Cleavant Derricks News

When is a legacy worth preserving and when is it time to move forward with life? What cost can one pay to jump-start their future? These are some of the central questions tackled in August Wilson's THE PIANO LESSON, which is now playing at Hartford Stage. One of Wilson's "Pittsburgh Cycle" plays (10 plays that shed light on African-American lives in each decade of the 20th century), THE PIANO LESSON - "a ghost story with traditional African-American songs" sits firmly in the 1930's, a time of struggle, change, and a time many African-Americans made the great migration north from the Jim Crow south, looking for a better life.

Hartford Stage Artistic Director Darko Tresnjak and Managing Director Michael Stotts announced today the cast and creative team for August Wilson's The Piano Lesson, directed by Jade King Carroll, who helmed our critically-acclaimed production of Having Our Say: The Delaney Sisters' First 100 Years last spring.

Amber Riley dropped in on The Graham Norton Show this week in support of her upcoming West End turn as Effie White in the first ever UK production of the 1980's classic musical, Dreamgirls. Watch the video below to catch one of the first glimpses of the production as Ms. Riley slays the iconic ballad, 'And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going'.

Check out the brand new artwork for the UK's first ever West End production of the musical theatre classic, Dreamgirls. In the picture. the show's stars, including Glee star, Amber Riley strike a pose in gold gowns and 60's style up do's. 

Hartford Stage Artistic Director Darko Tresnjak and Managing Director Michael Stotts announced today the cast and creative team for August Wilson's The Piano Lesson, directed by Jade King Carroll, who helmed our critically-acclaimed production of Having Our Say: The Delaney Sisters' First 100 Years last spring.

Signature Theatre's Jelly's Last Jam is a stylish and swanky affair that radiates with soulful energy.

Today's big news: Broadway's REBECCA scandal appears on CNBC's AMERICAN GREED, the stars of SOMETHING ROTTEN! visit Bryant Park, and FIDDLER ON THE ROOF welcomes a new 'Fruma-Sarah' tonight!

Signature Theatre's JELLY'S LAST JAM, directed by Signature Associate Artistic Director Matthew Gardiner (Signature's La Cage Aux Folles, West Side Story) and choreographed by Jared Grimes (Broadway's After Midnight), runs now through September 11 in Signature Theatre's intimate MAX Theatre. The musical about famed and notorious jazz entertainer Jelly Roll Morton by George C. Wolfe, Susan Birkenhead, and Luther Henderson features the music of Jelly Roll Morton. BroadwayWorld has a first look at the cast onstage below!

Signature Theatre's JELLY'S LAST JAM, directed by Signature Associate Artistic Director Matthew Gardiner (Signature's La Cage Aux Folles, West Side Story) and choreographed byJared Grimes (Broadway's After Midnight), runs now through September 11 in Signature Theatre's intimate MAX Theatre. The musical about famed and notorious jazz entertainer Jelly Roll Morton by George C. Wolfe, Susan Birkenhead, and Luther Henderson features the music of Jelly Roll Morton. Click below to watch highlights from the show!

The Daily Mail has reported that actress Lily Frazer will be joining the cast of Casey Nicholaw's upcoming premiere UK production of Harry Krieger and Tom Eyen's, Dreamgirls.

Below, check out the cast of Jelly's Last Jam in the rehearsal room, plus watch Signature's talented, hardworking tech crew transform the MAX Theatre from a drag club on the French Riviera in La Cage aux Folles to the Jungle Inn, a 1920s jazz club, for Jelly's Last Jam!

Signature Theatre's JELLY'S LAST JAM, directed by Signature Associate Artistic Director Matthew Gardiner (Signature's La Cage Aux Folles, West Side Story) and choreographed by Jared Grimes (Broadway's After Midnight), runs August 2 - September 11 in Signature Theatre's intimate MAX Theatre. The musical about famed and notorious jazz entertainer Jelly Roll Morton by George C. Wolfe, Susan Birkenhead, and Luther Henderson features the music of Jelly Roll Morton. Click below to watch a teaser for the show!

Signature Theatre has announced the cast of Jelly's Last Jam directed by Signature Associate Artistic Director Matthew Gardiner (Signature's La Cage Aux Folles, West Side Story) and choreographed by Jared Grimes (Broadway's After Midnight). The musical about famed and notorious jazz entertainer Jelly Roll Morton by George C. Wolfe, Susan Birkenhead, and Luther Henderson featuring the music of Jelly Roll Morton runs August 2 - September 11 in Signature Theatre's intimate MAX Theatre.

Friends, something exciting is going on at the Guthrie Theater. In the wake of (not unjustified) criticism about their lack of diversity onstage and backstage, they are currently presenting a 60-year-old play written by Alice Childress, one of the most important female African-American playwrights of the 20th Century, and directed by Valerie Curtis-Newton, the first African-American woman to ever direct on a Guthrie mainstage. And I'm happy to report that TROUBLE IN MIND succeeds on so many levels. First of all, it's hilarious, engaging, and entertaining, and offers a behind the scenes look at the theater world we love so well. But more importantly, it talks about racism, sexism, classism, ageism in a smart and nuanced way that has as much resonance in today's world as it did in the 1950s NYC theater world depicted in the play. I was fortunate enough to attend on a night when there was a post-show discussion with the cast, which just made the experience that much richer. The best and most important work of theater is to start conversations about the world we live in, give voice to everyone's stories, and in doing so help us to better understand our fellow human beings. Trouble in Mind, and the conversations it will hopefully spark amongst its audience, is a fantastic example of that.

Following last month's big news that GLEE and THE WIZ LIVE!'s Amber Riley will star as 'Effie' in the UK debut of DREAMGIRLS this winter, the star sat down with the Daily Mail's Baz Bamigboye to discuss her journey to the iconic role.

As BroadwayWorld reported just two days ago, GLEE and THE WIZ LIVE! star Amber Riley will take on the role of 'Effie' when DREAMGIRLS makes its UK debut at London's Savoy Theatre this winter. And Riley is no stranger to the musical's challenging anthems.

Big news in the DREAMGIRLS world tonight! The Daily Mail's Baz Bamigboye just revealed the news that GLEE and THE WIZ LIVE! star Amber Riley will play 'Effie' when the musical makes its UK debut at London's Savoy Theatre this winter.

Jade King Carroll directs an all-star cast in August Wilson's powerful play at McCarter Theatre.

A struggle between a family's enduring legacy and its chance for a brighter future takes center stage in The Piano Lesson: one of the most critically-acclaimed productions in August Wilson's landmark ten-play American Century Cycle.

A struggle between a family's enduring legacy and its chance for a brighter future takes center stage in The Piano Lesson: one of the most critically-acclaimed productions in August Wilson's landmark ten-play American Century Cycle.