PlayhouseSquare Welcomes DRUMLINE LIVE!, 2/3

Created by the music team from 20th Century Fox's hit movie Drumline, "Drumline Live's" explosive choreography and spectacle is a marching band extravaganza that parades out of the football stadium and onto the stage.
 
Now in its second successful international tour, "Drumline Live" makes its Cleveland debut at PlayhouseSquare's State Theatre February 3rd at 8 pm.  This versatile cast of musicians and dancers brings non-stop energy and athleticism to an eclectic mix of sounds.  Equally at home with the great brass tradition or the hottest contemporary hip-hop, R&B or Motown, "Drumline Live" members have honed their precision with years of training in marching band programs across the southern United States.
 
The production promotes the tradition of the show-style marching band that began over 50 years ago at Florida A&M University, long considered the nation's preeminent black college marching band school. 
 
After the Civil War Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) were established mainly in the southeastern U.S. They were bastions of higher learning to give young black students an opportunity to become professionals during a time when colleges practiced entrance discrimination.
 
The HCBU marching bands began, as most did, to support the college football team.  They have since grown into a sport of their own, featuring characteristic high stepping, funky dance rhythms and imaginative repertoires ranging from classical to Top 40.
 
Celebrations of HBCU marching culminate in competitions such as the Big Southern Classic and the Bayou Classic, drawing over 60,000 fans each, testifying to the popularity of the sport.  But it is only recently, with films such as Drumline, that the tradition has begun to capture the imagination of the American public.
 
Tickets for "Drumline Live" at PlayhouseSquare Feb. 3rd at 8 pm are: $39.50; $29.50 and $20 & $10 Smart Seats, on sale at 216-241-6000; the Box Office or playhousesquare.org.