Smokey Joe's Cafe, the hit Broadway revue of songs by the team of Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller, will kick off a national tour from Minneapolis on August 16. Scheduled to run at least a year, the tour has officially announced dates for the first five months of the run.
As with its Broadway progenitor, the Smokey tour will use an ensemble, rather than a star-driven cast. Names of the tour cast have not yet been announced.
The surprise musical hit of the '94-'95 Broadway season, Smokey served as Sunset Boulevard's sole competitor for the Best Musical Tony in 1995.
The revue, featuring such 50's and early 60's classics as "Hound Dog", "Love Potion #9", and "Stand By Me", opened in Chicago in July 1994 under the title Baby That's Rock 'n' Roll. After a change of director, the revamped show, newly under the helm of Jerry Zaks (with musical staging by Joey McKneely), opened four months later at L.A.'s Doolittle Theater as Smokey Joe's Cafe, and then tranferred to Broadway's Virginia Theater in March 1995.
Following are dates for the first five months of the Smokey Joe's Cafe national tour:
- State Theatre, Minneapolis Aug. 16-31, 1996
- The Bushnell, Hartford Sept. 3-8, 1996
- Providence Performing Arts Center, Providence Sept 10-15, 1996
- Merriam Theatre, Philadelphia Sept. 17-29, 1996
- Playhouse Square Center, Cleveland Oct. 1-13, 1996
- Shubert Theatre, Chicago Oct. 15-Nov 3, 1996
- Tennessee Performing Arts Center, Nashville Nov. 5-10, 1996
- Aronoff Center for the Arts, Cincinatti Nov. 12-24, 1996
- Benedum Center, Pittsburgh Nov. 26-Dec. 1, 1996
- Proctor's Art Center and Theatre of Schenectady Dec. 3-5, 1996
- Mechanic Theatre, Baltimore Dec 10-22, 1996
- Carpenter Center, Richmond Dec 24-29, 1996
- Ohio Theatre, Columbus Dec. 31-Jan 5, 1997
- Fisher Theatre, Detroit Jan 7-26, 1997
