STEP ASIDE
Music by William Foster McDaniel; book and lyrics by Barry Jay Kaplan
show details
7 (4M, 3W)
synopsis
Step Aside is the story of two African American men in late 1940's Los Angeles. They perform their nightclub act in the clubs on Central Avenue where they are part of a thriving music scene. No matter how talented they are, their living conditions and opportunities are considerably less than white entertainers. When they appear in movies at the white studios, it is in the roles of plantation slave, shoe shine boy or butler. One of the men, the light-skinned Charlie, makes the decision to pass as white. At the same time, his partner Adam is thrown in jail for smoking a reefer.
The story then tracks the route each man takes. Charlie tastes of the privileges of being white, but they don’t come free: he is isolated from his people, and when he falls in love with a white actress, the pain of his deception and loneliness deepens. When Adam comes out of jail, Charlie doesn’t want to resume their act. Adam is bitter and angry and looks with bewilderment and envy at the path Charlie has taken.
Adam and Charlie are on a collision course that ends in Adam’s death and Charlie’s redemption.
quotes & reviews
coming soon
music clips
Blackberry Wine (sung by Julia Lema)
Reefer and LA Cop (sung by Forest Dino Ray)
Society's Bad Boy (sung by Kevin Kraft)