We left Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers at the beginning of their duo at the legendary RKO studio, the smallest studio in Hollywood in the 1930s. In this series of shows, we explore the treasures of this studio known for producing “Citizen Kane” and “King Kong,” as well as for bringing a unique style and impeccable class to musical comedy with its art deco style and acclaimed composers from Broadway like Georges Gershwin, Cole Porter, and Irving Berlin.
The peak came in 1935 with “Top Hat.” The film will be adapted into a musical at the Châtelet Theatre in Paris from April 15 to May 3, 2026.
One of the most beautiful scenes in the film is “Top Hat White Tie and Tails,” where Fred Astaire performs a brilliant dance routine in a unique art deco fashion. The film continued to produce dance standards and fireworks of numbers, including “Follow the Fleet,” “Swing Time,” “Shall We Dance,” “A Damsel in Distress,” “Carefree,” and “The Story of Vernon and Irene Castle.”
“Top Hat” continued to be a cultural phenomenon, followed by other films like “Let’s Face the Music and Dance” by Irving Berlin from “Follow the Fleet,” marking the iconic dance duo of Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers.
Swing Time’s “Bojangles of Harlem” from 1936 and a medley of songs from the musical “Chess,” now on Broadway with Lea Michele, are part of the legacy from this era of glamorous musicals.
A new recording of ABBA’s first musical “Chess” has been released, currently showing on Broadway with Lea Michele. The cast includes Philip Attmore as Jerry Travers, Nicole-Lily Baisden as Dale Tremont, and many others.
The upcoming cabaret “42nd Street” will feature the cast of “Top Hat” on April 19, 2026, at Studio 105 of the Maison de la Radio et de la Musique in Paris, in partnership with France Musique.
Join us at the event. Subscribe to the podcast of “42nd Street” for free and watch all the videos of our cabarets on the new Instagram page.
