Media Center
Related Topics
Related Stories
Wanna get your kicks on Route 66?
Might be hard to do since the legendary highway no longer exists.
Fear not. Head over to the American Music Theatre, where the history of rock and roll is being celebrated all along the road from Chicago to Los Angeles.
"We start in the 1940s and work all the way up to the present day," says Curt Dale Clark, co-creator, along with Marc Robin, of the musical revue "Route 66 Revisited." "We really had fun putting it together. With the Internet, we got to hear so many songs. We could have had 4,500 songs in it."
Well, that might make for a long show, but plenty of rock and roll classics will be heard.
"We bookmark the show with an a capella version of 'Life is a Highway' at both ends of the show," Clark says.
And inside those bookmarks is a rich history of where rock and roll went from its roots in blues and country to the present day.
The show starts in Chicago, just as the old U.S. Route 66 did.
Known as Main Street America or the Mother Road, it was one of the earliest highways, established in 1926.
The road ran through Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona and California, totaling 2,448 miles.
Route 66 was replaced by the Interstate Highway System in 1985, though portions of it have remained open as scenic, historic byways.
The highway inspired a TV show, which ran from 1960 to 1964. It was about two men who traveled across the U.S. in a flashy Corvette and met up with different people every week.
And of course, there is the famous song, written by Bobby Troup in 1946, which has been recorded by a who's who of musicians, from Perry Como to the Rolling Stones.
Each segment of the AMT show begins with a new version of the song, ranging from rock to country to instrumental.
The show takes its audience from a soda shop to Woodstock to a karaoke bar.
The songs that spill out from these different locations are eclectic, to say the least.
Early rock and roll hits like "Great Balls of Fire," "Johnny B Good" and "Blue Suede Shoes," will make way for late '60s and early '70s classics like Jimi Hendrix's wired version of "The Star Spangled Banner," "Bad Moon Rising," and "Proud Mary."
Country classics, like "Ring of Fire," share the stage with Paul Simon's "America," and the Eagles' classic "Hotel California."
One of the segments will feature an American Idol-like contest and a running joke featuring AMT funnyman Randall Frizado will continue through the show, though Clark doesn't want to give away any surprises.
The finale will feature a slew of songs with the immortal words "rock and roll" in them.
"I would definitely call it nostalgic," says Clark. "We really had a blast putting it together."
"Route 66 Revisited"
Opens Fri. Through Aug. 8
Days/times vary. Call for details
$37 adults, $18.50 children under 18
American Music Theatre
2425 Lincoln Highway East
397-7700. www.amtshows.com
(163)
