The concert pays tribute to Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughan and Dinah Washington and ultimately commemorates the centennial year of the birth of Billie Holiday – who played Carnegie Hall for the first time in 1948, at age 33, to a sold-out crowd. She returned eight years later to perform two more concerts before packed audiences. Holiday’s career has illustrated her musical sophistication as noted by jazz legend Wynton Marsalis for Time/Life’s “100 Years of Lady Day.”

In its 33rd season, the New York Pops – the largest independent pop orchestra in the United States and the only professional symphonic orchestra specializing in popular music –  continues to offer a unique experience with each concert, with influences ranging from Broadway melodies to film scores, jazz, rock, pop and everything in between. This time it is all that jazz, and Reineke has called it “an absolute knockout.”

It means the world to be a part of Sophisticated Ladies and paying tribute to Ella, Sarah, Billie and Dinah. These are icons in music and jazz, and in our culture. The legacy is so grand and huge and continues to give. We reap the benefits of them, Montego Glover said. Each woman has a long and strong legacy in music as icons. In African-American culture particularly, they stand as such examples as icons. The inventiveness and the talent that they use in the rendering in their music is so infectious and relatable but unique. It makes them each unique and one of a kind. They live in their own space.

Capathia Jenkins, who has worked with Glover in Broadway Inspirational Voices, agreed. “I’m really excited about the notion of three Black women today celebrating these Black jazz artists that have come before us. They’re the reason we get to do what we do today. I’m excited about the notion of that. We stood on their shoulders to get here. They each brought a certain thing to the table.”

Each of the guest artists, specifically selected by Reineke, bring a certain thing to the table in their own right.

Glover, a Tony nominee and award-winning artist who made her Broadway debut in The Color Purple, is currently starring as “Fantine” in Les Miserables at Imperial Theatre.

“Performing at Carnegie Hall was a bucket list item,” she said, “and now I’m doing it for the second or third time. New York Pops is one of the best pop orchestras in the country. I’m grateful that Les Miserables is allowing me to take time to do it.”

Prior to her current role, Glover co-starred in the original Broadway musical It Shoulda Been You. She originated the starring role of “Felicia Farrell” in the Tony winning Memphis and received a Tony nomination for Lead Actress in a Musical as well as a Drama League nomination; she won Outer Critics Circle and Drama Desk awards.

Jenkins has appeared as a soloist with symphony orchestras nationally and internationally including The Cleveland Orchestra; the Cincinnati and Philly pops orchestras; the National Symphony Orchestra; and the Hong Kong and Calgary philharmonic orchestras. She also is featured on the soundtracks for “Smash” (Seasons 1 and 2), Nine, Chicago, Mission to Mars and Legally Blonde 2. Her Broadway credits include: Newsies; Martin Short: Fame Becomes Me; Caroline, or Change; The Look of Love; and The Civil War. She received a Drama Desk nomination for (mis)Understanding Mammy: The Hattie McDaniel Story.

Sy Smith – who has been a backing vocalist for Whitney Houston, Chaka Khan and Meshelle Ndegeocello, a supporting vocalist on “American Idol,” and part of Rickey Minor’s band on “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno” as well as the Grammy-nominated Foreign Exchange – is an indie-soul recording artist with four critically acclaimed albums. In September, she garnered an Emmy nod for Best Original Music/Lyrics with “Welcome Back (All My Soulmates)” for the HBO film Dancing. She also received two nominations for Best Supporting Actress in a Musical/Comedy from the NAACP Theatre Awards for her roles in If You Don’t Believe and Body Language.

Broadway Black had the exclusive opportunity to speak with both Glover and Jenkins, who discussed the artists to whom they will pay tribute. Glover said she likens her musical style to Fitzgerald. “I am such an admirer of her. The instrumentality of her voice. She likes to scat across space the way a horn would. The terrific phrasing of music. She took whole lines and beats and made them new every time.” While Jenkins said she is not a scatter herself, she revealed Fitzgerald blows her mind with the way she could scat.

In describing Washington, Glover noted her “sparkly quality, like a wonderful bubble across the music.” Jenkins is inspired by her “raw tone” and that she “was so sure of herself, in her body and who she was.” Yet Jenkins’ feels her most parallel artist is Vaughan, who Glover said “had such a fullness and whimsical nature to her singing.”

“I think of Sarah as hot, molten chocolate,” Jenkins explained. “The tone of her voice is like ‘oh my God.’ She taught me a lot of jazz standards. She is a very kindred spirit to me. I like to learn the ink off the page.  I know she was inevitably singing the melody and then makes it her own.”

Just as Holiday recognized “no two people on earth are alike, and it’s got to be that way in music or it isn’t music,” the New York Pops will indeed bring the most sophisticated ladies in jazz to the stage – with Holiday serving as the foundation.

“Billie is the crooner to me. There was a weeping, whining quality in her voice that is enchanting,” Glover admired. “I didn’t understand her at 12 years old the way I do now. What was really behind her singing and her voice and the way the sounds come out of her.”

Influenced by Louis Armstrong and Bessie Smith, Holiday pioneered a vocal style that manipulated phrasing and tempo.

“I’ve never thought of Billie as having great tone or range,” Jenkins admitted, “but the way she can phrase, she can do it conversationally. You can hear everything she had gone through in her life, whatever emotions there were.  She sang from her gut. You can’t learn that. It just is. I listen to her for phrasing and truth telling.”

Holiday’s truth consists of much good, bad and ugly. Nevertheless, her legacy is one that proves “nobody sings the word ‘hunger’ like I do or the word ‘love.’”

“It’s going to be a great night,” Jenkins said, “and I’m so excited that the New York Pops has decided to celebrate these great Black women. So let’s sit back and relax and celebrate!”

The two-hour event will begin at 8pm, with one 20-minute intermission. Click HERE for more information about the concert.

The post New York Pops Celebrates Black Women In Jazz With Montego Glover, Capathia Jenkins, Sy Smith appeared first on Broadway Black.

True to their word of incorporating amazing acrobatic feats, several of the ensemble cast have experience as Cirque du Soleil performers. We can’t wait to see how choreographer Fatima Robinson has these amazing performers soaring.

Academy Award nominee Queen Latifah & Grammy Award winner Mary J. Blige are also in the cast of The Wiz Live. Latifah will play “The Wiz”, a role originated on stage by the incomparable Andre De Shields (Ain’t Misbehavin’, The Full Monty). Blige will portray the role of “Evillene”, the horrible wicked witch known for the upbeat “Don’t Nobody Bring Me No Bad News.” In addition to Stephanie Mills as “Aunt Em,” Uzo Aduba as Glinda The Good Witch, and Amber Riley as Addaperle, also previously announced.

Tony Award winner Kenny Leon will direct & Fatima Robinson will choreograph, as previously announced. The show will also head to Broadway in 2016 with Leon directing. The Wiz for NBC will partner with Cirque du Soleil to bring the live and Broadway productions to life. William F. Brown wrote the original book of the show. This time around, Broadway legend Harvey Fierstein will add new material to the book.

The post The Wiz Live! Full Ensemble Cast is Announced appeared first on Broadway Black.

Every other week, Broadway Legacy focuses on a different individual’s accomplishments and inspirations. The series features Broadway veterans such as Chuck Cooper who won a Tony for The Life, Tony nominee Charl Brown, Derrick Baskin, best known for his role of “Comfort Counselor Mitch Mahoney” in the popular Broadway show, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, and Ben Harney, who won the 1982 Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical for his role as “Curtis Taylor, Jr.” Dreamgirls.

BRANDON VICTOR DIXON

© Brent Dundore Photography – All Rights Reserved.

CAPATHIA JENKINS

© Brent Dundore Photography – All Rights Reserved.

CAPATHIA JENKINS

This Brooklyn-born and raised actress most recently starred as ‘Medda’ in the hit Disney production of Newsies’ on Broadway. She made her Broadway debut in The Civil War, where she created the role of Harriet Jackson. She then starred in the Off-Broadway 2000 revival of Godspell, where she wowed audiences with her stirring rendition of ‘Turn Back, O Man’ which can still be heard on the original cast recording. She returned to Broadway in The Look of Love and was critically acclaimed for her performances of the Bacharach/David hits. Ms. Jenkins then created the roles of ‘The Washing Machine’ in Caroline, Or Change and ‘Frieda May’ in Martin Short-Fame becomes me where she sang ‘Stop the Show’ and brought the house down every night. Her Television credits include 30 Rock, the Practice, Law & Order SVU, the Sopranos, Law & Order. She can be seen in the 2012 film ‘Musical Chairs’ directed by Susan Seidelman. She can be heard on the following film soundtracks: Nine, Chicago, Legally Blonde 2.

www.capathiajenkins.com

Find out more about the new editions to Broadway Legacy 2.0 & see more photos on BroadwayLegacy.com

The post Brandon Victor Dixon & Capathia Jenkins Shine In Broadway Legacy appeared first on Broadway Black.

Want me 2 sing 2 u? Or have hot chocolate w/me? All while helping @CovenantHouse kids? Check out my sleep out page! http://t.co/Mc3otMO7iT

— Audra McDonald (@AudraEqualityMc) July 30, 2015

In addition to McDonald, many other Broadway actors will sleep out, including Lisa Dawn Clark, Terren Wooten Clark, Eddie Cooper, Lilli Cooper, Aisha de Haas, Darius de Haas, Dionne Figgins, Kevin R. Free, Dana Marie Ingraham, Tamika Lawrence, Miguel Edson, Maurice Murphy, John Eric Parker, and Todd Pettiford. All participants are stars of Broadway, Off-Broadway, or Broadway tour productions.

http://t.co/0yI5r8JORD https://t.co/VnYREeiL1i

— Mr Chuck Cooper (@Ebonyactor) July 30, 2015

This is McDonald’s second year participating in the event. Although Sleep Out: Broadway Edition takes place on August 17, she will sleep outside in solidarity with homeless youth on November 19, following the annual Candlelight Vigil for Homeless Youth in Times Square. McDonald serves on the executive committee and the board of Covenant House International. Jenkins (Newsies, Caroline, or Change) and Darius de Hass (Kiss of the Spiderwoman, Carousel (revival), Rent) are both third-year participants in the event and serve on the executive committee as well.

To see the impact that Sleep Out has, Jenkins takes viewers on a tour through the neighborhood of “The Cov,” the reality of the night, and the impact of the Sleep Out.

Covenant House is the largest privately funded agency in the Americas providing food, shelter, immediate crisis care, and essential services to homeless youth in 27 cities throughout the United States, Canada and Latin America. According to the organization, the funds raised by Sleep Out participants are put to work immediately, keeping the lights on and the doors open for more than 57,000 kids who will seek help this year.

For more information and to donate to your favorite Broadway star, visit www. sleepout.org.

The post Broadway Actors Will Sleep Out for Homeless Youths appeared first on Broadway Black.

01.01 We go behind the scenes of the Broadway Legacy 2.0 photoshoot with Broadway Legacy creator & director Christian Dante White.

Please visit Broadwaylegacy.com & BrentDundore.com for more

Adriane Lenox (After Midnight, Doubt)

LaChanze (If/Then, The Color Purple)

Amber Iman (Soul Doctor), Marisha Wallace (Something Rotten),

Chondra Profit,(The Lion King),

Marva Hicks (Motown: The Musical, Caroline, Or Change)

Patrice Covington (Motown: The Musical National Tour),

Krystal Joy Brown(Motown: The Musical, Big Fish)

Kimberly Marable (Sister Act, The Lion King)

Candice Marie Woods (Nice Work If You Can Get It, Catch Me If You Can),

Crystal Joy (Motown: The Musical)

Aisha De Haas (Caroline, Or Change, One Mo’ TIme)

Capthia Jenkins (Newsies: The Musical, Caroline, Or Change),

Nikki Renee Daniels (Book Of Mormon, Gershwins’ Porgy & Bess)

Krisha Marcano (Motown: The Musical, The Color Purple)

Maia Nkenge Wilson (The Book of Mormon, The Color Purple)

Jesse Nager (Motown: The Musical, Mary Poppins)

Brandon Victor Dixon (Motown: The Musical, The Color Purple)

Clifton Davis (Aladdin, Two Gentlemen of Verona)

Michael McElroy (Next To Normal, Rent, Big River)

Maurice Murphy (Motown: The Musical, Leap Of Faith)

 Grasan Kingsberry (Nice Work If You Can Get It, Leap Of Faith)

The post [WATCH] Off Book: Broadway Legacy with Christian Dante White appeared first on Broadway Black.

The Colored Museum presents 11 hilarious “exhibits” of African-American culture — from the depths of the Celebrity Slaveship to the spinning heights of Harlem. Tony Award winner George C. Wolfe’s groundbreaking comedy has electrified, discomforted, and delighted audiences of all colors, skewering stereotypes and redefining what it means to be black in contemporary America. Directed and choreographed by Tony Award winner Billy Porter, it features a wonderful cast with terrific music and dancing, and is a great night out at the theatre.

(l-r) Nathan Lee Graham, Rema Webb, Billy Porter, Shayna Small, Ken Robinson, Capathia Jenkins.

The original production of The Colored Museum premiered in 1986 at Crossroad Theater Company in New Jersey, was directed by L. Kenneth Richardson, and featured Loretta Devine, Tommy Hollis, Reggie Montgomery, Vickilyn Reynolds, Colette Baptiste, and Danitra Vance.  Within six months of its run, the show found a new home at The Public Theater in NYC.

Click HERE for more information and to purchase tickets.

WATCH this behind the scenes look at The Huntington Theatre’s production of The Colored Museum:

The post Billy Porter Directs The Colored Museum In Boston appeared first on Broadway Black.