Smokey Joe's Cafe

By Jerry Leiber & Mike Stoller

Stage 42

directed & choreographed by Joshua Bergasse

costumes by Alejo Vietti, lighting by Jeff Croiter, sound by Peter Fitzgerald

2018

Max Sangerman & Company

Emma Degerstedt & Company

Kyle Taylor Parker, Jelani Remy, Dwayne Cooper, & John Edwards

Dionne D. Figgins

Jelani Remy, Kyle Taylor Parker, John Edwards. & Dwayne Cooper

“An airy red-brick room with an imposing dark-wood bar, it looks like someplace you’ve probably been. Lit by neon, crammed with the past, it’s lovingly lined with vintage radios. This is Smokey Joe’s Cafe, as channeled by the Tony Award-winning set designer Beowulf Boritt — a place of warm nostalgia and, with three staircases spiraling down from the steel-beam second level, gritty elegance.” ~ Laura Collins-Hughes, The New York Times

“The technical standout is Beowulf Boritt's two-level brick-and-wood barroom set, emblazoned with neon beer signs. It's so warm and inviting it makes you wish they'd serve drinks onstage after the show.” ~ Frank Scheck, Hollywood Reporter

Those radiant radios are the contribution of lighting designer Jeff Croiter and set designer Beowulf Boritt, who has covered the upstage wall with giant floor consoles stacked side by side with smaller boom boxes, suggesting just how long this music has been part of the American soundtrack. The set itself takes the form of a trendy urban bar masquerading as a dive. It provides multiple levels for the performers and musicians, and it's also quite nice to look at.” ~ Zachary Stewart,Theatremania

“Beowulf Boritt’s inviting bi-level set creates the perfect ambiance for the nostalgic gathering, evoking an intimate mood of congeniality with its warm brick walls and aged wooden bar, tables, and bentwood chairs. It also provides touches of color with its bright neon signs, and ample space for the animated ensemble to move up, down, and around its metal balcony and spiral staircases, enhancing the show’s never-ending vibrancy.” ~Deb Miller, DC Metro

“Set designer Beowulf Boritt provides a large neighborhood dive bar of exposed red brick where locals relax at wooden tables and chairs and flashing neon lights advertise the bottled brews on sale.” ~Michael Dale, Broadway World

“Elaborately set by the gifted designer Beowulf Boritt. During the pre-curtain time (since there is no curtain), we have ample opportunity to study the set’s nooks and crannies, its balconies and staircases, the warmth of its wood, and the sparkle of its chandeliers.” ~Richard Seff, Shoreline Times