Backwards in High Heels Arizona Theatre Company Play Guide

More documents

Recommendations

Info

BIOGRAPHY director and producer William Marshall. The only constant relationship throughout her entire life was her close-knit relationship with her mother, who passed away in 1977. In 1995, Ginger Rogers died of congestive heart failure in her home in Rancho Mirage, California at the age of 83. "The magic of Astaire and Rogers cannot be explained; it can only be felt. They created a style, a mood, a happening. They fl irted, chased, courted, slid, caressed, hopped, skipped, jumped, bent, swayed, clasped, wafted, undulated, nestled, leapt, quivered, glided, spun - in sum, made love before our eyes. We have not seen their like since." –Garson Kanin, Hollywood writer and director Ginger Rogers & Fred Astaire For many people, Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers embody the quintessential dance partnership. Garson Kanin, it seems, could only attempt to describe the wordless chemistry that has charmed moviegoers by the millions for decades. Fred and Ginger were acquainted through their work on Broadway before stepping onto the set of Flying Down to Rio in 1933. They had even dated for a time.Their pairing in this fi rst fi lm was somewhat accidental; Ginger was brought in as a replacement for Fred’s partner Dorothy Jordan. Though both played supporting roles, Ginger and Fred inadvertently stole the show with their adorable charm and unparalleled elegance. Interestingly, this fi lm marked the only instance in which Ginger was billed ahead of Fred, because of her fi lm experience. Needless to say, the Astaire-Rogers duo was the centerpiece of RKO’s next fi lm, The Gay Divorcee (1935), a timely tale of marriage norms and love at fi rst sight. Fred and Ginger stayed on for a total of nine fi lms with RKO, all of them lighthearted musicals. They starred in Top Hat in 1935 (featuring the famous number “Cheek to Cheek” and other Irving Berlin standards), Shall We Dance in 1937, and Carefree in 1938, among others. MGM produced the duo’s tenth and fi nal musical, The Barkleys of Broadway, in 1949. Many of the Gershwin melodies from this movie would fi nd their way into the Great American Songbook. Though none were Academy Award winners, the Astaire-Rogers movies endure as American fi lm classics. Through an expert blend of aesthetics and personality, they call to audiences today just as they staved off the effects of the Great Depression almost eighty years ago. - Written by Juliet Wilhelmi and Jenny Bazzell Backwards in High Heels Arizona Theatre Company Play Guide 6
FILMOGRAPHY GINGER ROGERS’ FILMOGRAPHY Ginger Rogers made an amazing 77 fi lms in her 35 year fi lm career, most of which were concentrated into the fi rst six years of work. She continued to make occasional television appearances up through 1987, including several episodes of The Red Skelton Hour, a televised version of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Cinderella (also starring Lesley Anne Warren, Walter Pidgeon, Celeste Holm, Jo Van Fleet and Pat Carroll) and a two-part episode of The Love Boat, among others. 1929 A Day of a Man of Affairs 1930 A Night in a Dormitory Campus Sweethearts Young Man of Manhattan The Sap from Syracuse Queen High Offi ce Blues Follow the Leader 1931 Honor Among Lovers The Tip-Off Suicide Fleet 1932 Carnival Boat The Tenderfoot The Thirteenth Guest Hat Check Girl You Said a Mouthful First promotion of the Rogers-Astaire pairing for Flying Down to Rio 1933 Broadway Bad 42nd Street Gold Diggers of 1933 Professional Sweetheart Don't Bet on Love A Shriek in the Night Rafter Romance Chance at Heaven Sitting Pretty Flying Down to Rio 1934 Twenty Million Sweethearts Upperworld Finishing School Change of Heart The Gay Divorcee 1935 Romance in Manhattan Roberta Star of Midnight Top Hat In Person 1936 Follow the Fleet Swing Time 1937 Shall We Dance Stage Door 1938 Vivacious Lady Having Wonderful Time Carefree Backwards in High Heels Actor Matthew LaBanca who plays Fred Astaire and other roles in ATC’s production 1939 The Story of Vernon and Irene Castle Bachelor Mother Arizona Theatre Company Play Guide 5th Ave Girl 7
Page 1 and 2: BACKWARDS IN HIGH HEELS Play Guide
Page 3 and 4: WHO WE ARE Arizona Theatre Company
Page 5: BIOGRAPHY on the Orpheum circuit,
Page 9 and 10: COMPOSERS ABOUT THE COMPOSERS Chris
Page 11 and 12: McGOVERN Dorothy Fields: Dorothy Fi
Page 13 and 14: McGOVERN CM: By far, it is one of t
Page 15 and 16: GOLDEN Throughout the Golden Age, m
Page 17 and 18: TIMELINE 1926: The Savoy Ballroom o
Page 19 and 20: GLOSSARY GLOSSARY Abott and Costell
Page 21 and 22: GLOSSARY Marlene Dietrich: A German
Page 23 and 24: DISCUSSIONS evidence can you fi nd
Page 25 and 26: DISCUSSION 3. Ask your students to

Backwards in High Heels Arizona Theatre Company Play Guide

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

Delete template?

Save as template?