Tip-Toes

Show Description:

Hop aboard the OLO time machine and let us again take you back to what for many is Broadway’s greatest decade: the 1920s. The company’s production two summers ago of Vincent Youmans’ No, No, Nanette—with its catchy and enduring tunes, upbeat storyline, and tap-infused dance numbers—captivated audiences. Add to this formula the matchless wit, melodic innovation, and jazz influences of George and Ira Gershwin, and you wind up with their 1925 flapper musical Tip-Toes, which truly captured the carefree spirit and “roar” of the decade. Socially ambitious, but poverty-stricken, vaudevillians Tip-Toes Kaye, her brother Al, and uncle Hen pop up in a Palm Beach train station. To aid in snaring a millionaire husband, Tip-Toes passes herself off as the wealthy Roberta van Renssalaer. The plot thickens when she falls for millionaire Steve, is in a near-accident and comes out with amnesia—thinking that she actually is a wealthy socialite—and Steve confesses to her that he really has no money. But there is still half an act to go. Song highlights include the ever-endearing (and lyricist Ira at his best) “Looking for a Boy,” “That Certain Feeling,” and the foot-stomping, trombone-led tap ensemble, “Sweet and Lowdown,” that ends the first act.