Song and Dance
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Unveiling "Song and Dance" on the West End
"Song and Dance" is a unique musical that premiered on London’s West End at the Palace Theatre on March 26, 1982, running for 781 performances until March 31, 1984. Comprising two distinct acts one told entirely in song, the other in dance it was crafted by Andrew Lloyd Webber, with lyrics for the first act by Don Black and the second act featuring a ballet set to Webber’s Variations. Directed by John Caird, the production starred Marti Webb as “the girl” in the song cycle Tell Me on a Sunday, with Wayne Sleep leading the dance segment. This innovative blend, tied by a loose love story, earned a Laurence Olivier Award nomination for Outstanding Achievement in a Musical, showcasing Lloyd Webber’s versatility and theatrical daring.
A Dual Narrative of Love
The musical splits into two halves. Act One, Tell Me on a Sunday, follows a young Englishwoman navigating romantic misadventures in New York and Hollywood. After a breakup, she cycles through relationships a flaky drummer, a Hollywood producer named Sheldon Bloom, a younger man who cheats, and a married man each affair deepening her emotional journey, ending in bittersweet resolve. Act Two shifts to Variations, a wordless ballet originally composed for Webber’s cellist brother Julian, based on Paganini’s A Minor Caprice No. 24. It explores a man’s relational struggles through dance, concluding with a reunion that links the acts via the song “When You Want to Fall in Love.” It’s a fragmented yet poignant tale of longing and connection.
A Creative Fusion
Andrew Lloyd Webber birthed Song and Dance from two separate projects. Tell Me on a Sunday debuted as a 1979 Sydmonton Festival piece for Marti Webb, later airing as a BBC special in 1980, with Black’s lyrics tailored to her voice. Variations, recorded in 1978, nearly joined Cats before finding its stage home here, choreographed by Anthony Van Laast for Wayne Sleep’s virtuosic flair. John Caird’s direction unified the acts, with Harry Rabinowitz conducting a 16-piece orchestra a downsized version of the original symphonic score. The original cast, including Webb and Sleep, brought a raw, personal edge, with Webb’s successors Gemma Craven, Lulu, Liz Robertson adding their own hues over the run.
A West End Milestone
Opening at the Palace Theatre, "Song and Dance" rode the wave of Lloyd Webber’s rising fame post-Cats. Critics were divided Financial Times panned its “ostentatious” incoherence, yet audiences embraced its novelty, driving nearly two years of performances. Its 1982 premiere drew 781 shows, with a live opening-night album on Polydor Records capturing Webb’s solo act. The production nabbed an Olivier nod for Outstanding Achievement in a Musical, though it lost to Cats. A filmed version with Sarah Brightman aired post-closure, preserving its quirky legacy. Its West End success spurred a Broadway run in 1985, where Bernadette Peters won a Tony, but London remains its origin story’s heart.
Melodies and Movement
The score is a split affair. Tell Me on a Sunday offers gems like “Take That Look Off Your Face,” a chart-topping single for Webb, alongside “Capped Teeth and Caesar Salad,” “The Last Man in My Life,” and “Unexpected Song” later a duet hit with Justin Hayward. Variations transforms Paganini’s caprice into a dance suite, its climax weaving in “When You Want to Fall in Love” to bridge the acts. Performed live Webb solo with piano in Act One, Sleep and dancers with orchestra in Act Two the music blends pop balladry and classical flair. The 1982 London recording immortalizes Webb’s emotive delivery, a standout in Lloyd Webber’s catalog.
A Transatlantic Legacy
Post-West End, "Song and Dance" hit Broadway in 1985 at the Royale Theatre, running 474 performances with Peters as Emma (a named version of “the girl”) and Christopher d’Amboise in Variations, earning eight Tony nods and a win for Peters. A 1987 U.S. tour with Melissa Manchester followed, while a 1983 Sydney run starred Gaye MacFarlane. Its roots trace back to Webb’s BBC special and Sleep’s ballet chops, influencing later Lloyd Webber experiments. Though not a perennial like Phantom, its West End debut shaped musical theatre’s appetite for hybrid forms, leaving a quirky imprint on London’s stage history.
Why "Song and Dance" Resonates
"Song and Dance" captivates with its bold split personality half heartbreak in song, half passion in dance offering a fresh lens on love’s messiness. Its 1982 West End run at the Palace Theatre showcased Lloyd Webber’s knack for pushing boundaries, pairing Webb’s raw vocals with Sleep’s balletic fire. It’s a quirky, imperfect gem that dares to differ, appealing to fans of innovation over convention. For London audiences, it was a theatrical oddity a fleeting romance of sound and motion that lingers as a testament to taking risks in Theatreland’s golden age.