Jelly Roll! 1994 - Articles Page 23

After receiving rave reviews and playing to sold out audiences & standing ovations in over 200 performances, Marion J. Caffey's 3 Mo' Divas (www.3MoDivas.com) has been awarded its first PBS television special. '3 Mo' Divas (Smashing Musical Barriers)' will air nationally March 1st-10th and June 1st-15th. (check local listings for exact dates and times). In celebration of the PBS Special, 3 Mo' Divas will also release their debut CD 'Smashing Musical Barriers' on March 1st and a Hi-Def & Blu-Ray DVD recording of the PBS special on May 12th. 3 Mo' Divas brings down the house with thrilling performances of an amazing 10 styles of music, including Opera, Broadway, Jazz, Blues, R&B, Soul, Disco, Rock & Roll, Spiritual & Gospel. The show begins with the classical sounds of Puccini then segues into songs from hit Broadway musicals like Wicked, Ragtime and Rent. This is soon followed by hot and familiar tunes of Billie Holiday, Whitney Houston and Tina Turner. By the end of every performance, the Divas have audiences up out of their seats rockin', singing and dancing in the aisles. 3 Mo' Divas is an extraordinary musical event - all music, all passion and all fun. 3 Mo' Divas performs 10 styles of music, spanning 233 years and sung in 3 languages.

Magic, death, music, and transformation will take center stage in my cabaret style production of Jelly's Last Jam. On his last night on earth, Creole jazz man and self-proclaimed 'inventor of jazz' Jelly Roll Morton is visited by an otherworldly stranger. Helped by the denizens of the 'Jungle Inn,' The Chimney Man forces Jelly to replay, in a searingly honest key, the highest and lowest notes of his life. Jelly's Last Jam is an exploration of our cultural and artistic roots, an examination of the color of the soul, and an exorcism of the lies and deeds that haunt us. When we've 'given up the ghost,' what do we leave behind? JELLY'S LAST JAM Book by George C. Wolfe Lyrics by Susan Birkenhead Music by Jelly Roll Morton and Luther Henderson Directed by Patricia McGregor

Eminent artist friends and peers of this year's six honorees converged in Washington, D.C. last night (Dec. 7) to present entertaining and heartfelt tributes at THE 31ST ANNUAL KENNEDY CENTER HONORS, an entertainment special to be broadcast Tuesday, Dec. 30 (9:00-11:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network, with Caroline Kennedy as host for the sixth consecutive year.

Tony Award-winner Tonya Pinkins (Jelly's Last Jam, Caroline or Change) and Tracie Thoms (Broadway's Drowning Crow, TV's Cold Case) star in And Her Hair Went With Her, a tour de-force for two actors by Zina Camblin.

A weekly column on theater in the Baltimore/Washington area

On February 20th was BROADWAY BEARS VIII at B.B. King Blues Club in support of Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS.