Starting Friday, July 14th, Indy’s Beef & Boards Dinner Theatre will present “Sophisticated Ladies” spotlighting the music of Duke Ellington.

This is part of the latest B&B’s Press Release:
This summer, Beef & Boards Dinner Theatre celebrates 100 years since legendary jazz
pianist and composer Duke Ellington moved to New York City to perform in Broadway nightclubs with Sophisticated Ladies, a stylish and brassy retrospective of The Duke’s musical legacy now on stage. After moving to New York City in 1923 to perform in such legendary venues as the Exclusive Club in Harlem and the Hollywood Club, Ellington would go on to have extended residencies at the Cotton Club in Harlem. It is this period that is celebrated in Act I, with songs including “It Don’t Mean A Thing,” “Don’t Get Around Much Anymore,” “’A’ Train,” and “Hit Me With A Hot Note And Watch Me Bounce.”

Sophisticated Ladies celebrates the music of legendary jazz pianist Duke Ellington with more than two dozen songs taking audiences through his decades of contributions to American music.

Act II explores the private man as captured in his music, featuring “I’m Beginning To See The Light,” “Satin Doll,” I Got It Bad And That Ain’t Good,” and “Sophisticated Lady.” Ellington recorded with such talents as Louis Armstrong, Ella Fitzgerald, Coleman Hawkins, John Coltrane, and Charles Mingus. Sophisticated Ladies is a high-stepping salute inspired by the glamorous nightlife and sensuous highlife of Ellington, who would go on to tour Europe, Asia, West Africa, and South America, in addition to North America.

Get your tickets at the Beef & Boards website. We’re really looking forward to this performance, as it is hard to beat Duke Ellington’s genius when it comes to music. We’re going this weekend and we’ll let you know what we thought, probably Monday. Have a good weekend!