In an era of dark smoky back street bars, the soul of jazz was born in Jelly Roll Morton, the unsung father of jazz. The Hippodrome is proud to celebrate the life and times of this talented musician as they present Jelly Roll! the Music and the Man. Through a series of sultry songs and insightful monologues, Jelly Roll brings his life to the stage in a vivid reproduction of the scenes that made him a jazz legend.
Jelly Roll! The Music and the Man is a dazzling show about the life of Jelly Roll Morton, the infinitely complex, gifted, foolish, superstitious, enchanting and self-styled inventor of jazz. Morton was the composer of some of the most memorable jazz ever written. Referred to as the “Chopin of Jazz” or the “Mozart of the Bordellos”; Morton lived a life that was anything but dull. The show features the funny, pitiful and glorious tale of Morton’s rise and fall, his marvelous music and hypnotic choreography. We follow him from his respectable Creole background to stint as a pianist in a Storyville whorehouse to his celebrity as the creator of jazz to his demise in tinseltown.
The New York Times says, “...it’s big and generous in music and emotions. It leaves you wanting more, more, more!”
Gainesville’s own Marion J. Caffey stars as the artist, Jelly Roll Morton. Marion is well known as an actor, director, producer and choreographer. His extraordinary talent has taken him to New York City for the original production and throughout the United States in the national tour of Jelly Roll! the Music and the Man. The Hippodrome is very excited to have Marion back on the Michael Doyle Mainstage in this portrait of the legendary musical genius and beguiling raconteur, Jelly Roll Morton. Appearing in the role of The Professor, Paul Asaro portrays the the piano playing half of the infamous Jelly Roll.
