Alley Theatre Announces Cast and Creative Team for A NIGHT WITH JANIS JOPLIN

Alley Theatre Artistic Director Gregory Boyd announces the cast and creative team for the theatre's Summer Thrills Series and Broadway musical event - A Night With Janis Joplin. The Tony-Award nominated musical runs August 19 - September 18 in the Hubbard Theatre. Tickets are on sale now and can be purchased at alleytheatre.org or by calling the Box Office at 713-220-5700.

"A Night With Janis Joplin is the celebration of powerful music and extraordinary artists, and qualifies, excitingly, as an electric piece of theatre," says Boyd. "I've wanted to bring Janis back to the Alley for some time because I knew that audiences here feel about this artist - Port Arthur's most famous daughter - the way I do. She was unique, she was hugely influential, but mostly she was that rarest of things - a performer whose honesty and feeling were undeniable, and who left something of herself in everyone who heard her."

Like a comet that burns far too brightly to last, Janis Joplin exploded onto the music scene in 1967 and, almost overnight, became the queen of rock & roll. The unmistakable voice, filled with raw emotion and tinged with Southern Comfort, made her a must-see headliner from Monterey to Woodstock. Fueled by such unforgettable songs as "Me and Bobby McGee," "Piece of My Heart," "Mercedes Benz," "Cry Baby" and "Summertime," and a remarkable cast, A Night With Janis Joplin is a musical journey celebrating Janis and her biggest musical influences - icons like Aretha Franklin, Etta James, Odetta, Nina Simone and Bessie Smith -who inspired one of rock & roll's greatest legends.

That voice-high, husky, earthy, explosive-remains among the most distinctive and galvanizing in pop history. But Janis Joplin didn't merely possess a great instrument; she threw herself into every syllable, testifying from the very core of her being. She claimed the blues, soul, gospel and rock with unquestionable authority and verve, fearlessly inhabiting psychedelic guitar jams, back-porch roots and everything in between. Her volcanic performances left audiences stunned and speechless, while her sexual magnetism, world-wise demeanor and flamboyant style shattered every stereotype about female artists-and essentially invented the "rock mama" paradigm.

"Janis lived as a hard-wired Texan from her foot-stomping power to her deep-in-the-heart emotion. Her seemingly over-night success hid the years of hard work, like the 4th generation Texan she was," says Laura Joplin, sister of Janis Joplin.

A Night With Janis Joplin cast features Kacee Clanton, from the Broadway production of A Night With Janis Joplin. Katrina Rose Dideriksen (Broadway: Hairspray, Off-Broadway: RENT) will alternate the role of Janis Joplin with Clanton. The cast also includes Cicily Daniels (Broadway: Disney's The Little Mermaid, All Shook Up) as Joplinaire/Odetta/Bessie Smith, Tawny Dolley (Dreamgirls, Once On This Island) as Joplinaire/Chantel/Etta James with Jennifer Leigh Warren (Broadway: Big River) as a Joplinaire/Blues Singer/Blues Woman and Amma Osei (Broadway: Rock of Ages) as Joplinaire/Chantel/Nina Simone/Aretha Franklin.

The creative team includes scenic design by Rob Bissinger (Papermill Playhouse: Can-Can, The LittleShubert Theatre: Lucky Guy), with costume design by Amy Clark (Broadway: A Night With Janis Joplin, Chaplin), lighting design by Mike Baldassari, (Broadway: Cabaret, First Date), sound design by Ben Selke (Pasadena Playhouse: A Night With Janis Joplin; Off-Broadway: Lets Kill Grandma this Christmas) and projection design by Darrel Maloney (Broadway: American Idiot, On Your Feet).

A Night With Janis Joplin is written and directed by RAndy Johnson. The New York Times raved that A Night With Janis Joplin "rocks the house" and Variety called it "electrifying."

A Night With Janis Joplin begins preview performances at the Alley Theatre on August 19, opens August 21, and continues through September 18, 2016 in the Hubbard Theatre. Performances of A Night With Janis Joplin are Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday at 7:30 p.m., Friday at 8:00 p.m., Saturday at 2:30 p.m. & 8:00 p.m., and Sunday at 2:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m., with a special mid-week matinee on Wednesday, August 24 at 2:30 p.m. A Night With Janis Joplin contains explicit language and adult content.

Tickets to A Night With Janis Joplin are on sale now and start at $26. Discounted tickets are available or any student, regardless of age, with a valid student ID for $16 for designated performances in designated sections. Tickets can be ordered online (alleytheatre.org) or by phone (713.220.5700). Discounts are available for groups of 10 or more.

Season tickets can be ordered online (alleytheatre.org) or by phone (713.220.5700). Subscribers can purchase a 5-play package containing A Midsummer Night's Dream, Dry Powder, Let the Right One In,A View from the Bridge, and Freaky Friday; prices range from $125-$440. An 8-play package is also available containing all the plays in the 5-play package plus Hand to God, Syncing Ink, and An Act of God, with prices from $198-$629. Subscribers may purchase priority tickets for A Christmas Carol and The Santaland Diaries before going on sale to the general public. Groups of 10 or more may reserve discounted tickets now by calling 713.315.3346.

The Alley Theatre, one of America's leading not-for-profit theatres, is a nationally recognized performing arts company lead by Artistic Director Gregory Boyd and Managing Director Dean R. Gladden. The Alley produces up to 16 plays each year in its newly renovated theatre, ranging from the best current work, to re-invigorated classic plays, to new plays by contemporary writers. The Alley is home to a Resident Company of actors. In addition, the Alley engages theatre artists of every discipline - actors, designers, composers, playwrights - who work on individual productions throughout each season as Visiting Artists.

The renovation of the Hubbard Theatre at the Alley was completed in October 2015 - and created a new 774 seat state-of-the-art performance venue. Matched with the 310-seat Neuhaus Theatre, the Alley offers nearly 500 performances each season. The Company reaches over 200,000 people each year through its performance and education programs. Its audience enrichment programs include pre-show and post-performance talks, events, and workshops for Audience members of all ages.

The Alley Theatre is supported by the 2016-2017 season sponsor United Airlines, the official airline of the Alley Theatre.

Photo by Mark and Tracy Photography.

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