I WANNA BE EVIL: THE EARTHA KITT STORY Announced At Hollywood Fringe.
From croaker sack to Chinchilla, Orson Welles called Eartha Kitt "the most exciting woman in the world". But in 1968 she was blacklisted for "making the 1st Lady cry." "I Want To Be Evil" chronicles Eartha's destitute childhood, her affair with the Revlon heir, her kinship with Sammy Davis Jr. and her volatile relationship with Hollywood.
Born Eartha Mae Keith, January 17, 1927, Kitt was an American Singer, Actress, Dancer, Activist, Poet, Songwriter, Author, and Voiceover artist with a highly distinctive singing style which lent itself to such hits as Santa Baby, Monotonous, C'est Si Bon, Uska Dara and Just an Old Fashioned Girl to name a few. In 1950, Orson Welles gave her the starring role as Helen of Troy in his staging of Dr. Faustus. But she was introduced to the world in 1952 in the musical revue New Faces of 1952. Kitt went on to star in such films as The Mark of the Hawk, St. Louis Blues, and Anna Lucasta. In the late 1960's, Kitt was featured as America's sexiest cat; Catwoman, in the Batman series. Yet in 1968, Kitt was blacklisted from Hollywood for allegedly making The First Lady Lady Bird Johnson cry for her comments about the Vietnam War at an invite only White House luncheon. For 10 years Kitt's career suffered and she decided to travel overseas. It wasn't until 1978 that Kitt made her return to Broadway in the Broadway musical Timbuktu, directed by Geoffrey Holder, which garnered Kitt a Tony nomination for Best Actress in a musical. Kitt's career kept picking up steam until she died of colon cancer on Christmas Day 2008, with her beloved daughter, Kitt Shapiro, by her side.
Written, and Executive Produced by Jenelle Lynn Randall, "I Wanna Be Evil" will be performed by Randall as "larger than life" Kitt, at the 2019 Hollywood Fringe Festival at Theater Asylum's Studio C - 6448 Santa Monica Blvd, LA, CA 90038
"I Wanna Be Evil: The Eartha Kitt Story" from Jenelle Randall on Vimeo.
Director: Yvans Jourdain
Musical Director: Ron Barnett
Producers: Keith Berkes and Olan de la Paz
Starring: Jenelle Lynn Randall as Eartha Kitt
and Darrell Phillip as Charles Revson / Arthur Low / Bill McDonald
Performance Dates:
· Sunday, June 16, 2019 @ 4pm
· Saturday, June 22 @ 8:30pm
· Thursday, June 27 @ 7pm
Running time: 60 minutes
Ticket Price: $20 – http://hff19.org/5829
"I Wanna Be Evil: The Eartha Kitt Story" from Jenelle Randall on Vimeo.
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