Jelly's Last Jam
A musical biography of Jelly Roll Morton with social commentary.
Jelly's Last Jam is a stage musical that blends the music of Jelly Roll Morton and Luther Henderson with lyrics by Susan Birkenhead and a book by George C. Wolfe. It tells the story of Ferdinand Joseph LaMothe, better known as Jelly Roll Morton, a key figure in bringing jazz to mainstream America in the early 1900s, while also offering a critique of the African-American experience in that period. The show premiered in Los Angeles in 1991 before opening on Broadway in April 1992. It earned 11 Tony Award nominations and won three.
Quick Facts
- Music
- Jelly Roll Morton; Luther Henderson
- Lyrics
- Susan Birkenhead
- Book
- George C. Wolfe
- Basis
- The life of Jelly Roll Morton
- Productions
- 1991 Los Angeles
- 1992 Broadway
- 2024 Encores!
Facts from the source article.
Plot
The story begins after Jelly Roll Morton’s death, with his spirit stuck in limbo and forced to confront his past. A shadowy figure called the Chimney Man guides him, pushing Morton to remember the painful truths he tries to skip over or dress up. Morton was born into a well-off, mixed-race Creole family in New Orleans, but he rejected their refined world. He took to the streets, soaking up the music of vendors and poor Black communities, and met the blues musician Buddy Bolden. When his Creole grandmother found out, she cut him off completely. Kicked out on his own, Morton traveled and became a major composer and musician, boldly claiming he invented jazz. But the hurt from his family’s rejection made him cling to his Creole identity and insist there were “no black notes in my song.” That pride, mixed with racism, led him to betray his closest friend and the woman he loved. As jazz grew bigger, Morton faded into obscurity, scraping by with shady music publishers and gangsters. He died from a knife wound in the segregated colored ward of a Los Angeles hospital. In his final moment, Morton finally admitted the truth: “Ain’t no black notes in my song / I was wrong / I was wrong.” At that, the shadows of everyone he wronged gathered around him in approval, and he joined the ranks of jazz legends.
Production history
Jelly's Last Jam premiered at the Mark Taper Forum in Los Angeles on February 24, 1991, with an official opening night on March 7. It was directed by book-writer George C. Wolfe. Obba Babatunde played Jelly Roll, with Keith David as Chimney Man, Freda Payne as Gran Mimi, and Ruben Santiago-Hudson as Buddy Bolden. George Tsypin designed the set, Toni-Leslie James the costumes, James F. Ingalls the lighting, and Hope Clarke choreographed. Linda Twine was music director. The production closed on April 21, 1991. The Broadway production opened at the Virginia Theatre on April 26, 1992, and closed on September 5, 1993, after 569 performances and 25 previews. Wolfe directed, with choreography by Hope Clarke and tap choreography by Gregory Hines and Ted L. Levy. Robin Wagner designed the scenic elements, Toni-Leslie James the costumes, and Jules Fisher the lighting. The cast included Gregory Hines and Savion Glover as the older and younger Morton, Keith David as Chimney Man, Tonya Pinkins as Anita, Ann Duquesnay as Gran Mimi, Stanley Wayne Mathis as Jack the Bear, Mary Bond Davis as Miss Maime, and Ruben Santiago-Hudson as Buddy Bolden. Stephanie Pope, Mamie Duncan-Gibbs and Allison M. Williams appeared as the Honies. Later, Phylicia Rashad, Brian Stokes Mitchell and Ben Vereen joined the cast. An original cast recording was produced by Thomas Z. Shepard for Mercury Records. The musical was mounted by New York City Center Encores! from February 21 to March 3, 2024, directed by Robert O'Hara with choreography by Edgar Godineaux and tap choreography by Dormeshia. Nicholas Christopher starred as Jelly, Billy Porter as Chimney Man, Joaquina Kalukango as Anita, and Leslie Uggams as Gran Mimi. Pope, Duncan-Gibbs and Williams reprised their roles as the Hunnies.
Reception
John Lahr, in his introduction to the published script, argued that the musical restores tap dancing’s powerful role in telling a story through music. A PBS documentary titled Jammin' Jelly Roll Morton on Broadway, narrated by Denzel Washington, covered the show’s creation and was well received. The Broadway run earned nine Drama Desk nominations and won six, including Best Book, Best Lyrics, Best Orchestration/Musical Adaptation, Best Lighting, Best Actor in a Musical, and Best Featured Actress in a Musical. It also received eleven Tony nominations, taking home three: Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical, Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Musical, and Best Lighting Design. Critical response was mixed to positive. The New York Times praised Gregory Hines’s performance as Jelly Roll Morton, calling the show more than a biographical sketch of the man who sparked the jazz revolution; it was a layered effort to depict jazz’s origins and, through that, the tense experience of being Black in the fast-changing America that moved to jazz’s rhythm. Some reviewers found the second act problematic, a flaw that also surfaced in the 2024 revival. Variety labeled the book “aimless and repetitive” and said the production fell apart in the second act, though it commended the acting, singing, music, and “explosive” dance numbers. The 2024 New York City Center Encores production earned a “sensational” and “jaw-dropping” review from The New York Times, which praised the music, plot, and tap choreography. Vulture noted Nicholas Christopher was a strong fit for Jelly and remarked on the impressive scale of a production assembled in just ten days of rehearsal. Theater Pizzazz called it a “handsomely mounted, gorgeously cast, and incredibly polished revival,” while New York Theater magazine described it as a “starry showcase of exquisite blues singing, lively jazz playing and energetic tap dancing.”
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