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[Music]

Host:
Gentlemen, club is open for business. Please come in.

Host:
Hello. Welcome. Please come in. Please come in. If you make your way over to Justin, welcome to the night and day. Please come this way with me. Thank you very much. And have a seat right here.

Host:
Thanks. Thank you. Uh, welcome to the light of day. Please come inside.

Host:
Let's have three people here, please. Three people here.

Host:
Welcome. Welcome to the Night and Day Club. Thank you so much for coming. We have four people here, please. Thank you so much.

Host:
You're welcome. Welcome. Welcome to the night and day. Thank you for coming. This way, please. One of the nights.

Host:
Thank you so much. Thank you. Thanks. Welcome. Welcome. Please come this way. We have three people here.

Host:
Thank you so much. Welcome. Welcome back.

[Music]

Host:
Welcome. Hello. Welcome. Please follow this way with me and have—

Guest (J):
Thank you so much.

Host:
So, what would you like to drink, Jane?

Jane:
A whiskey and an orange.

Jonah:
An orange juice.

Host:
Okay. What's it? Jonah?

Jane:
Jonah.

Host:
A whiskey and an orange juice, please.

Jane:
Thank you.

[Music]

Host:
Welcome to the United. Thank you so much for being here. It's so lovely to see so many faces. Night and day.

Performer:
The beat is jumping for joy.
I got a slamming. Best musician in London.
This is the place for loud.
Night and day.
You are my client's house.
All kinds of people.
I can tell a glass of wine or two.
Whiskey and champagne are awesome.

[Music]

Guest:
What's that?

[Music]

Performer:
Night and day. This is my John.
All the beat is jumping for joy.
I got a slam and bang.
Best musicians in London.
This is the place for loud.

[Applause]

Guest:
Can I have another one, please?

Bartender:
Oh yeah. Coming right up. So, are you enjoying this evening's show so far?

Guest:
Yeah, the music is fantastic. These guys are brilliant.

Host:
I'm sure I recognize you. Have I seen you around here before? Do you come here often?

Guest:
I don’t think so. Not particularly.

Host:
How long have you worked here?

Bartender:
Oh, as long as I can remember. My family owned the place, so I’ve been helping out ever since I was a little boy. I’ve been serving wine since I was nine.

Guest:
That’s fine. Very good. I imagine you think you're some sort of poet.

Bartender:
And don’t I know it?

Host:
So, uh, why don’t you tell me who this glass of whiskey is for?

Bartender:
Huh? None of your business.

Guest:
It's okay. I can guess. Let me see...
You come to the jazz club, the lights are low, music's packed...
I think you're here for a first date.

[Music]

[Singing Begins – Duet / Performer(s)]:
Holding hands at midnight, the starry sky.
And you can get it if you try.
Strolling with the one... sigh after sigh.
Nice work if you can get it, and you can get it if you try.
Loving one who loves you, and then making that vow.
Nice if you can get it. If you can get it, won’t you tell me how?

[Music Interlude]

Performer:
One, two, one, two, one, two, three!
The rings, please. You make us cry.

[Music]

Host:
I'm not—

[Music]

Guest:
So, is that it?

Host:
No. What?

Guest:
Jonah, come on. Get back to work. Come on, come on. Make yourself useful.

Jonah:
Yes, ma'am. Right away.

[Music]

Host:
Well, actually, here at the Night and Day, we like to say anytime is a good time to celebrate. So, let's have some musical cocktail requests.

Host:
Right. Okay, ladies and gentlemen, if you look on your tables in front of you, you'll see we've got our musical cocktail menu. Some delectable treats. We’d like to know what you’d like to hear this evening.

Host (to audience):
You there — you fancy sampling this evening?

Audience Member:
Bluesy Mary.

Host:
Bluesy Mary. Fantastic choice.

Host (to another table):
How about over here? What takes your fancy this evening?

Audience Member:
Espresso Martini.

Host:
Classic. Okay, let's get one more suggestion. How about from this table?

Audience Member:
Yeah. Syncopated Sidecar.

Host:
Syncopated Sidecar? That sounds fun. Okay, yes! Let’s do a Syncopated Sidecar.
Simon, take a rest. I got this one.

[Music Performance: Syncopated Sidecar]

[Performance Continues]

Guest (late arrival):
Hello everybody!

Host:
Hey, you missed my big moment.

Late Guest:
Yeah, sorry, work stuff. But I caught the end of it. Very impressive.

Host:
Thank you very much. My mother was an amazing pianist. She taught me everything I know.

Late Guest:
Wow. All that syncopation.

Host:
Yeah. You like it?

Late Guest:
Is there anybody musical in your family?

Guest:
Oh. Sorry — something important.

Host:
Work stuff?

Late Guest:
Never stops. Hope they’re paying you overtime on a Friday evening.

Host:
You know how it is. Meetings. People being rubbish.

Late Guest:
Yeah. I get it now.

Host:
What?

Late Guest:
You’re not here on a date, are you?

Host:
Oh, we’re still playing this game?

Late Guest:
Yes, we are. This is fun for me.

Host:
It’s not particularly fun.

Late Guest:
You're a high-flying businesswoman here for an important meeting.

[Music]

[Music]

Welcome to Night and Day. Please come this way.

The Musical Theater and All That Jazz Research Network is an opportunity to bring people together to explore where musical theater and jazz meet.

What elements of musical theater are borrowed from jazz, and vice versa?

Our original intention was to create something that lived at the intersection of jazz and musical theater.

Thank you so much. Musical theater is full of jazz styles, and jazz is full of musical theater numbers—often called jazz standards. I thought it would be interesting to explore these connections, to think about what they mean, and also to experiment with hybrid ways of working. When you think in those ways, unexpected new knowledge emerges.

Musical theater can be restrictive. Performers often have little freedom to express themselves or be playful. Jazz, on the other hand, thrives on playfulness and experimentation. Bringing these two worlds together seemed like a fascinating challenge. At first, they felt very separate, but through this process we realized they share many similarities.

On that first Monday, we began creating the story and the show. We wanted a balance of people with strong musical theater backgrounds and others rooted in jazz.

[Music]

I’m Victoria Boyce — an actor, singer, musician, and dancer. I play guitar, ukulele, and piano. I perform in musical theater but also love straight acting.

[Music]

My name’s James Manoring, and I’ve been playing the saxophone for about 20 years.

[Music]

I’m Rob Gatherol. I’m an actor-musician, which means I often play instruments—piano, trumpet, accordion, ukulele—while performing roles on stage.

I’m Shi John Jules, a singer. I often perform at functions, singing jazz standards and original songs.

[Music]

I’m Simon Lambert, a freelance piano player. I was jazz-trained but now work primarily in musical theater.

[Music]

Together, these artists were tasked with fusing their skills, bouncing ideas off each other, and finding new ways to collaborate.

[Music]

It was challenging to figure out how people from different genres communicate—or even rehearse. In theater, performers often wait for the director’s lead, which is a safe place. Taking that away presents real challenges.

One, two—Night and Day.

Night and Day is a song I normally sing in gigs. But even up to the performance, I couldn’t quite connect with it. We experimented with different arrangements until something finally clicked.

The difficulty was a lack of common musical language. There wasn’t an easy shared reference like, “Let’s do it like this recording.” And there were personality differences too. In the end, we had to experiment until we found something that worked.

Usually when I work with people, we already share some connection—previous projects, mutual colleagues, or a common denominator. But here, all we had was Zoom. We hadn’t built that personal rapport.

I think it would have helped to spend more time together—dinners, drinks, conversations—before diving in. That would have built trust and understanding.

Bringing together different skill sets and backgrounds was sometimes difficult because we didn’t give enough time to process and adjust. Communication was the biggest challenge. Despite preparation over Zoom, we realized we needed more in-person time to truly understand each other.

Still, by the end, the group really came together. They problem-solved and found ways to communicate at a fine level.

[Applause]

The “business meeting” scene became a turning point. Suddenly, the ensemble snapped into place—everyone out of their comfort zone, yet engaging with each other’s skills. Even those who wouldn’t normally volunteer stepped up, for the sake of the ensemble.

[Music]

This sequence, played out through dance and movement, explored negotiation without words. It evolved from asking: how do you negotiate in silence?

Usually in devising theater, ideas are generated, tested, then fixed and polished. But fixing too early can slip into bad jazz practice—falling back on habit. Improvisation is more alive.

So instead of repeating, we introduced improvisation into choreographed sections. Musicians were asked to take on acting roles, while actors provided accompaniment. It was humbling, but also liberating.

This shift led to more integrated and engaging performances. The music adapted, rhythms loosened, and performers listened more closely to each other.

By the end, the work felt alive. It helped the group understand each other better, and showed the value of improvisation as a tool for multidisciplinary art.

Improvisation doesn’t have to stop once material is created. A more radical, ongoing improvisation can enliven musical theater and allow performers to own the material more fully.

[Music]

A highlight was when jazz itself became a character. A father, played through the saxophone, communicated with his daughter through a tap-dance-and-saxophone duet. It was a powerful fusion of jazz and theater, exploring playfulness, frustration, and emotional growth.

Victoria described it as a journey—childlike beginnings, teenage rebellion, and eventual separation. Listening to James’ saxophone improvisation freed her to approach tap more emotionally than technically.

For James, improvising as the father brought deep emotion. He described one moment as portraying the father’s death, which was difficult but powerful to embody.

[Music]

This improvisational duet became one of the most emotional parts of the piece, because it reflected real personal experiences of family, loss, and memory.

The narrative of the piece was unconventional for musical theater. Songs and instruments carried meaning in unexpected ways, with layers of interpretation.

At one point, we needed more material to explain the story. A new song emerged, telling of the daughter’s childhood in the jazz club. It became the song that tied the story together.

For Shi, writing and performing original material like Bittersweet added further depth. Written from her own experience of loss, it brought authenticity and poignancy to the work.

[Music]

What the performers and musicians achieved in just over a week was remarkable. By combining different backgrounds, skills, and ideas, they created something unique.

This project pushed everyone out of their comfort zones. It encouraged play, experimentation, and risk-taking. It showed the power of improvisation and collaboration between genres.

[Music]

In the end, Night and Day was a success because it lived at the intersection of jazz and musical theater. It proved that improvised moments can be woven into narrative theater in meaningful ways.

The process generated new methods, new ways of working, and new understandings. It revealed the richness of what happens when jazz and musical theater meet.

[Music]
[Applause]