16 Ellington's Queenie Pie

Abstract This chapter describes the story of Queenie Pie, Ellington's last theater work as told by the author of this book, who worked as an assistant to Ellington when it was a yet-to-be produced one-hour “opera comique” for National Educational Television. The production was abandoned after Ellington died but re-emerged ten years later as a full evening musical with a new libretto by George Wolfe, with the author directing the Ellington orchestra in the pit of the Music Theater Festival of Philadelphia. The chapter also offers insights into Ellington's working methods.