3 Mo' Divas PBS Special, CD and DVD Due Out This Spring

By: Feb. 23, 2009
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Marion J. Caffey's 3 Mo' Divas has been awarded its first PBS Television Special! After receiving rave reviews and playing to sold out audiences & standing ovations "3 Mo' Divas (Smashing Musical Barriers)" will air nationally March 1st-10th and June 1st-15th (WLIW in NYC on March 10th @ 8pm - check local listings for exact dates and times in other areas). 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.

3 Mo' Divas is the brainchild of Broadway writer/director Marion J. Caffey who also had a huge success on PBS with his Three Mo' Tenors. Vocal versatility is the key to the success of the "Mo' Music" concept. The uniqueness of these ladies lies in their ability to sing an unprecedented, 10 styles of music while maintaining the integrity of each style. In other words, opera sounds like opera, jazz like jazz and gospel like gospel. 3 Mo' Divas embodies a musical repertoire of extraordinary breadth. Their aim is to smash the musical barriers that frequently define most classical singers.

Mr. Caffey commented, "This theatrically staged concert introduces three of the most versatile voices on the planet: Laurice "Take No Prisoners" Lanier, "Super" Nova Payton, and Jamet "Smooth & Sexy" Pittman. The show is great comfort food for the soul - like 3 cups of Hot Musical Chocolate on a cold winter's night."

3 Mo' Divas will subsequently be performing two shows live at the world famous Apollo Theater (253 W. 125th Street) on June 20th, The Cerritos Center (Cerritos, CA) on April 10th and 11th, The Geva Theater (Rochester, NY) from July 7th - August 9th, and The Lyric Theater (Baltimore, MD) on October 2nd. More tour dates in the works. Please check the website. www.3modivas.com

Marion J. Caffey (Creator, Producer and Director) Mr. Caffey began his career as a song and dance man performing in the US and around the world for more than 13 years. He now completely dedicates himself to conception, writing, producing and directing. With the Broadway opening of his Street Corner Symphony, Marion has the rare distinction of having written, directed, performed and choreographed on/for the Broadway stage. Marion most recently became the Executive Producer of Amateur Night at the world famous Apollo Theater. In 2006 Marion was chosen as Creative Producer of the Ceremonial Groundbreaking for the Martin Luther King, Jr. National Memorial in Washington, D.C. which featured luminaries such as Oprah Winfrey, Presidents George Bush, William Clinton and President, then Senator, Barack Obama. The event was hosted by Tavis Smiley and Soledad O'Brien.

His first writing effort Cookin' at the Cookery (The Music and Times of Alberta Hunter), has run for over 11 years in 40 productions, and has garnered many awards and nominations including New York's Drama Desk, Drama League and The New York Times critics choice as best musical of 2003. He has also served as director and/or choreographer on Crowns, Bowfire, Blackbirds of Broadway, Chicago, Forever Plaid, Jelly Roll: The Music and the Man, Little Shop of Horrors, Tintypes, Ain't Misbehavin', Purlie Victorious, Ruthless, Lady Day at Emerson's Bar & Grill, Spunk, The Colored Museum and many other productions.

Caffey's Three Mo' Tenors, the first in the "Mo' Music" concept opened in New York City to rave reviews in August 2000 and has since appeared on NBC's "Today Show," CNN, "Good Morning America," The White House, Kennedy Center, The Mark Twain Awards, Fox News, NAACP Image Awards Show. They also recorded a CD and DVD for RCA. The concert was awarded its own PBS Great Performances TV special. Most recently the show opened Off-Broadway at the Little Shubert Theater in New York to rave reviews and standing ovations. ...Tenors continues to tour around the world. See www.threemotenorsontour.com

Laurice Lanier (Diva) a graduate of the Juilliard School was last seen on Broadway in Baz Luhrmann's production of Puccini's La Bohème and has performed at Carnegie Hall as a Leontyne Price Showcase Winner.

NOVA Y. PAYTON (Diva) a native of Washington, DC, is known for her vibrant performance in Dreamgirls. She is smashing the vocal boundaries of Classical, R&B, Jazz and Broadway and waits not-so-patiently for the world to discover her - hurry up world!

Jamet Pittman (Diva) made her Carnegie Hall debut with a performance of Mendelssohn's A Midsummer Night's Dream. She has sung with the NY Philharmonic under the baton of Zubin Mehta as well as performing in Porgy and Bess at New York City Opera. She was last seen on Broadway in Baz Luhrmann's production of La Bohème.

Joseph Joubert (Musical Supervision, Arrangements & Orchestrations) a Grammy nominated Joubert is currently on Broadway with Elton John's Billy Elliot, and previously with Oprah Winfrey's The Color Purple. Other credits include: Labelle reunion CD, Caroline or Change; Three Mo' Tenors, Porgy and Bess Five Guys Named Moe; Big River. As a solo artist, Joseph has performed at Carnegie Hall and collaborated with such artist as Kathleen Battle, Ashford and Simpson, Diana Ross, Whitney Houston, and Luther Vandross.

PBS/CD/DVD PRODUCTION TEAM - Acorn Media, Denver Center for the Performing Arts, HDNET, MariMo' Music Inc., Maryland Public Television, Third Rail Productions. Directed for television by William Cosel.


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