Written, Arranged, and Originally Directed by Chip Deffaa
Published and licensed by Samuel French Inc. / Concord Theatricals
The fast-paced, ebullient, song-filled GEORGE M. COHAN REVUE is designed for a cast of eight to ten performers (with optional ensemble members. if desired). This is the ultimate Cohan show!
All of the big show-stoppers are here (like “Give My Regards to Broadway,” "Over There,” and “You’re a Grand Old Flag”) , plus many delightful rarities like “All Aboard for Broadway,” “American Ragtime,” “Goodbye, Flo,” "Musical Moon,” “The Barnum and Bailey Rag,” “My Babe from Boston Town” and "Belle of the Barbers Ball.”
This song-driven, two-act, two-hour show features a whopping 60 musical numbers! Never has there been a show with so rich an outpouring of Cohan melodies. Wonderful opportunities for dancing, too!
Available now! You can license "The George M. Cohan Revue" directly from Samuel French Inc./ Concord Theatricals, or by contacting Chip Deffaa Productions LLC (Footloose518@aol.com, 973-684-3340)....
This show can be performed with eight to ten players. Schools, community theaters, regional theaters preferring to use a bigger cast can simply add as many optional ensemble members as desired.
Here's what reviewers have to say...
"Conceived, written, and directed by Chip Deffaa, THE GEORGEM. COHAN REVUE sparkles like the fourth of July fireworks.... The show is ignited and kept sizzling by Jon Peterson as Cohan."--Elizabeth Ahlfors, "Cabaret Scenes" magazine.
"Don't miss THE GEORGE M. COHAN REVUE. It's an ebullient biographical account, miraculously achieved and conceived by hardcore Cohan enthusiast Chip Deffaa.... Jon Peterson makes you forget James Cagney." --David Noh, "The New York Blade" newspaper.
"Chip Deffaa's THE GEORGE M. COHAN REVUE is an ambitious and awe-inspiring tribute to 'the man who owned Broadway....' Jon Peterson commands the stage with his dancing and singing and mere presence."
--Laurie Lawson, "Electronic Link.com."
"What a joy it is to hear the Cohan songs! This is the perfect vehicle for a small and talented cast of eight, so summer theaters and community groups take note--nostalgic but fresh, The George M. Cohan Revue might be the perfect thing for your next season. Yes, we get to revel in 'Mary,' 'Yankee Doodle Dandy' and other familiar favorites. But we also get to meet the likes of 'Telephone Me Baby,' 'The American Ragtime' and 'Dancing My Worries Away.' Without exception, these songs still have genuine audience appeal.... Each one gets and keeps your attention, often calling forth a smile or a chuckle. And it is grand to feel the genuine tingle that 'Give My Regards to Broadway' and 'You're a Grand Old Flag' can set off. Peterson has enough personality and talent to fill most any stage. He's a natural, the sort of actor you can't help falling for.... Deffaa's script delivers a lot of information without turning into a dry history lesson. It's fun all the way, and his direction keeps things moving from the get go. THE GEORGE M. COHAN REVUE is a musical lover's treat."
--John Kenrick, Musicals101.com
"Considered the foremost living authority on Cohan, Deffaa has culled from a lifetime of Cohan hits and lesser-known gems and miraculously crams them into this little production. One wishes Peterson had a larger stage to show off his talent, but he still manages to knock your socks off." --Kerrie Smith, "Theater Scene.com."
"By the time Jon Peterson gets around to singing 'I'm a Yankee Doodle Dandy,' you know he's someone special. An extraordinary tap-dancer, it's clear that Peterson is headed for stardom....He galvanizes the room." --John Hoglund, "Back Stage"
"Jonny Peterson is the freshest find of the season! His George M. Cohan is at once charming, dynamic, and bubbling with old-time showbiz pizzazz." --Jim Caruso, "Cast Party"/BroadwayWorld.com Radio.
"Even as the Amazing Kreskin, I could not have foreseen that 'THE GEORGE M. COHAN REVUE' would give me the most delightful night in many a day."
--The Amazing Kreskin.
"Chip Deffaa has done the musical theater a great service....Jon Peterson, a gifted singer-dancer-actor with a winsome way...pulls you right into his character and into the show." --Scott Siegel, Barbara Siegel, "TheaterMania.com."
Michael Townsend Wright, Catherine Remmert
The script and score (with arrangements for piano, bass, and drums) can be licensed from Baker's Plays:
The cast during the original New York run included: Jon Peterson, Joan Jaffe, Hal Blankenship, Dawne Swearingen, Michael T. Wright, Catherine Remmert, Drew Emerson, Dave Warren, Jennie Cohan Ross; musical direcctors: Sterling Price-McKinney, Michael Lavine.
(Production photos by Maryann Lopinto)
Michael T. Wright, Jon Peterson
"My first friend in show business, George M. Cohan, would be beaming. I haven't had a more exciting experience since the opening night of 'My Fair Lady.'" --Joe Franklin, WBBR/Bloomberg Radio.
Dawne Swearingen, Jon Peterson, Joan Jaffe, Hal Blankenship as "the Four Cohans"
