Beef & Boards Celebrates Duke Ellington With SOPHISTICATED LADIES

This summer, Beef & Boards Dinner Theatre celebrates 100 years since legendary jazz pianist and composer Duke Ellington moved to New York City to perform in Broadway nightclubs with Sophisticated Ladies, a stylish and brassy retrospective of The Duke's musical legacy now on stage.

After moving to New York City in 1923 to perform in such legendary venues as the Exclusive Club in Harlem and the Hollywood Club, Ellington would go on to have extended residencies at the Cotton Club in Harlem. It is this period that is celebrated in Act I, with songs including “It Don't Mean A Thing,” “Don't Get Around Much Anymore,” “'A' Train,” and “Hit Me With A Hot Note And Watch Me Bounce.”

Act II explores the private man as captured in his music, featuring “I'm Beginning To See The Light,” “Satin Doll,” I Got It Bad And That Ain't Good,” and “Sophisticated Lady.” Ellington recorded with such talents as Louis Armstrong, Ella Fitzgerald, Coleman Hawkins, John Coltrane, and Charles Mingus. Sophisticated Ladies is a high-stepping salute inspired by the glamorous nightlife and sensuous highlife of Ellington, who would go on to tour Europe, Asia, West Africa, and South America, in addition to North America.

Making their Beef & Boards debuts in Sophisticated Ladies are Darius-Anthony Robinson, Yvette Monique Clark, Kelliann Decarlo, Zachary Dyer, Arika Lynn Casey, and Gigi Huang. Returning to the Beef & Boards stage are Tiffany Gilliam (An American in Paris, Beehive, Joseph Perkins Jr. (Hello, Dolly!, The Drowsy Chaperone), Sean Blake (Run For Your Wife, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat), and Jonny Rouse (Singin' in the Rain). Understudies are Jonathan Studdard and Amy Owens. Sophisticated Ladies is directed and choreographed by Kenney M. Greene-Tilford, with musical direction by Tenéh B. C. Karimu. 

Sophisticated Ladies is on stage for 38 performances through Aug. 20 in the intimate space of Beef & Boards Dinner Theatre. Tickets range from $52.50 to $79.50 and include Chef Larry Stoops' dinner buffet and select beverages. 

To purchase tickets online, visit beefandboards.com. Tickets are also available by calling the Beef & Boards Dinner Theatre Box Office at 317.872.9664 anytime between 10 a.m. and 7 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday (from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesdays). Discounts are available to groups of 20 or more; contact the Group Sales Department at 317.876.0503 for more details. For more information, including the complete show schedule, visit beefandboards.com. 

Sophisticated Ladies is sponsored in part by The Indianapolis Recorder Newspaper.

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