast movement
she believes current
audiences require.
The costumes, design-
ed in black and white
with a touch of red, rep-
resent what she sees as
the clarity of values of
the time.
"Michigan has become
like a second home for
me," said the' creator of
the production that has
been presented in
Boston, Seattle, San
Francisco, Atlantic City,
Toronto and Monte
Carlo, as well as for pub-
lic television. "It's very
appropriate that we are
at the Strand and often
open in theaters that are
restored or being
restored.
"It's such a nice feeling
being in theaters that
suggest another time and
place in terms of the
architecture because the
music, lyrics and perfor-
mance also should be
transporting audiences to
another time and place."

STRUTTIW pane 86

