The cast of the Tony winner for Best Musical, Hadestown, is sharing their underground holiday sound with their cast album “If the Fates Allow (A Hadestown Holiday Album).” Led by the ladies who play The Fates in the musical – Jewelle Blackman, Yvette Gonzalez-Nacer, and Kay Trinidad – the album features other members of the cast including Tony-winner Andre De Shields who lends his jazz and blues notes to the classic “Blue Chrismas.” 

 

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Hamilton: An American Musical alum, Leslie Odom, Jr. reimagines Christmas with his second holiday album, “The Christmas Album.” The Tony- and Grammy-winning crooner sings some holiday classics, as well as introduces new sounds and guest features with songs like “Ma’oz Tzur” featuring wife, Nicolette Robinson, “Winter Song” with Tony winner Cynthia Erivo, and “Little Drummer Boy” with the Mzansi Youth Choir from South Africa. If you liked his first holiday venture “Simply Christmas,” you’re definitely going to enjoy this soon-to-be classic.

 

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“White Christmas” by Grammy-nominated Jawan Jackson (Ain’t Too Proud: The Life and Times of the Temptations), is what Santa would be blasting in his sleigh as he goes from home to home. His velvety bass notes take us on a journey that tempt our desire to be with our loved ones for Christmas. 

 

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Carly Hughes (Pippin) brings a little fun and a lot of wonder with her Chistmas album “Mistletoe & Carly.” The Broadway leading lady playfully takes on the Eartha Kitt classic “Santa Baby” with an upbeat flair that’s sure to make Rudolph blush. 

 

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Another Tony-winning Hamilton alum, Daveed Diggs, takes Hannukkah and throws some stank on it. His new single “Puppy for Hanukkah” is a dream for every kid wanting a canine companion to call their own. The song takes us through the eight nights of the traditional Jewish holiday with lyrics like, “Night two, what it do, candles get lit. Latkes, sour cream is the best dip…” Check out the music video too! 

Other holiday albums to check out from other Broadway alum:

Fantasia (After Midnight and The Color Purple) – “Christmas After Midnight”

Broadway Inspirational Voices – “Great Joy – A Gospel Christmas” and “Great Joy II: Around the World”

John Legend (Jitney) – “A Legendary Christmas (Deluxe Edition)” 

Download them all today on Apple Music, iTunes, Spotify, Google Play, or Amazon.

The post I’m Dreaming of a Black Christmas…Broadway Edition! 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.

Selected as a Time Out NY Critics’ pick, Villain: DeBlanks is a murder mystery with a following, complete with its own website and an ever-growing list of well-known, award-winning “rogues,” or stars. This performance’s all-Black cast includes: returning rogue Brenda Braxton (Chicago, Cats, Dreamgirls, Jelly’s Last Jam, Smokey Joe’s Café), Kingsley Leggs (Sister Act, Color Purple) and Angela Robinson (Color Purple). Robinson has also appeared as Veronica Harrington in “The Haves and Have Nots,” the primetime soap opera created by Tyler Perry and airing on the Oprah Winfrey Network (OWN). Trent Armand Kelly (Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, Hair, Chess, Into the Woods), Carly Hughes (Beautiful: The Carole King Musical, Pippin, Book of Mormon, Ragtime) and Bernard Dotson (Finian’s Rainbow, Imaginary Friends, Dreamgirls, Ragtime) round out the on-stage talent.

54 Below is located at 254 West 54th Street, below famed Studio 54. Doors open at 8:45pm. 54 Below is described as Broadway’s Supper Club and boasts a Tony-award winning pedigree that rivals those of the stars it showcases and the VIPs who make the famous address a preferred venue. Fill in the blanks on your Tuesday night in a seat no more than 24 feet from the stage and kick back in “Broadway’s living room,” while indulging in “world-class dining.”

Proceeds benefit Broadway Cares/Equity Fights Aids. Ticket prices range from $25-$60 with an additional food and beverage cost of $25 and a cover charge of $5 at the door. Tickets can only be attained by calling (646) 476-3551 at this time.

The post One Night Only: Villain: DeBlanks at 54 Below Tonight appeared first on Broadway Black.

Inspirational albums for Hughes’ record player include: Calypso by Harry Belafonte; Broadway My Way by Nancy Wilson; Salt by Lizz Wright; Lioness: Hidden Treasures by Amy Winehouse; and Funky Divas by En Vogue. Hughes is very much in vogue these days and has, well, been giving her audiences something they can feel. For her time at Broadway’s supper club it will be no different, only more intimate.

Fans will have a chance to see the Columbia, Maryland native in this solo performance before she reprises her debut Broadway role as Velma Kelly in the current revival production of the Tony-winning Chicago. She will be the vaudevillian and murderess for 16 performances from Aug. 22-Sep. 4, replacing Amra-Faye Wright during her hiatus. Amy Spanger (Rock of Ages) also returns to Roxie Hart for a two-week engagement from Aug. 4-16, after Grammy Award winner Brandy Norwood took her bow Aug. 2 from the nearly four-month stint.

In its 19th year on Broadway, Chicago – featuring the tunes of John Kander and Fred Ebb – tells the story of dancer Roxie Hart, who murders her lover after he threatens to leave her, and works over the press by hiring a slick criminal lawyer.

Recipient of the prestigious national Princess Grace Award for Acting and Excellence in the Arts, Hughes was most recently The Leading Player in Pippin, arriving to the stage September 2014 as the final replacement (after Ariana DeBose and Ciara Renee) for original cast member Patina Miller before the show’s close in January. Prior to that, she was Lucille/Shirley of the Shirelles in Beautiful: The Carole King Musical. In January, Hughes was among the voices of BROADWAY SINGS P!NK to showcase new arrangements of her Broadway songs from these two shows. At the 2014 Tony Awards, she performed an unforgettable rendition of “Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow” from Beautiful.

And, yes, we will still love Carly Hughes tomorrow… and the next day, and the day after that, and… forever.

The 14-year acting veteran – whose additional Broadway credits include Ghost, The Book of Mormon, Ragtime, Dr. Seuss’ The Grinch Who Stole Christmas, and The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee – isn’t done for the year, though. Her vocal stylings will soon be seen alongside Jason Alexander, Nikki M. James and the late Dennis Farina in the upcoming movie musical Lucky Stiff, adapted for the screen by Tony Award winners Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty (Ragtime).

Tickets for Carly Live at 54 Below! can be purchased at 54below.com.

The post Carly Hughes Makes Solo 54 Below Debut & Chicago Musical Return appeared first on Broadway Black.