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About Take It Easy
Review "...a delightful musical...songs...so reminiscent of that era." -- Ed Z. Pell, Host, Nationally Syndicated Program, Seems Like Old Times "Fox's score brings back plenty of memories of the big band era." -- Lissa Willis-Stokes, The Winchester Star Product Description "Take It Easy" is a new hit swing musical set on the college campus during World War II. From the Label "If you like the big band and boogie woogie sound, you'll be in heaven." About the Artist Raymond Fox was introduced to the piano at the age of 6. While he didn't learn to sight read, it became apparent that his ear was sufficient for him to pick out the notes of the songs of the day. Further, he could recall them to the point that his remembered repertoire numbered in the hundreds. By 1940 he was playing songs by ear and began to make his own interpretations. This led to improvisation and, ultimately, to the composition of tunes of his own. After receiving his Bachelor's degree in Industrial Engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in 1942, Mr. Fox served in the U.S. Navy as an Engineering Officer in the Atlantic and Mediterranean theaters, and later as Commanding Officer of the USS Trapper in the Pacific theater. When the war ended, he joined IBM. In 1975 he was co-founder of the Learning Technology Institute, an educational organization focused on interactive multimedia applications. Upon retiring from IBM in 1978 he joined LTI on a full time basis as its Director and Board Chairman. His interest in the musical idiom of the 1920's, 30's, and 40's continued, and he began turning out finished songs which he would play for friends. By the 1960's, the body of songs became oriented to the plot of a World War II musical which borrowed from his wartime training experience on the Penn State Campus in 1943. The focus of this musical, Take It Easy, revolves around war, a universal theme. World War II was a defining period in history which was a dominant factor in shaping the world political landscape over the next 50 years. The first draft, complete with songs, lyrics and libretto, was completed in 1987 and there followed a period of modification, revision, addition of songs, changes in lyrics and discussion with potential producers for some years. Critique as well as public presentation of parts of the developing work came from a number of organizations, including the Musical Theater Wing of the Washington, DC, Play Wrights Forum, and The Piedmont Society for the Lively Arts. In 1994, New Village Productions in New York City made the decision to produce the musical in an off-Broadway setting and it opened in March 1996 after two weeks of previews, the run being extended twice for a total of 103 performances. In Take It Easy, the plot and characters are intended to bridge the generations and create empathy with the problems imposed by the wartime situation. The dances are of the period and are intended to provide an augmentation of the story as well as an addition to the comprehension of the music. The song renditions are viewed as closer to the cabaret or "big band swing" style of the 40's, as if sung by the girl or boy next door. And it gives the singers the opportunity to showcase their talents and sell the song at the same time. His philosophy was and is that the songs constitute the raison d'etre for a musical. The criterion is that each song should be able to be hummed or sung by the audience members as they leave the theater. Moreover, each one should be able to stand on its own as a song with a melody that strikes a responsive chord in the ear of the listener and a lyric that finds an identity with a shared experience by the listener. Cadence after cadence of the melody should fulfill the expectations of the listeners and the lyric should seem as if it were the only set of words to accompany that particular song. The song should provide a poetic and descriptive identification with human experience to which many people can emotionally rela
