PERSONALITY: THE LLOYD PRICE MUSICAL to Complete Limited Engagement in Chicago This Month

 Personality: The Lloyd Price Musical, the critically acclaimed new musical celebrating the life, career, and unforgettable songs of Rock & Roll Hall of Fame legend Lloyd Price, including “Stagger Lee,” “Lawdy Miss Clawdy,” and his trademark song, “Personality,” will complete its limited engagement on Sunday, July 30. Future productions are planned in other cities, with details to be announced soon.

Book writer B. Jeffrey Madoff, who wrote Personality after becoming friends with Price and having extensive conversations with him, commented, “The unanimous critical acclaim and wildly enthusiastic audience reaction has been gratifying to witness.  We are grateful to be a part of Chicago’s great legacy of embracing new, independent musical theater productions and for helping to launch this show for its long, bright future ahead. It has also been an honor to help Chicago theatregoers discover the absolute jewel box that is the Studebaker Theatre. There are only three weeks left for audiences to experience this wonderfully entertaining musical about a legendary artist, and unsung hero. We urge people to see Personality while they can.”

Personality began performances on June 2, 2023 and opened June 14. at the beautifully renovated Studebaker Theater in the historic Fine Arts Building (410 South Michigan Avenue).

Tickets for Personality: The Lloyd Price Musical are available at PersonalityMusical.com. Convenient parking is available for $13 with validation from the box office in the Grant Park South Garage, just steps away from the theater.

The cast features Saint Aubyn (Broadway: Beautiful: The Carole King Musical, original cast of Ain’t Too Proud: The Life and Times of The Temptations) as Lloyd Price, Darian Peer (Choir Boy at Yale Rep, Part of the Plan at Tennessee Performing Arts Center) as Young Lloyd Price, Alexandria Reese (Intimate Apparel at Weathervane Theatre and Raisin at Axelrod Performing Arts Center) as Emma Price, and Stanley Wayne Mathis (Broadway: Jelly’s Last Jam, The Lion King, Kiss Me, Kate) as Harold Logan. The cast also includes Miles Boone as Little Richard/Olisaemeka, Brian Grey as Art Rupe, Donnie Hammond as Rosetta Tharpe/Ma Nora, Donterrio as Dave, Alanna Lovely as Ma Naan, DeMone Seraphin as Mr. Price/Don Robey, Karl Hamilton as Levy, and Uria Bennett, Christian Denzel Bufford, Sabrina Edwards, Marcus Hardy, Josh Houghton, Nissi Shalome, Christopher Henry Young and Whitney Wandland.

Book is by B. Jeffrey Madoff, based on extensive conversations with Price. Personality is directed by Sheldon Epps (the Tony and Olivier-nominated Blues in the Night), choreographed by Edgar Godineaux (Associate Choreographer for Broadway’s Ain’t Too Proud: The Life and Times of the Temptations, Memphis), and musically directed by Shelton Becton (Broadway and HBO’s Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar & Grill with Audra McDonald).

The World Premiere of Personality: The Lloyd Price Musical played in 2022 at People’s Light in Malvern, PA.

From humble beginnings in his hometown of Kenner, Louisiana, Lloyd Price overcame incredible obstacles on his way to a revolutionary musical career. As a young Black rec0rding artist in the segregated Deep South of the pre-Civil Rights Era, Price’s success was even more remarkable. Armed with determination and a soulful sound, Price skyrocketed to stardom in 1952 when his single “Lawdy Miss Clawdy” hit No. 1 on the R&B charts, making him the first teenager to sell over a million records and to earn a Gold Record. Price became a crossover hit, popular with both Black and white kids, shattering the “race records” barrier. However, the path to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame was a winding one: immediately after the success of his first record, he was drafted to fight in the Korean War in 1953. But Price, a master of reinvention, would find his footing time and again. He became the first Black man to open a nightclub below Harlem in New York City, and the first recording artist of any color to create his own record label, generating more hits like “Stagger Lee” and “Personality,” and spreading the New Orleans R&B sound throughout the world.

Scenic design is by Tony Award winner David Gallo (The Drowsy Chaperone) and Viveca Gardiner (Miss Maude, Big Apple Circus), costume design is by Raquel Adorno (Chicago Shakespeare Theatre, Northlight Theatre, Writers Theatre), lighting design is by Tony Award winner Jeff Croiter (Peter and the Starcatcher), sound design is by Tony Award winner Rob Kaplowitz (Fela!) and Jordan Tani, projections are by David Gallo and Steve Channon (Memphis, The Mountaintop), and hair, wig and make-up design is by J. Jared Janas (Good Night, Oscar, &Juliet). Production Stage Manager is Shawn Pryby.

 

B. Jeffrey Madoff 

(Book) began his career in fashion, becoming one of the top 10 designers in the US before switching careers to film and video production. He has directed award-winning documentaries and web content for clients around the world, including Ralph Lauren, Tiffany, and Radio City Music Hall. Madoff is an Adjunct Professor at Parsons School of Design, and his bestselling book, Creative Careers: Making a Living with Your Ideas, is based on the class he teaches. He has been a featured speaker at Wharton School, Princeton University, NYU Steinhardt, NC State and Google Next on the topics of creating a brand and creativity. In the fall of 2022 Madoff curated and moderated a series of panels on Recasting the Artist as Entrepreneur sponsored by the Tsai Center for Innovative Thinking at Yale University. He is on the Board of Advisors for Artolution, a global organization that is focused on developing local leaders in the arts to use collaborative artmaking as a tool for communities to share their stories with the world. Madoff graduated with honors from the University of Wisconsin with degrees in philosophy and psychology.
 

Lloyd Price 

(1933-2021) (Music & Lyrics). Lloyd Price’s first song, “Lawdy Miss Clawdy,” was released in 1952. It hit #1 and was “R&B Record of the Year” in both Billboard and Cashbox magazines. Price was awarded Cashbox’s “Best New R&B Singer of 1952.” “Lawdy” was the first song by a teenager to sell over a million copies, knocking down the race music wall and opening the doors to both Black and young musicians. His career came to a halt when he was drafted and sent to Korea. Before he left, he got Little Richard his first recording contract. When Price returned home, he released two of his biggest hits back-to-back, “Personality” and “Stagger Lee.” As an entrepreneur, Price was the first musician of any color to start his own label as well as the first Black person to open a nightclub below Harlem in New York City. In 1995, “Lawdy” was added to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame’s list of the “500 Songs That Shaped Rock and Roll.” Price was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1998.
 

Sheldon Epps 

(Director) was Artistic Director of the renowned Pasadena Playhouse for two decades. Currently he continues to serve The Playhouse as Artistic Director Emeritus. He has also served as Artistic Advisor for Theatre Under the Stars in Houston. Prior to that he was Associate Artistic Director of The Old Globe Theatre. Mr. Epps has directed numerous plays and musicals at many of the country’s major theatres including Roundabout Theatre Company, Manhattan Theatre Club, the Guthrie, Playwrights Horizons, Seattle Repertory Theatre, Arena Stage, Ford’s Theatre, and The Goodman Theatre. He conceived and directed the highly acclaimed musicals Play On! and Blues in the Night, which both received Tony Award nominations on Broadway. Blues was also nominated as Best Musical for the prestigious Olivier Award in London. He also co-directed the Tony-nominated production of Baby, It's You! Mr. Epps also has had a busy career as a television director helming episodes of shows such as “Frasier,” “Friends,” “Everybody Loves Raymond,” “Girlfriends,” the new Netflix series “The Upshaws,” and many others. He is a longtime board member of the Society of Directors and Choreographers, and currently serves on the SDC Foundation Board of Trustees. He is the recipient of the prestigious Alumni Achievement Award from his alma mater Carnegie Mellon University. Recently he was appointed Senior Artistic Advisor at Ford’s Theatre in Washington, DC.
 

Shelton Becton 

(Music Supervisor) is a pianist, vocalist, composer, arranger, conductor, and vocal coach. He has served as the musical director for many heralded singers such as Judy Collins, Patti Austin, Phylicia Rashad and Roberta Flack. His Broadway credits include Lady Day at Emerson's Bar and Grill with Audra McDonald, Shuffle Along...directed by George C. Wolfe, The Wiz, Ain't Misbehavin', The Color Purple, Memphis, and Baby It's You! He recently received the ‘VIV’ (Audelco) Award for Outstanding Music Director for the CSC production of Carmen Jones.
 

Edgar Godineaux 

(Choreographer). Awards include Barrymore Award for Outstanding Choreography/Movement (Lights Out: Nat "King" Cole) and NAACP nomination for Best Director/Choreography for Larger Theatre in LA (Memphis the Musical). Current projects include choreography for The Harder They Come at The Public Theater, co-directed by Tony Taccone and Sergio Trujillo. Godineaux has a collaborative relationship with Trujillo and was Associate Choreographer for Ain't Too Proud – The Life and Times of The Temptations (Tony Award, Best Choreography), Memphis the Musical (Tony Award, Best Musical; Olivier Award, Best Choreography), Leap of Faith, and Flashdance the Musical. As a dance performer, Godineaux toured with Michael Jackson, Mariah Carey, Karyn White and Diana Ross. He has performed on “Dancing with The Stars,” “Sunday Night at the Palladium,” the Oscars, AMAs, Grammy Awards, MTV Awards, Emmys, and Motown 30th Anniversary (associate choreographer). Broadway performance credits include Aida, Swing!, The Pajama Game, Dance of the Vampires, and Merrily We Roll Along (Kennedy Center). TV and film credits as a performer include “Law & Order” (CI & SVU), “Glee,” “How I Met Your Mother,” and as a choreographer include “Dancing with the Stars,” “SYTYCD Canada,” “Awkwafina is Nora from Queens,” Chicago, Jersey Boys (associate choreographer), and The Five Heartbeats (associate choreographer). He was associate choreographer to Hinton Battle for Idlewild, Boldin, and The Great Observer.
 

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