Harlem The 30's Analysis

Harlem, the 30’s. Opening: recording of Thomas Fats Waller. Then a live piano starts playing and five performers, Armelia, Nell, Andre, Ken and Charlaine, join it singing dressed up really fancy in a Harlem Renaissance style [“Ain’t MisBehavin’”]. The five all sing about the joy for fidelity but then they tell that it can’t get hard waiting for love [“Lookin’ Good, But Feelin’ Bad”]. Nell and Ken are talking about going to church on Sunday and then, after that, go to the cabaret on Monday [“T’Ain’t nobody’s Biz-ness if I Do”]. They then sing about their love [“Honeysuckle Rose”] and Armelia sings about her dad [“Squeeze me”]. The five singers then perform a song about piano [“Handful of keys]”. Nell then softly sings [“I’ve got a feeling I’m …show more content…
The whole group, at the end of act one, sings [“This Joint is Jumpin”]. Opening of act 2, the cast is the middle of NYC celebrating its boroughs [“Spreadin’ Rhythm Around”]. Ken along with the girls go downtown singing [“Loungin’ at the Waldorf”] and Andre goes to a Harlem party uptown [“The Viper’s Drag”]. Nell sings [“Mean to Me”] to her boyfriend and Ken sings [“Your feet’s too big”]. Through the song [“That Ain’t right”] Armelia and Andre fight believing that they cheated on each other. Charlaine instead sings to her lover that she stays true to him [“Keeping out of the Mischief now”]. Nell and Armelia talk about men gossip and a give Charlaine advices on men [“Find out what they like”]. [“Fat and greasy”] is how Ken and Andre make fun of a man, but above all the party and the joking there are still heart problems in the group [“Black and blue”]. The finale is a joyful moving medley of songs [“I’m gonna sit right down and write myself a letter”], [“Two sleepy people”], [“I’ve got my finger crossed”], [ “I can’t give you anything but love”], [“It’s a sin to tell a