"SCAT!… The Complex Lives of Al & Dot, Dot & Al Zollar is my story. It is my family's story. It is a personal and collective story of a family and a people, moving from the Jim Crow south during the Great Migration."
— Jawole Willa Jo Zollar, UBW Founder & MacArthur Fellow
July 17 - 18, 2024 | 7:30 PM
Scat!, Set in a fictional jazz club, is a dance-driven musical that tells a love story of two people making their way during the Great Migration through song, dance and storytelling. It is a powerful tale of one family and what happens when dreams encounter the realities of American life in the 40s & 50s. Scat! features an original jazz score performed live by a 5-piece band and two vocalists.
Following the July 17 performance, Dr. James Frazier will present the
2024 Samuel H. Scripps/American Dance Festival Award for lifetime achievement to Jawole Willa Jo Zollar.
“SCAT!… The Complex Lives of Al & Dot, Dot & Al Zollar is a multidisciplinary love story of two people making their way during the Great Migration. Through song, dance and storytelling, it is the powerful journey of the Zollar family and what happens when dreams encounter the harsh realities of American life in the 40s & 50s.”
— Jawole Willa Jo Zollar, UBW Founder & MacArthur Fellow
SCAT!… THE COMPLEX LIVES OF AL & DOT, DOT & AL ZOLLAR
Conceived & Directed by
Jawole Willa Jo Zollar
Original Music Composed by
Craig Harris
Co-Choreographed by
Jawole Willa Jo Zollar & Vincent Thomas
in collaboration with The Company
Dramaturgy by
Talvin Wilks
Urban Bush Women 40th-anniversary leadership funding provided by Bloomberg Philanthropies. Additional funding is provided by the Howard Gilman Foundation.
Lead commissioning support for the development and creation of SCAT! is provided by the Fisher Center at Bard and Brown Arts Institute at Brown University. Additional commissioning support is generously provided by: The Perelman Performing Arts Center, The O’Donnell-Green Music and Dance Foundation, and American Dance Festival with support from the Doris Duke/SHS Foundations Award for New Works.
SCAT! is made possible in part by The Acton Family Fund, MAP Fund (supported by the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation and the Mellon Foundation), National Endowment for the Arts, and the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs.