|
THINGS TO DO
WITH DE GRANBY IF THEY'RE NOT DEAD
Originally signed with
the now defunct Nina Little
Theatrical Agency, THE DE GRANBY
SINGERS brandish their perspex notes
and peculiar smiles. They peer out
from beneath the apple blossom tree
and simply demand to be
re-discovered.
Nina Little booked cabaret and
vaudeville acts throughout the
American East Coast circuit during
the 60’s and 70’s and had had the
good fortune to catch several stars
on the rise, including Woody Allen,
Carl Perkins and Cab Calloway.
But how
did such an obscure act, with such a
surreal presence, fail to make it to
the big time? Who were they? Family
members, or stage school misfits,
thrust together by greedy
star-struck parents or deranged
teachers? Were they any good? What
did they sound like? Why did they do
it? And where are they now?
With a
small documentary crew I will
attempt to find them and / or their
surviving descendants. And above all
we will attempt to re-unite them,
either to perform one last concert,
or to cut a record.
Simultaneously we will have a unique
opportunity to explore the ‘B-Side’
of the American cabaret circuit,
itself the fading remnant of a once
thriving Vaudeville tradition that
was finally destroyed by television.
A light hearted, humourous and
sentimental journey into a lost era,
it will also have a serious
undertone, exploring the power of
electronic media and its role in the
destruction of the small time
theatre tradition.
Status: In Development
Format: HD
Running time: 37 mins. for 40 min.
slot
© GRANT WAKEFIELD - 2009
|
