T. Daniel Productions, nfp presents


The exhilarating Pantomime Farce by Jean Cocteau...
The vivacious Music by Darius Milhaud...
The innovative Mime by T. Daniel Productions...
All come together to captivate Audiences!

 

 

 

Le Boeuf sur le Toit

or The Nothing Doing Bar
by Jean Cocteau

The year was 1920. The War was over. And, the roar was about to be heard. Life was free! In America, Prohibition was introduced. Pent-up energy was being released. Crime was about to take off. In this calm before the storm, Frenchman Jean Cocteau wrote his imagined view of an American Bar.


Who would walk thru the door of The Nothing Doing Bar? There is the inebriated Gentleman, the charlatan Bookie, the almost has-been Boxer, the Boxer’s sidekick Boy, the Lady-in-the-low cut gown, the flirtatious Red-haired Lady and the overseeing Barman. But wait! The frolic for this is ‘the nothing doing bar’ is interrupted by the arrival of the fuzz, - the police. Life must change! Only the rebellious Americans will have a thing or two to say about that! The story takes on a new intrigue.


Today, we can still see these characters frequenting a bar. And, while life has changed in the 90 years since the pantomime premiered in Paris, there is a familiarity about this pantomime. The relevance to today’s life is uncanny. Cocteau was a visionay-picturing in his mind a bar that was relevant for his time – relevant for all times.


The Nothing Doing Bar is alive and well – open every night – at least every time that T. Daniel Productions performs Milhaud’s jazzy, Brazilian-
flavored music that entices these characters to hang out at Le Boeuf sur le Toit.

 

"The Music Institute of Chicago collaborated with T. Daniel Productions for a concert of Igor Stravinsky’s L’Histoire du Soldat (in honor of the 90th anniversary of the composition) and Darius Milhaud’s Le Boeuf sur le Toit. The event reached far beyond our expectations. The result was an incredibly fresh perspective that offered a glimpse into the experimental, artistic, and intellectual climate that existed in Paris around 1920 at the time Stravinsky and Milhaud were writing music. It was an exhilarating performance delivered with expert timing and professionalism. The audience was moved and astonished by the authenticity and character of the performance. After an extended standing ovation, a spontaneous question and answer period developed, creating a connection between the performers and our patrons that we rarely see and always hope for. At the post-concert reception, I was inundated with requests to present a repeat performance of the concert."


Fiona Queen
Director of Performance Activities,
Music Institute of Chicago

 

The Cast of Le Boeuf sur le Toir

T. Daniel Productions, nfp

See More Photos of this wonderful production by clicking the two links below:

Le Boeuf sur le Toit Photo Page

Photos of Le Boeuf sur le Toit by Megan Bearder

 

 

What the Art of Mime Should Be!