Brecht’s play follows trader “Anna Fierling” as she pulls her canteen wagon and her children through the carnage of Europe’s religious wars. According to the Classic Stage Company’s web site, “She’ll do anything to hold onto her money-making wagon, even if it means the loss of her children. Experience a timeless tale of war updated to the modern-day conflagration in the Congo, with a new and vibrant score by Tony Award-winning composer Duncan Sheik.”

Pinkins, who was last seen in Joel Drake Johnson’s Rasheeda Speaking, has enjoyed a long and successful career on the stage. She has been nominated for three Tony Awards, winning one for her performance as “Sweet Anita” in Jelly’s Last Jam. She also has won the Obie, the Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle Awards among many others. Pinkins has appeared on Broadway in Merrily We Roll Along, Chronicle of a Death Foretold, The Wild Party, House of Flowers, Radio Golf, A Time To Kill, and Holler If Ya Hear Me, the musical inspired by the work of Tupac Shakur.

Although Broadway has become a second home for Pinkins, Mother Courage isn’t her first appearance in an Off-Broadway production. She’s also performed in the role of “Mopsa, the Shepherdess,” in The Winter’s Tale in 1983. And, in 2012, Pinkins starred in the Off-Broadway production of Katori Hall’s Hurt Village, the gritty drama about life and change in a Memphis housing project.

Joining Pinkins on stage in Mother Courage will be Joshua Boone, Curtiss Cook, Jr., Kevin Mambo, Jacob Ming-Trent, Geoffrey Owens, Michael Potts, Deandre Sevon, Mirirai Sithole, and Zenzi Williams.

Mother Courage opens on December 9. For tickets, visit here.

The post Tonya Pinkins Stars in Great Anti-war Drama, Mother Courage appeared first on Broadway Black.

Jeanine Tesori, who won the 2015 Tony Award for Best Original Score for Fun Home said of Twine, “For girls, you have to see it to be it. My grandfather was a composer in Italy, and he came to this country to try to fulfill that dream. I didn’t realize a career in music was available to women until I saw Linda Twine conducting Lena Horne: The Lady and Her Music.”

In a separate interview, Tesori, who is the most prolific and honored female Broadway composer in history, said, “I remember seeing Linda Twine conduct when I was nineteen. She is this beautiful African-American woman who was in complete command with all of the men on stage looking at her every move.”

Twine also notably composed “Changed My Name,” a cantata inspired by slave women Sojourner Truth and Harriet Tubman, and written for two actresses, four soloists, and a chorus.  Her work can be seen and heard in the books and CDs of the Silver Burdett Publishing company, which are used by many public schools in the United States, ensuring that her legacy will endure.

Below you’ll find Jeanine Tesori’s Tony acceptance speech.

The post Linda Twine: The Musical Mastermind We Should All Know appeared first on Broadway Black.