Set in a rundown Chicago hotel in 1938, the dialogue-free show focuses on three women's relationships with the same snake of a man, their interweaving stories told through the torch songs and blues of Bessie Smith, Johnny Mercer, Harold Arlen, Vernon Duke, Gordon Jenkins, and Alberta Hunter, among others.

The revue originally was staged by Epps and Gregory Hines under the supervision of Norman René at the off-Broadway Playhouse 46, where it ran for 51 performances between March 26 and May 11, 1980.

In the early 1990s, Clarke Peters directed a touring production, starting at the Churchill Theatre in Bromley, South London, England.

The cast included: Ian Carlyle as The Man, Enyonam Gbesemete as The Lady, Cleo Higgins as The Woman and Bleu Woodward as The Girl.

[7][8] Note: composers in parentheses Frank Rich in his New York Times review of the 1982 revival, wrote: "The sad truth is that not even the plainest theatrical formulas are as easy as they look - and Blues in the Night, the new revue at the Rialto, is the not-so-living proof.

Sheldon Epps, who "conceived" the revue and directed it, may well be responsible for what's gone wrong, but his basic notion isn't bad: Blues is set in a cheap hotel in 1938 Chicago (modestly designed by John Falabella) where the three stars occupy separate, shabby rooms.