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.

The premiere cruise line announced in January that they would be bringing the jazz-filled spectacle to their newest ship, the 4,200 passenger Norwegian Escape. Playing weekly in the vessels’ 800-seat Escape Theater, the Broadway experience is just one of many notable features of the ship.

Since Braxton’s Broadway debut, just a year out of high school, the Diva (as I like to call her) has appeared in Dreamgirls, Jelly’s Last Jam, and Cats. She’s become a frequent favorite of the long-running Fosse hit Chicago and in 1995 she earned a Tony Award nomination for her famous portrayal in Smokey Joe’s Cafe. In addition to her work on TV shows “Smash” and “Nurse Jackie,” the Golden Girl also recently launched “ACT 2…Now What?,” a “series of seminars and workshops for women over 50 looking to make the Act 2 of their lives spectacular on their own terms.”

After Midnight opened in the fall of 2013 and despite its short run, was a critical success from the start. Earning seven Tony Award nominations, the City Center transfer welcomed the stunning artistry of musical greats including Gladys Knight, Natalie Cole, Patti LaBelle, Toni Braxton, Babyface, Vanessa Williams, and Fantasia Barrino.

“Refracted through a contemporary lens, After Midnight celebrates Duke Ellington’s years at the Cotton Club using his original arrangements and performed by a world-class big band of 17 musicians hand-picked by living jazz legend, Wynton Marsalis. The timeless tunes set against a narrative of Langston Hughes poetry provide an authentic backdrop for an array of cutting-edge performances by 25 sensational vocalists and dancers, including special guest stars, whose interpretations shatter everything you think you know about music, nightlife and Broadway.”

Conceived by Producer Jack Viertel, the 90-minute musical will be re-created on board the Escape by its original director/choreographer, Tony Award winner Warren Carlyle, and will feature the look and feel of its original design team, including Isabel Toledo’s costumes and John Lee Beatty’s set. The Norwegian Escape will take its maiden voyage on Nov. 9.

AfterMidnight from Norwegian Creative Studios on Vimeo.

The post Brenda Braxton Stars in After Midnight on the High Seas appeared first on Broadway Black.

Remember the last time we got excite about The Wiz?! Check out the video below of R&B songstress Ashanti as Dorothy in The Wiz at City Center 2009. Accompanying her you’ll see lots of familiar current Broadway faces (Including a 2014 Tony Award winner) and be sure to get your tickets for what will undoubtedly be an amazing night in entertainment!

The Wiz at City Center 2009. Orlando Jones as The Wiz, Tony winner LaChanze as Glinda, Ashanti as Dorothy, Tichina Arnold as Evillene, Dawnn Lewis as Addaperle, Joshua Henry as the Tinman, James Monroe Iglehart as the Lion and Christian White as the Scarecrow.

The post 54 Sings The Wiz! appeared first on Broadway Black.

Recipient of 7 Tony Award Nominations and the winner for Best Choreography, After Midnight was a play focusing on the popular, prohibition-era hot spot The Cotton Club and was scheduled to include residencies from Fantasia Barrino, Patti LaBelle, Natalie Cole, Gladys Night and numerous other notable singers. The majority of the positive reception took place at the anchoring of Barrino, but it was during LaBelle’s stay that the curtains closed. Undoubtedly disappointed that she wasn’t able to see her time on stage, Natalie had some choice words about Ms. Labelle’s performance that were relayed to Dish Nation via a source close to the production:

Natalie was overheard telling friends that Fantasia really made the show work, but Patti was just not up to par. People were saying that Patti would get tired in middle of her set and would just mouth the words instead of singing them. Natalie didn’t hold back — she went on to say that Patti had lost her touch — saying she was too old and too tired to make the performance work.

This comes as no surprise as no surprise as Natalie is known to be outspoken and opinionated. A few other celebs and names close to the production were said to have felt similarly but none with the Natalie’s intensity. Fantasia was definitely amazing during her tenure at After Midnight but did any of you who got a chance to see Ms. LaBelle have any notable feelings about the performance she gave? Or do you think this could just be Natalie venting her frustrations at not being able to have her full time on stage? Let us know in the comments!

**Photo Credit

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