Cabin in the Sky is an all-Black musical and his being billed as:

“Cabin in the Sky followed Porgy and Bess in celebrating African‐American music and dance traditions. The musical tells the story of ‘Little Joe’ Jackson, a charming ne’er‐do‐well who dies in a saloon brawl and is given six months on earth to prove his worth to the Lord’s General (Norm Lewis) and his long‐suffering wife Petunia (LaChanze), while resisting the temptations of the Devil’s Head Man (Chuck Cooper)”

Cabin in the Sky will also include J. Bernard Calloway, Marva Hicks, Carly Hughes, Forrest McClendon and J.D. Webster. Tony Award winner Ruben Santiago‐Hudson directs with choreography by Camille A. Brown.

The musical, written by Lynn Root, was originally produced on Broadway at the Martin Beck Theatre in 1940 with music by Vernon Duke, lyrics by John La Touche, and choreography by George Ballanchine to “celebrate African American achievement in music and dance.” The original cast included singer-actress Ethel Waters, famed dancer/choreographer Katherine Dunham, film/television actor Rex Ingram, and composer/singer J. Rosemond Johnson. The musical closed on March 8, 1941 after 156 performances.

Two years later, the musical hit the big screen during a time when Blacks rarely appeared in leading roles in film. According to “Beyond Racial Stereotypes: Subversive Subtexts in ‘Cabin in the Sky’” by Kate Marie Weber, as part of his New Deal, President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s administration advocated for more Black actors in major roles as a way to create more jobs for Blacks in the film industry. Additionally, the NAACP met with Hollywood executives to demand better roles for Black actors and actresses. As a result, “Cabin in the Sky,” starring Waters, Ingram, Eddie “Rochester” Anderson, and Lena Horne, became one of the few films, at that time, produced by one of Hollywood’s major studios with an all-Black cast.

Encores! production of Cabin in the Sky runs Feb 10 – 14, 2016. Tickets for the performance can be purchased here.

The post LaChanze, Norm Lewis & Chuck Cooper Will Star in Cabin in the Sky appeared first on Broadway Black.

In Domingo’s latest work, Uggams will play “Dotty,” a family matriarch who’s dealing with dementia and squabbling children during the holidays. This will mark her first extended run on a New York stage since she appeared in The First Breeze of Summer in 2008. Stephen Conrad Moore and Sharon Washington will also join Uggams in Dot.

Uggams grew up performing for audiences, getting her start in show business when she was seven years old playing Ethel Waters’ niece on the sitcom “Beulah.“ She then went on to perform on the “Lawrence Welk Show” and was a regular on “Sing Along with Mitch,” with record producer/conductor Mitch Miller.

She’s had a long and illustrious career on stage beginning with her 1967 Broadway debut in the musical Hallelujah, Baby! Her performance earned her the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical as well as a Theatre World Award. She’s also appeared on Broadway in the revue Blues in the Night in 1982 and in Jerry’s Girls, the musical revue of the works of Jerry Herman in 1985. Uggams replaced Patti LuPone as “Reno Sweeney” in the Lincoln Center revival of Cole Porter’s musical Anything Goes on Broadway in 1989. Her other roles have included “Muzzy” in Thoroughly Modern Millie and “Ethel Thayer” in On Golden Pond. In 2001, Uggams was nominated for a Tony Award for her role in August Wilson’s King Hedley II.

Dot, which has been called a “testament to the enduring bonds of family,” isn’t Domingo’s first foray into playwriting. The Tony-nominated actor also pennd a one-man autobiographical play A Boy and His Soul, for which he won a GLAAD Award: Outstanding New York Theater: Broadway & Off–Broadway. He also wrote and starred in Wild with Happy.

Susan Stroman, who won a Tony Award for The Producers, will direct Dot. The play premiered in the Humana Festival of New American Plays in Louisville, Ky., earlier this year.

Dot is scheduled to open on February 4, 2016 and run through April 3, 2016 at the Vineyard Theatre. For tickets and more information visit vineyardtheatre.org.

The post Leslie Uggams To Star in Colman Domingo’s DOT appeared first on Broadway Black.