Dick Hyman
MUSIC ADVISOR
Dick Hyman
MUSIC ADVISOR
Dick is an NEA Jazz Master, is a pianist, organist, arranger, music director, and composer. With over 100 albums under his name, he was among the first to record on the Moog synthesizer; his Minotaur hit Billboard charts. Dick has won seven Most Valuable Player Awards from the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences and two Emmy awards. He was music director for Benny Goodman’s final TV appearance, In Performance at the White House, and orchestrator of Broadway’s Sugar Babies. In addition, Dick was composer/arranger for twelve Woody Allen movies, Moonstruck, Scott Joplin and other films. He was also artistic director for Jazz in July at the 92nd Street Y for twenty years. A member of the Jazz Hall of Fame of the Rutgers Institute of Jazz Studies and the New Jersey Jazz Society, Dick has been awarded honorary doctorates from the Juilliard School of Music and Wilkes College and the Satchmo from the Jazz Club of Sarasota.
Dick is an NEA Jazz Master, is a pianist, organist, arranger, music director, and composer. With over 100 albums under his name, he was among the first to record on the Moog synthesizer; his Minotaur hit Billboard charts. Dick has won seven Most Valuable Player Awards from the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences and two Emmy awards. He was music director for Benny Goodman’s final TV appearance, In Performance at the White House, and orchestrator of Broadway’s Sugar Babies. In addition, Dick was composer/arranger for twelve Woody Allen movies, Moonstruck, Scott Joplin and other films. He was also artistic director for Jazz in July at the 92nd Street Y for twenty years. A member of the Jazz Hall of Fame of the Rutgers Institute of Jazz Studies and the New Jersey Jazz Society, Dick has been awarded honorary doctorates from the Juilliard School of Music and Wilkes College and the Satchmo from the Jazz Club of Sarasota.
JoMo Productions
Sarasota, Florida
Jan. 20-26, 2020
“. . . heartwarming and heartbreaking”
Jan. 28 - Feb. 27, 2022
(CLICK on images above to learn more about the productions.)
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Lil & Satchmo
By Jo Morello
A Play with Music
Introduce your audience to Lil Hardin and Louis Armstrong, First Couple of Jazz!
Their love made sparks ... and history!
It's the Roaring Twenties and “Hot Miss Lil” is a star! Barely 20, Lil Hardin is already an arranger, composer, bandleader, and singer—and the only woman in Chicago's hottest jazz bands. The much-sought-after pianist isn't impressed when country bumpkin “Little Louis” Armstrong arrives from New Orleans with his cornet. Nobody is more surprised than they when shy, pudgy “Satchelmouth” wins her over.
LIL & SATCHMO is the exciting, authentic story of jazz pioneers Lil Hardin Armstrong, her husband Louis Armstrong, and other real people who were their colleagues. Spanning a half-century and bursting with music, this full-length play dramatizes their love and lives, together and apart, as they confront racism, sexism, promiscuity, addiction, and mobsters while helping to create jazz, the original American musical art form.
History comes alive in this unique love story, presented with dozens of songs of the era including “Chicago, That Toddlin' Town,” “Ballin' the Jack,” “A Good Man is Hard to Find,” “I Wonder Who's Kissing Her Now,” “Bill Bailey, Won't You Please Come Home?” and more! (Click here for audio samples and a complete song list.)
A work of fiction freely based on fact—with touches of the supernatural—LIL & SATCHMO focuses on Lil Hardin, a star in her own right and star-maker for Louis. After the Memphis native watches him move on to two more wives and international acclaim, she tells him, “I was holdin’ the ladder and watchin’ you climb. After a while I couldn’t reach you anymore.” Yet they remain close until the very end.
Discover the Lil you never knew and the Louis you only think you know!
Ideal for Black History Month (February), Women's History Month (March), and diverse audiences who love history, jazz, and a lively, surprising story.
Recommended for upper high school and college students.
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Marta McKinnon and Joe Plummer. Photo by Michael Kinsey.
“If Louis didn't have his Lil, would the world have had its Louis?”
— Ken Franckling's Jazz Notes
Synopsis
Renowned jazz musician and pianist Lil Hardin Armstrong, 73, plays a lively, boogie-woogie version of “St. Louis Blues” during a televised outdoor concert in Chicago’s Civic Center Plaza on August 27, 1971—a tribute to recently deceased super-celebrity Louis “Satchmo” Armstrong. The second wife of Louis’ four, Lil is joyously playing the song, one of Louis’ favorites, when an ethereal Louis suddenly appears, but only to her. They chat about their lives and Lil decides to tell their story, musically assisted by dozens of songs of the era. She walks back to 1918 Chicago, where, barely out of her teens, she’s hired first as a “song-plugger,” then as a member of a hot jazz band.
Much in demand as a pianist, “The Hot Miss Lil” moves gloriously into the Roaring Twenties while pudgy “Little Louis” Armstrong hustles to survive in New Orleans. A band is playing “Chicago, That Toddlin’ Town” when young cornetist Louis arrives in Chicago to join his mentor, Joe “King” Oliver, and his famous Creole Jazz Band. The flirty Lil, already in the band, is desired by many of the musicians including the awkward Louis. As she helps him past his shyness, this odd couple soon discovers they’re musical soulmates, but both are in bad marriages. They get their divorces and marry.
Their careers bring them together; their personalities drive them apart. Impressed by Louis’s talent, Lil pushes him—hard—to quit hot bands because he’s content to play second cornet. As his manager she helps engineer the creation of landmark recordings with “Louis Armstrong’s Hot Fives” and forces other career moves that elevate him to stardom. Sadly, her controlling personality and his uncontrolled promiscuity lead him to move in with a much-younger mistress—and sometimes also live with Lil. Adding to her woes, Lil discovers that her name, and thus her royalties, are missing from many songs she’s written alone or with Louis. Still, despite her mother’s warnings, she continues to love him and expects him to return to her. Finally, after two years of a conventional marriage and twelve years mostly apart, she divorces Louis and sues for her composer’s credits. His surprise at the divorce and anger over the lawsuit keep them estranged for about ten years. At one point a discouraged Lil tries to leave music but its pull is too strong. Re-energized, she pushes forward with her career and rises to ever higher levels of accomplishment.
Louis moves on to two more wives, a lifelong devotion to pot, and a firm commitment to managers connected with murderous mobs in Chicago and New York. Lil leads her own bands, plays gigs all over the world, lives in Europe for years, has a network radio program, continues to write and record songs, is featured on a “Living Legend” album and TV show, and is named “Swing Queen” by Decca Records. Both struggle against racism, including Louis’s confrontation with President Eisenhower over the Little Rock Central High School integration crisis in 1957.
Through it all, Lil continues to wear Louis’s ring and carry his name. Eventually he signs over rights to her songs, easing her financial pressures, and the two resume the friendship that will last until their deaths. When he dies, Lil is devastated. The play moves back to the opening scene, where she is playing her tribute. The ethereal Louis is still there, waiting for her….
What the critics say ...
“... the heartwarming and heartbreaking story of Lil Hardin Armstrong, a dominant force behind the success of her world famous husband, trumpeter Louis Armstrong ... ”
“... so relevant to our world today as even now women struggle for the right to have their work recognized and rewarded.”
—Broadway World
“... playwright Jo Morello shines a light on Lil’s many-faceted musical achievements and her influence on his career. Theirs was also a short-lived marriage but a love story that lasted as long as their lives.”
—Totaltheater.com
Simple to stage ...
just add one small, talented cast
The Play
This full-length play in two acts covers 53 years (1918-1971), dramatizing the unique love story of Lil Hardin and Louis Armstrong, pioneers of jazz. The play is a work of fiction freely based on fact and almost every character was a living person, actively involved with Lil, Louis, and the creation of jazz. Dozens of lively, authentic songs of the era punctuate the action and keep the story moving.
Cast
6 African-American actors/singers (3F, 3M) who move well.
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The roles of Lil and Louis (dark-skinned) cannot be doubled.
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The other four performers are in the ensemble. Each plays a specific character and multiple other roles.
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Full character descriptions appear HERE.
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The focus of the play is on Lil, who is onstage most of the time. The principal secondary characters are Louis and Lil’s mother, Decie.
Music
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A band is not required since all of the songs are available in high-quality .mp3 recordings with the music arranged and recorded with acclaimed jazz musicians skilled in the style of the era. However, professionally transcribed Charts are available for those wishing to present live music, and lead sheets are available for the music that is sung.
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Most of the songs and many of their lyrics are believed to be in the public domain (copyrighted in 1926 or earlier), while three songs were composed specifically for LIL & SATCHMO. The playwright has secured rights to the new songs as well as to performances by all of the musicians who played in the recording sessions.
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Forty-five .mp3 tracks provide the music for the show. The songs ae performed by the Lil & Satchmo Jazz Band, nationally acclaimed musicians who present the authentic sound of traditional jazz.
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The recordings can be used for rehearsals as well as performances and also offer many opportunities for dance.
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The tracks may provide added benefits for social distancing, remote rehearsals and virtual productions.
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Previous productions of LIL & LOUIS/LIL & SATCHMO used the recorded tracks, which integrated beautifully with the dialogue and dances, as seen at the bottom of the pages for two previous productions.
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Professionally transcribed charts are available for producers who want to present live musicians/live music. The music is arranged for six musicians and up to eight instruments (banjo, clarinet, cornet and/or trumpet, piano, saxophone, trombone, tuba). A full conductor’s score is provided, along with parts for each of the musicians.
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A complete list of songs appears HERE and at the end of the script.
Staging
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There are no formally structured scenes. Instead, shifts are effected through dialogue, acting, blocking, music, lighting, and (optionally) projections. (The playwright may be able to provide a number of images.)
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Only two specific set pieces required: the appearance of an upright piano (perhaps only seen from the back) which isn't played and is easily moved; and a "Victrola"” or similar record player authentic to the 1920s.
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The major props are a cornet or trumpet and case. One scene also requires a few 12"x12" record "albums," indicated by images of the covers. (The playwright can provide graphic images for these.)
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The play can tour since it has minimal production requirements, and because the music is recorded,
Click HERE to request a 10-page dialogue sample with music, a perusal copy of the script and music tracks, and licensing information.
PHOTO CREDITS
Cover photo: The Louis Armstrong Hot Five Band, 1926, with Louis Armstrong, cornet; Johnny St. Cyr, guitar & banjo; Johnny Dodds, clarinet & saxophone; Kid Ory, trombone; Lil Hardin Armstrong, piano. (Courtesy of Louis Armstrong House Museum.)
Center: Young Louis and Lil, 1923. (Courtesy of Louis Armstrong House Museum.)
Other images on this page and photos on the JoMo Productions page (Sarasota, FL) are by Ken Franckling.Sarasota videos are by Ed Linehan. Harry Bryce photo is by Michael Kinsey.
Photography and videography of the Jubilee Theatre production (Fort Worth, TX) are by Freddie Watkins.