CMSD Students Present 12th Annual All-City Musical BUBBLING BROWN SUGAR

The Cleveland Metropolitan School District (CMSD) will present its twelfth annual All-City Musical, Bubbling Brown Sugar to crown the District's 2010-11 series of All-City Arts Programming. The production features the talents of over fifty CMSD students from across the District and will take place on the stage of the Ohio Theatre at PlayhouseSquare, June 3 - 5, 2011. Tony Sias, Director of Arts Education for the Cleveland Metropolitan School District, co-directs the production with Kimberly Brown. The musical's book was written by Lofton Mitchell based on a concept by Rosetta LeNoire. The show's music is used with the permission of Amherst Records, Inc.

The twelfth annual All-City Musical is presented with generous support from The Abington Foundation, The Bruening Foundation, Cuyahoga Arts and Culture, The Human Fund and Kaiser Permanente. Chipotle will provide additional production support.

The All-City Musical is an enriching experience for the students involved in the production, according to Tony Sias, the director of the production for the ninth consecutive year. "The All-City Musical is an extraordinary program that provides students with a structured arts-based experience that refines individual talents, stimulates critical thinking, focuses creativity, strengthens social skills and affords students an informed perspective on the world," said Sias in a recent interview about the upcoming production. "These young people are amazing."

An exuberant musical revue, Bubbling Brown Sugar jams, jumps and jives with the legendary music that made Harlem swing during its renaissance. Through story and song, it relives the exhilarating era of Duke Ellington, Fats Waller and Cab Calloway. Memorable musical classics such as Take the "A" Train, St. Louis Blues, Sweet Georgia Brown, Ain't Misbehavin', Honeysuckle Rose, His Eye is on the Sparrow and others come to life onstage in a magical journey back through time. The musical invites audiences to stomp at the Savoy and kick their heels high again at the Cotton Club to some of the most popular Big Band, jazz, swing, blues and gospel music of the past ninety years. A Tony Award nominee for Best Musical, Bubbling Brown Sugar is a celebration of Harlem's influence on American culture.

The production team for the twelfth annual All-City Musical is a distinguished group of professional artists from across Northeast Ohio. Dr. David Manning Thomas, a music teacher at John Adams High School with a distinguished career in music, will serve as Musical Director for the production. An All-City Musical alum, Kevin Marr II will create Bubbling Brown Sugar's choreography. Terry J. Martin will serve as scenic designer while Esther Haberlen will design the richly textured costumes for the production. Colleen Dowling will design lights. Nathan Tulenson will create the production's soundscape.

Opening Night for the twelfth annual All-City Musical Bubbling Brown Sugar is scheduled for Friday, June 3rd at 7:30 p.m. The production will continue with a Saturday evening showing on June 4th at 7:30 p.m. and a closing matinee performance on Sunday, June 5th at 3:00 p.m.

All tickets for the twelfth annual All-City Musical, Bubbling Brown Sugar are $15 and are available by phone at (216) 241-6000, online at www.playhousesquare.org or by visiting The PlayhouseSquare Ticket Office. All seating is general admission.

Bubbling Brown Sugar is produced through special arrangement with Broadway Play Publishing Inc. The script to this play may be purchased from BPPI at BroadwayPlayPubl.com.

The primary goal of the Cleveland Metropolitan School District is to become a premier school district in the United States of America. CMSD is a continuous improvement district.

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