Adding to the star power of the event are newly announced performers including Wayne Brady from The Wiz and Kinky Boots, Amber Iman of Lempicka and Hamilton fame, Mykal Kilgore known for “Jesus Christ Superstar: Live” and Motown the Musical, and Jinkx Monsoon, recognized for roles in Little Shop of Horrors and Chicago. These talented artists will join previously announced performers such as Gavin Creel, Brian d’Arcy James, Ingrid Michaelson, Lauren Patten, Leslie Rodriguez Kritzer, Lea Salonga, Ryan Vasquez, Vanessa Williams, and Joy Woods. Musical direction for the event will be handled by Will Van Dyke.

In addition to the live event, MCC has announced that the Miscast24 Digital Broadcast will premiere on Monday, April 29, at 7 pm ET and will be available on demand through Sunday, May 5, 2024. Presented in partnership with Broadway Unlocked, the digital broadcast will feature the full gala performance from the live event on April 15, along with selected performances from the #MCCMISCASTME submissions. Tickets for the digital broadcast are available at watch.broadwayunlocked.com.

For those interested in attending the live event, show-only tickets are available for purchase on MCC Theater’s website.

Funds raised from Miscast24 will support MCC Theater’s mission to produce groundbreaking new work Off-Broadway, as well as its Youth Company and education programs for high school students. Additionally, the event contributes to MCC’s literary development efforts with emerging playwrights.

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Saddle Up for Sunday Service and ride that magic carpet of music and healing into the band that is Britton & The Sting. Church will commence on April 14th, 2024 at Nublu (151 Ave C New York, NY). This Is Church! We sat down with the head of this dynamic band to get a little more insight into his journey into “Church.”

Broadway Black: What inspired you to create a band called Britton and the Sting, and what does the name signify to you personally?

Britton Smith: One night, I was leaving Harlem Nights, got into the cab, and the cab driver spoke into my life, and without asking me if I was an artist, a singer, on Broadway, etc, he said, “Do you have a band?”  I was stunned. I said, “No.” He said, “You need to start a band.”  I started a band. That was a divine moment for me. It ain’t been easy, but it’s been so worth the journey. I’m grateful for that clarity. The name “The Sting” came from a show I was in called The Sting. I came upstairs and saw “Britton & The Sting” on a note card and knew that was my band name. Its meaning has evolved. STING now represents those things in our life that tried to kill us but instead were transmuted into an opportunity for growth. 

BB: As a Black and Queer artist, how does your identity influence your music and performance style?

Britton: My identity is bigger and older than mine. In this lifetime, I’ve been given the gift of blackness and queerness to be in service of what my spirit is here to do. So I let it out. It’s all in service.  

BB: Your concerts are often referred to as “church.” Can you share the significance behind this term and what attendees can expect from one of your shows?

Britton: I’ve learned that I am a walking church. Everything I was told to get from a building, a pew, an altar, a reach for wisdom from a pastor figure, or a book all live within. Our sanctuaries live inside, and if we trust it to be our compass, we can find unique clarity just for us. No copying someone else’s way to the divine. Go inside your church thru your way – which can’t be taught. It has to be sought after. Earned. Found. Then, kept with honor. Simultaneously- Church is also the sacred happening between you and anything helping you become closer to who you are. 

BB: Your music seems to make people feel good. How do you define “feel-good music,” and what emotions or messages do you aim to convey through your music?

Britton: Feel-good music comes from pain. I hang to it to get out of a dark place. 

BB: Can you walk us through your creative process when writing and composing songs for Britton and the Sting?

Britton: Many of our songs come from prayer, humming the lyrics, and then sharing them with other bandmates. I’m starting to write with nature, and listening is huge now. I want to say what must be said, writing in service to something. Even if I’m unsure what I’m being led to, I honor every impulse. My band is amazing, and they arrange with me. They bring their blood and love into everything, so you hear seven humans in community. 

BB: As an emerging artist, what challenges have you faced in the music industry, and how have you overcome them?

Britton: I’m trying to balance ministry and business. Pray for me (laughs)

The post Sunday Schooled! Britton & The Sting Is Church appeared first on Broadway Black.

Audible Inc., the leading creator, and provider of premium audio storytelling is pleased to announce An Evening with Amber Iman, the next live event from Audible Theater, running for three nights only from Thursday, April 21 to Saturday, April 23. An Evening with Amber Iman will be recorded live from the Minetta Lane Theatre and released to a global audience as an Audible Original.

Amber Iman, star of Shuffle Along and Soul Doctor, invites you to a celebration of pure, uplifting joy in a powerful three-day concert at the Minetta Lane Theatre. A founding member of the Broadway Advocacy Coalition and Black Women on Broadway, Amber will be blending personal stories with a selection of soulful songs sure to get you swaying in your seat. Join her and “the baddest band in the land” on a journey filled with the music that touches her heart, reminding us all to revel in the delights of life.

Today & tomorrow only, use code AMBER to unlock early access tickets and celebrate pure, uplifting joy at this 3 NIGHT ONLY experience! (Ends 11:59 PM EST on 3/29)

CLICK HERE TO GET TICKETS NOW ON TICKETMASTER!

Through songs and storytelling, An Evening with Amber Iman takes the audience on a journey through love, loss, rejection, heartbreak, and joy, in a performance that challenges, encourages, and uplifts, reminding us to take it one day at a time.

“The ability to put on short-run shows focused on a single incredible performer is a specialty of Audible Theater’s work at the Minetta Lane Theater. As the first actress to return to Broadway following the pandemic, we are especially honored to work with Amber Iman to bring her original work live on stage and available to millions more through Audible.”

Kate Navin, Artistic Producer of Audible Theater

Amber Iman is a performer, filmmaker, and activist. Amber made history as the first woman to perform on Broadway after the pandemic shut down, as part of the NY PopsUp festival, which welcomed audiences back into Broadway theatres. Amber is one of the most sought-after theatre artists and vocalists working today. She debuted on Broadway as the High Priestess of Soul, Nina Simone, in Soul Doctor, earning rave reviews and a Clive Barnes Award nomination. Since, she has been seen in George C. Wolfe’s Shuffle Along beside theatre luminaries Audra McDonald, Brian Stokes Mitchell, and Billy Porter; she was seen in the National Tour of the megahit musical, Hamilton, and she has performed Off-Broadway and regionally with New York Theatre Workshop, New World Stages, Two River Theater, the Kennedy Center, and many more, earning Helen Hayes and IRENE Award nominations, and winning the Ovation Award and the prestigious Emery Battis Award for Acting Excellence from Shakespeare Theatre Company in DC.

On TV, Amber has been seen on High Maintenance for HBO, and her self-produced short film Steve has been a critical darling at film festivals across the country. This summer, Amber will star in two highly anticipated Broadway-bound musicals: Lempicka at La Jolla Playhouse and Goddess at Berkley Repertory Theatre. As an activist, Amber is the proud Co-Founder of the Broadway Advocacy Coalition and Black Women on Broadway. In 2021, Amber was honored with a Tony Award for her work with BAC.

Tickets for An Evening with Amber Iman go on sale to the public on Wednesday, March 30 at www.Audible.com/MinettaLane. Audible Theater is proud to collaborate with TodayTix to offer mobile Rush tickets beginning at 10 am each performance day. Tickets are available on a first-come, first-served basis exclusively through the TodayTix app.

The post Exclusive Presale: Audible Theater’s “An Evening With Amber Iman’ appeared first on Broadway Black.

Amber Iman Photo by Drew Shade

Black Theatre Coalition, in partnership with Playbill, bring Broadway Black stars Brandon Victor Dixon (Motown the Musical and Hamilton: An American Musical), Amber Iman (Shuffle Along), Daniel J. Watts (Tony-nominated for Tina: The Tina Turner Musical), Bebe Winans (writer and creator of the Broadway-bound musical Born for This) together to lend their talents for a virtual concert honoring Black creatives’ contributions throughout the generations and beyond.

Upon These Shoulders will be live-streamed with various interviews, performances, and testimonials by Black artists, paying tribute to Black artistry. It will be a time to highlight and emphasize Broadway’s past, but also the importance of the future of Broadway and what the community can do to accelerate a safe and diverse opening. 

Additional casting and information will be announced in further days

The concert will debut on February 27 at 8:00 pm by visiting On the Stage.

To donate to Broadway Theatre Coalition, please visit HERE.

The post Broadway Stars Set for Black Theatre Coalition’s <em>Upon These Shoulders</em> Virtual Concert appeared first on Broadway Black.

Matthew Johnson Harris

The Middle Collegiate Church will be one of these organizations to be recognized on December 21, 2020, at 8 pm EST.  Directed and hosted by Matthew Johnson Harris, a star-studded cast of some of Broadway’s most talented women will spend the evening engaging in singing, dancing, and holiday joy to support and celebrate the women at Middle Collegiate Church in “A Mosaic Christmas”!

Harris has stated that the Middle Church has served as a home for benefit concerts that raise money towards fighting social justice issues. This upcoming concert serves as a ‘thank you’ from Harris and all of the Broadway stars. In addition to giving back in song, the concert will raise money to support rebuilding the Middle Church after a fire burned down their 128-year-old historical building on December 5. Additionally, the proceeds will also support the church’s Black Lives Matter Fund, public education initiatives, queer programming, and community care.

Middle Collegiate Church in New York, NY.

Some of the Broadway names that will be featured in “A Mosaic Christmas” include Aisha Jackson (Frozen, Waitress), Angela Birchett (The Clark Sisters: First Ladies of Gospel, The Color Purple), Cassondra James (Once on This Island), Carla Stewart (Tina the Musical, The Color Purple), and many more!

“A Mosaic Christmas” can be viewed via YouTube on December 21, 2020, at 8 pm EST by clicking HERE. 

To donate to the Middle Church, please visit HERE for more information! 

2020 has been a rough year for all of us. Remember to give back to those who need it most during this Christmas season! 

The post Aisha Jackson, Cassondra James, Angela Bichrett and More Gather to Support Middle Collegiate Church appeared first on Broadway Black.

Update: Click

The holiday season is in full swing, and what the world needs now more than ever is some joy. Even though family gatherings may look a bit different this year and celebrations have been scaled back, the Broadway community continues to be a beacon of light during an unexpected dark time.

The Tony Award-winning and Grammy-nominated Broadway Inspirational Voices is a diverse choir of Broadway artists united in changing lives through the power of music and service. Founded in 1994 by Michael McElroy (Rent, The Wild Party), the annual concert, much like many other special musical programmings this holiday, will be live-streamed for FREE on Sunday, December 13 7:00 pm.

The concert “A Season of Hope and Inspiration,” will feature special guests, Billy Porter, Leslie Odom Jr., Daniel J. Watts, and Shoshana Bean; with special appearances by Leslie Uggams, Debbie Allen, Audra McDonald, Brian Stokes Mitchell, Phylicia Rashad, Vaness Williams, and more.

McElroy has described the evening as a “moment of unity to bring comfort, healing, and great joy.”  And if you’re interested in hearing some pieces from past holiday concerts, you can check out their albums Great Joy: A Gospel Christmas and Great Joy II: Around the World.

The post Broadway Inspirational Voices’ A Season of Hope & Inspiration, Free Virtual Holiday Concert appeared first on Broadway Black.

The post Norm Lewis Is Back In Time For The Holidays with 54 Below Premieres appeared first on Broadway Black.

Reid’s hit revue, which premiered in 2012, makes its Birdland debut on Feb. 8 to take the audience on a sensational musical ride through 1934 Harlem.

According to press notes, Drop Me Off in Harlem,

 is an evening of club-hopping to the music of Harold Arlen, Duke Ellington and Andy Razaf…through the elegant nightclubs and working class speakeasies that made uptown gay and delightful, however dull and depressing downtown Manhattan could be. In 1934, on a Saturday night in New York City, if you were boozin’ and jazzin’, you were doing it in Harlem.  In this club-hopping journey, Reid propels us into a night of uptown enchantment using his unique arsenal of talents.

Reid, a stunning vocalist and accomplished dancer, was most recently seen in After Midnight and has also appeared on Broadway in Mary Poppins, The Wedding Singer, La Cage aux Folles, Never Gonna Dance, Thoroughly Modern Millie, Follies and Kiss Me, Kate.

Hughes is currently gearing up for the City Center Encores! production of Cabin in the Sky which opens on Feb. 10 with a limited five-night engagement through Feb. 14.  Additional Broadway credits include Beautiful, Ghost the Musical, Book of Mormon, Ragtime, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee and Chicago. 

Broadway at Birdland presents Drop Me Off in Harlem Monday, Feb. 8 at 7 p.m.  All tickets $30, $10 food/drink minimum.

The post Carly Hughes Joins T. Oliver Reid in Drop Me Off In Harlem appeared first on Broadway Black.

Henry will be joined on stage by actress and singer Caissie Levy in “Life is a Cabaret: The Songs of Kander and Ebb” to celebrate composer John Kander’s 90^th birthday. Over five decades, Kander and his songwriting partner, Fred Ebb, have composed songs for several hit Broadway shows, including Cabaret, Kiss of the Spider Woman, The Scottsboro Boys, and Chicago.

It’s obviously fitting that Henry would perform in a tribute to this icon as he secured a Tony Award nomination for his role as “Heywood Patterson” in Kander and Ebb’s musical The Scottsboro Boys in 2010.

As we previously mentioned, Henry is joining the stellar all-star cast of Shuffle Along when previews begin on March 14, at the Music Box Theatre, with official opening set for April 21. The production will present the landmark 1921 African-American musical revue Shuffle Along alongside the behind-the-scenes details that led the songwriting team of Noble Sissle and Eubie Blake and librettists F.E. Miller and Aubrey Lyles to create this groundbreaking work. Henry will take on the role of Noble Sissle with Brandon Victor Dixon playing Eubie Blake.

“Life is a Cabaret: The Songs of Kander and Ebb” will be performed on Friday, March 10, 2017, at 8 PM, Carnegie Hall, Stern Auditorium/Perelman Stage. The New York Pops led by music director Steven Reineke, has announced its 2016-17 five-concert subscription season at Carnegie Hall.

The post Joshua Henry Joins The New York Pops at Carnegie Hall appeared first on Broadway Black.

Vereen is currently touring the show with stops throughout the United States, Europe, and Abu Dhabi. Stepping Out is billed as “a unique blend of artistry, combining a tribute to Broadway, Frank Sinatra, and a very special tribute to Sammy Davis Jr.” During the performance, audiences are treated to classics such as  “Defying Gravity,” “Mr. Bojangles,” “For Good” from Wicked and “Life is Just a Bowl of Cherries.”

Vereen first performed the show at 54 Below in 2012 to rave reviews. Stephen Holden of the N.Y. Times commented that Vereen is “an old-school song and dance man who never lets up. He wins you over with his sheer energy, good will and showbiz know-how. The excitement he generates is what matters.”

Ben Vereen’s Performs at 54 Below in 2012

Vereen won a Tony and Drama Desk Award winner for his show-stopping performance in Bob Fosse’s Pippin. He also was nominated for a Tony Award for his role as “Judas” in Jesus Christ Superstar. His other Broadway credits include Wicked, I’m Not Rappaport, Chicago, Hair, Fosse, Jelly’s Last Jam, and A Christmas Carol.

Vereen’s television guest appearances include How I Met Your Mother, Grey’s Anatomy (for which he won the Prism Award), Hot in Cleveland, NCIS, House of Payne, Law and Order: Criminal Intent, OZ, Star Trek – The Next Generation, The Jamie Foxx Show, and Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.

All performances begin at 7:00pm and doors open at 5:15pm. Tickets can be purchased here.

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