GVT's musical performance, Smokey Joe's Cafe, Songs of Leiber and Stoller
The Greenbrier Valley Theatre (GVT) performance of Smokey Joe’s Café started in August, and will end September 7. If you haven’t seen this performance, you need to get your ticket now as the reviews have been fantastic. Smokey Joe’s Café, is a 39-song musical revue of the work of the prolific songwriting team Leiber and Stoller.
Tickets are $24 for adults, $21 for seniors, and $18 for students and children. For tickets or more information, call the GVT Box Office at 304-645-3838.
The remaining performances for Smokey Joe’s Café are:
September 5-7, 2013 at 7:30 p.m.
September 7, 2013 at 2:00 p.m.
Smokey Joe’s Café opened on Broadway in March of 1995 and closed 2036 performances later in January of 2000. The sheer amount of performances made it the longest-running musical revue in Broadway history to date. The show celebrated the musical output of Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller, who were responsible for writing dozens of hit songs during the 1950s and 1960s, recorded by a variety of artists. While the musical was nominated for five different categories at the 1995 Tony Awards, the major award it won was a Grammy in 1996 for Best Musical Show Album.
Among Leiber and Stoller’s best known songs are Yakety Yak, Charlie Brown, Love Potion #9, Hound Dog and Jailhouse Rock (which became hits for Elvis Presley), Stuck in the Middle with You, On Braodway (co-written with Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil), and Spanish Harlem and Stand by Me, both recorded by singer Ben E. King. Their relationship with King continued as the duo was hired to write and produce an album for the second incarnation of The Drifters, during the years they were led by King. In this arrangement, they co-wrote such hits as There Goes my Baby, Save the Last Dance for Me, Fools Fall in Love, Kansas City, and This Magic Moment.
Jerry Leiber later worked with West Virginia singer/songwriter Billy Edd Wheeler (who wrote and composed the long-running outdoor drama Hatfields & McCoys for Theatre West Virginia, in Beckley). The two wrote the song Jackson, which went on to become a Grammy-winning hit for Johnny Cash and June Carter.
Smokey Joe’s Café, named for their song of the same title, features 39 of Leiber and Stoller’s most well-known songs performed by the cast of nine actors from GVT, including GVT’s new music director and accompanist Kermit Metzger. Smokey Joe’s Café will also be GVT’s major touring production of the year, with shows at theatres and colleges around the state.
113 E. Washington Street
Lewisburg, WV
304-645-3838
Smokey Joe’s Café is a fast-paced, high-energy musical revue featuring 39 pop classics from songwriters Leiber and Stoller. With some of the greatest songs ever recorded, it isn’t just great pop music—its compelling musical theatre!
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