The Dirty Thirties evoke a time of wistful hopes and hard reality
HARD LUCK IN SUGAR TOWN by Jadi Campbell
Featuring Tiffany Estrada & Frank Eisele
Following the effervescent Roaring Twenties, the contrasting Dirty Thirties, as represented in HARD LUCK IN SUGAR TOWN, was a time of failed crops and banks, repossessed farms, and massive unemployment.
The decade generated a great creative response to the country’s suffering, with the brilliant banter of screen stars, and poignant, pointed song lyrics such as Cry Me a River… Sugar Blues… Comes Love… When I Get Low, I Get High… Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?… Cheek to Cheek– tunes that continue to evoke a time of wistful hopes and hard reality, transporting the audience to the Main Street of 1930s America.
HARD LUCK IN SUGAR TOWN was first presented as a DARK MONDAY @ MERLIN performance on June 7, 2021 in celebration of NEAT – New English American Theatre’s 30th Anniversary. Now, this show is back by popular demand!
I had the good fortune to interview the author, Jadi Campbell prior to the Premiere performance –
Ms. Campbell, how would you describe the Depression Era in the USA during the 1930’s?
The Dirty Thirties were a time of failed crops and banks, repossessed farms, and massive unemployment. The decade generated a great creative response to the country’s suffering, with the brilliant banter of screen stars, and poignant and pointed music lyrics.
Music has the uncanny ability to create an atmosphere which we associate with certain time periods, even if we haven’t experienced them first hand. Obviously, it has inspired your writing…
This project features songs that evoke a time of wistful hopes and hard reality. Cheek to Cheek, Sugar Blues, Take the ‘A’ Train, When I Get low, I Get High, and Brother, Can You Spare a Dime? will transport the audience to the Main Street of 1930s America.
The world has changed in the course of ninety years, yet the story and music feel timeless.
HARD LUCK IN SUGAR TOWN inhabits an era of flivvers, the WPA, tea pads, and Roosevelt’s New Deal. Men and women built great public works and buildings that still stand today, monuments to the largest works program in American history. As we slowly emerge from a pandemic, this story is once again familiar.
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PERFORMANCE – Monday, September 15 at 20:00 hrs
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DARK MONDAY @ MERLIN is sponsored by the Staatministerin für Kultur und Medien in cooperation with MERLIN – Kulturzentrum and DAZ – Deutsch Amerikanisches Zentrum.
New English American Theater Stuttgart 