Photo Coverage: Amas Musical Theatre Honors Rashad

Amas Musical Theatre (Donna Trinkoff, Producing Artistic Director; Rosetta LeNoire, Founder), celebrated its 39th year with a Gala evening on Monday, March 31st featuring a special "Blast from the Past" concert performance of Mama, I Want to Sing, a star-studded concert of the gospel, pop, and rhythm and blues hit musical that began at Amas in the early nineteen eighties.

The Amas Gala honored Tony Award winning actress and star of the current Broadway revival Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, Phylicia Rashad and PricewaterhouseCoopers with "The Rosie Award", named for Amas Founder Rosetta LeNoire.

Donna Trinkoff, Producing Artistic Director of Amas Musical Theatre, said "We honor Phylicia for her wonderful lifetime achievements and breakthrough career on stage and screen. She is an inspiration to us all! And we honor PricewaterhouseCoopers for continuing leadership as one of America's Top Ten companies embracing diversity in the workplace."

Mama, I Want to Sing is the long-running Off-Broadway musical sensation about the gospel singer who aspires to pop stardom. Mama, I Want to Sing, book and lyrics by Vy Higginson and Ken Wydro, with original music by Rudolph V. Hawkins, Pat Holley, Steven Taylor, and Doris Troy.  This production was directed by Amas Artist in Residence Rajendra Ramoon Maharaj, with musical direction by David Alan Bunn and choreography by Michael Susko and James Harkness.

It featured a cast including Maurice Hines as the DJ,  Capathia Jenkins as Mama (Martin Short, Caroline or Change), Brandi Chavonne Massey (The Color Purple, Wicked, Caroline or Change) as Sister Carrie, Ted Louis Levy (Black and Blue, Tony Nomination - Best Chorography Jelly's Last Jam, Thou Shalt Not) as Minister of Music, Ahmaya Knoelle Higginson as Doris Winter, and Tony Award winner Chuck Cooper as Reverend Winter along with Tony Award Winner Melba Moore. Also featured in the cast were Chaundra Cameron, Danielle Chambers, Ryan Duncan, Jessica Fields, Carmen Ruby Floyd, Robert H. Fowler, McKenzie Frye, Jene Hernandez, Vanessa A. Jones, Ano Okera, John Eric Parker, Christopher Zelno.

The evening festivitie included the presentation of the fourth annual Rosetta LeNoire Scholarship,  which is given to a deserving college-bound student attending Amas' theatre arts education program, The Rosetta LeNoire Musical Theatre Academy.

For additional information and reservations  visit www.amasmusical.org 

Eric Krebs (Chairman, Amas Musical Theatre)

Brian Dougher (PricewaterhouseCooper)

Leslie Uggams

Maurice Hines

Phylicia Rashad and Maurice Hines

Carmen Ruby Floyd

Capathia Jenkins

Vanessa A. Jones

Ahmaya Knoelle Higginson, McKenzie Frye, John Eric Parker, Jessica Fields and Brandi Chavonne Massey

James Harkness and company

James Harkness and company

James Harkness, Ahmaya Knoelle Higginson , Brandi Chavonne Massey and company

James Harkness and Ahmaya Knoelle Higginson

Danielle Chambers

Ahmaya Knoelle Higginson and Chuck Cooper

Ahmaya Knoelle Higginson and Chuck Cooper

Ahmaya Knoelle Higginson and Chuck Cooper

Capathia Jenkins and Ahmaya Knoelle Higginson

Ahmaya Knoelle Higginson

Brandi Chavonne Massey

Melba Moore

Finale

Eric Krebs and Donna Trinkoff (Amas Musical Theater Producing Director)

Lillian Crystal Collazo and Phylicia Rashad

Phylicia Rashad and Billie Allen

Danielle Chambers and Leslie Uggams

Carmen Ruby Floyd and McKenzie Frye

Leslie Uggams and Brian Dougher

Vy Higginson, Cissy Houston, Geoffrey Holder, Phylicia Rashad and Ken Wydro

Ken Jocelyn and Alia Jones

Doug Benson, Christopoher Scott and Donna Trinkoff

Ano Okera and David Allen Bunn

Vy Higginson and Ahmaya Knoelle Higginson

Stewart Lane and Leslie Uggams

Geoffrey Holder

Rajendra Ramoon Maharaj and Vy Vy Higginson

Antyon Le Monte Smith and Melba Moore

Oksana Baiul

Group Shot

Photo Credit: Rob Rich (www.nysocialscene.com, www.societyallure.com)