'Once in a Blue Moon' Jazz Coffee Concert

In the wake of the remarkable film “Blue Moon” in which Ethan Hawke
expertly captures the wit and sadness of Lorenz Hart, we once more
present a celebration of the music of Rodgers and Hart on Saturday 24th
January from 11am-1pm.

“Once in a Blue Moon” – the great song-writing career of Richard Rodgers
and Lorenz Hart.

Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart were bright Jewish boys from the lower
east side of Manhattan (known as The Bronx), who both attended the
prestigious Columbia University.  Among their most famous songs – all
written originally for Broadway shows - are “Blue Moon”, “The Lady is a
Tramp”, “Manhattan”, and “With a Song in my Heart.”

Hart was the older of the pair, a lyricist of dazzling wit, humour and
originality, though a poignant undercurrent of melancholy can be
detected in some of his lyrics such as “My Funny Valentine” and “This
Funny World”. Rodgers started writing music to Hart's words at age 17
and displayed a precocious sense of melody that would later put him in
the same league as Cole Porter and Irving Berlin.

They were probably the greatest song writing partnership of the Jazz
Age, along with the Gershwins. Their success may have resulted from the
opposite personalities involved. Richard Rodgers was the straight man,
bourgeois, careful, balanced and married to the same woman for 50 years
(though far from faithfully). Hart was complex, pleasure-seeking,
chaotic and insecure – qualities that ended his life from alcoholism at
the age of 48.  Richard Rodgers went on to have a hugely successful
second career writing shows with Oscar Hammerstein such as “Oklahoma”
and “The Sound of Music”.

If you would like to support your local charity and access cheaper tickets, you can join as a WOCA Member here.

You can purchase tickets below.