Amas Musical Theatre Hosts Gala In Honor of Rashad

Amas Musical Theatre (Donna Trinkoff, Producing Artistic Director; Rosetta LeNoire, Founder), will celebrate its 39th year with a Gala evening on Monday, March 31st featuring a special "Blast from the Past" concert performance of Mama, I Want to Sing, a star-studded concert of the gospel, pop, and rhythm and blues hit musical that began at Amas in the early nineteen eighties.

The Amas Gala will honor Tony Award winning actress and star of the current Broadway revival Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, Phylicia Rashad and PricewaterhouseCoopers with "The Rosie Award", named for Amas Founder Rosetta LeNoire.

Donna Trinkoff, Producing Artistic Director of Amas Musical Theatre, said "We honor Phylicia for her wonderful lifetime achievements and breakthrough career on stage and screen. She is an inspiration to us all! And we honor PricewaterhouseCoopers for continuing leadership as one of America's Top Ten companies embracing diversity in the workplace."

Mama, I Want to Sing is the long-running Off-Broadway musical sensation about the gospel singer who aspires to pop stardom. Mama, I Want to Sing, book and lyrics by Vy Higginson and Ken Wydro, with original music by Rudolph V. Hawkins, Pat Holley, Steven Taylor, and Doris Troy.  This production will be directed by Amas Artist in Residence Rajendra Ramoon Maharaj, with musical direction by David Alan Bunn and choreography by Michael Susko and James Harkness.

It will feature a cast that includes Maurice Hines as the DJ,  Capathia Jenkins as Mama (Martin Short, Caroline or Change), Brandi Chavonne Massey (The Color Purple, Wicked, Caroline or Change) as Sister Carrie, Ted Louis Levy (Black and Blue, Tony Nomination - Best Chorography Jelly's Last Jam, Thou Shalt Not) as Minister of Music, Ahmaya Knoelle Higginson as Doris Winter, and Tony Award winner Chuck Cooper as Reverend Winter along with Tony Award Winner Melba Moore. Also featured in the cast are Chaundra Cameron, Danielle Chambers, Ryan Duncan, Jessica Fields, Carmen Ruby Flloyd, Robert H. Fowler, McKenzie Frye, Jene Hernandez, Vanessa A. Jones, Ano Okera, John Eric Parker, Christopher Zelno.

The evening festivities will include the presentation of the fourth annual Rosetta LeNoire Scholarship,  which is given to a deserving college-bound student attending Amas' theatre arts education program, The Rosetta LeNoire Musical Theatre Academy. 

The event will take place on Monday, March 31st at New World Stages (340 West 50th Street). Performances begins at 7 PM followed by cocktails and buffet dinner at Puttanesca (859 Ninth Ave). Ticket prices are $125, $200 and $500.  For additional information and reservations  visit www.amasmusical.org or call (212) 744-1048 or (212) 563-2565.

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