On November 2nd, my 92nd Street Y course, I Wanna Be A Dancin’ Man: Fred Astaire In New York, comes to a close, with a discussion on, and screening of THE BAND WAGON. Directed by Vincente Minnelli, and released by MGM in 1953, it is considered to be one of the best films about putting on a Broadway musical. Repeating the magic they created on their screenplay for Singin’ In the Rain, the previous year, Betty Comden and Adolph Green took the songs of Arthur Schwartz and Howard Dietz, and wrote the screenplay to The Band Wagon. Fred Astaire is Tony Hunter, a washed up Hollywood Musical Star, who is about to re-enter the world of Broadway theatre. Back in 1931, Fred had appeared in a Broadway revue, the last show to feature both he and his sister Adele, before she left the act to marry a British lord. Such songs as I Guess I’ll Have To Change My Plans, Dancing In The Dark, A Shine On Your Shoes, and other songs were used in the film, which also features Cyd Charisse, Oscar Levant, and Nanette Fabray. As part of the class, I will also include some rare outtakes. The film also features new (for its time) numbers, including “That’s Entertainment” and “The Girl Hunt Ballet. So come to the 92nd Street Y, and get on board THE BANDWAGON, on Monday, December 2nd, at 6:30PM!

On December 16th, 2013, I will be bringing my lecture program, Let’s Face The Music and Dance: The Films of Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers, to the renowned art cinema of Long Island, the Cinema Arts Center, in Huntington, NY. This program, beloved by many who have seen it, presents highlights from the ten films which Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers danced and romanced together. In such RKO films as Top Hat, Swing Time, Shall We Dance, Carefree, and ther MGM reunion film, The Barkleys of Broadway, Astaire and Rogers danced their ways into our hearts, and at the same time, advanced the genre and art of dance in the Hollywood Musical. The program will be presented in the theatre’s Sky Cafe on Monday, December 16th, at 7:30PM. Feel free to wear your Ostrich feather gown, and white tie and tails!