Jazz Age

“Economy Hall: The Hidden History of a Free Black Brotherhood,” by Fatima Shaik, provides a fascinating look at the city from the slavery era through the Jazz Age.

The staging, which can seem cluttered and breathless in the early going, traipses through these seedy locales with a theatrical swiftness that captures the milieu that bred the syncopated rhythm of the Jazz Age.

The volumetric flesh, aerodynamic curves and warhead breasts that so titillated Jazz Age Paris became, the show suggests, today’s template for glamazonian feminism.

The prize, named after Jazz Age songwriters George and Ira Gershwin, is described as the “nation’s highest award for influence, impact and achievement in popular music.”

His calling card was male beauty: Jazz Age youths in their finest finery populate his ads for shirts and starched collars; athletic collegians grace his covers for the weeklies.