Soho Rep Begins Previews for FEED, 12/29

Off-Broadway's eleven-time Obie Award-winning Soho Rep will continue FEED - its popular literary and humanities program, with four slated events surrounding JOMAMA JONES * RADIATE - which begins previews at Soho Rep (46 Walker Street) on December 29 prior to officially opening on January 4, 2011 - including talks with playwright and actor Taylor Mac, singer Nona Hendrix (one third of the seminal female singing group "Labelle"), a record release party held at Soho Rep for RADIATE, and more, it has been announced by Soho Rep Artistic Director Sarah Benson. Additionally, there will be a special New Year's Eve performance and party with JOMAMA JONES * RADIATE on December 31st, with an open bar, champagne toast, and a chance for audience members to make their Soho Rep stage debut and perform with Jomama Jones.

On New Years Eve - December 31 - there will be a special performance of JOMAMA JONES * RADIATE followed by a chance to ring in the new year with the diva herself...Jomama Jones! There will be an open bar, midnight champagne toast and a chance for audience members to make their Soho Rep stage debut and perform with Ms. Jones and her band. Tickets for this special performance and party are $50 and can be purchased through the Soho Rep website - www.sohorep.org.

Following the January 6th performance of JOMAMA JONES * RADIATE, at 9:00pm will be the first of four FEED events - a moderated discussion between the RADIATE creative team and the show's design and production team moderated by Soho Rep Literary and Humanities Manager Raphael Martin. Performing Gender will be the FEED event on January 7th at 9:00pm, a conversation with playwright/actor Taylor Mac (THE LILY'S REVENGE), MilDred Gerestant (the artist formerly known as Dred) and Daniel Alexander Jones in conversation with Djola Branner - associate professor of theatre at Hampshire College. On January 13 at 9:00pm will be Jomama Jones' Record Release Party, a special benefit performance with open bar. Audience members will get a chance to purchase RADIATE - signed exclusively by Ms. Jones and chat about the show. And finally, on January 14 at 9:00pm the question is posed "What is a Diva?" to a quartet including Ms. Jones, Professor Deborah Paredez of the University of Austin, moderator Rich Juwziak (creator of the blog FourFour and a VH1 journalist) and very special guest Nona Hendrix (one third of the seminal female singing group "Labelle" - best known for their song "Lady Marmalade.")

Jomama Jones - the dynamic and legendary performer last seen in NY in SRO engagements at Joe's Pub -- makes her U.S. comeback next month at Soho Rep and kicks off a national tour with her newest show, JOMAMA JONES * RADIATE. A tale that speaks to the "comeback" in all of us, JOMAMA JONES * RADIATE combines Jomama's unique style of story and song, inviting theatre goers to share her journey into the unknown. Jones' bewitching, emotional and hilarious performance transcends mere hope or cynicism as she sets out on her own to seek authenticity, love and strength of soul. Jomama's latest CD, RADIATE will be released in tandem with the show.

Jomama Jones first burst on to the scene in the early 1980's with R&B hits like "Ghetto (In My Mind)" and "Afromatic" -making her an instant fan favorite. She graced the cover of magazines and made the rounds of the hip TV shows of the day (her appearances on Soul Train and Solid Gold are the stuff of legend). She starred in the science fiction cult classic SISTER SOUL AND THE COLONIZERS FROM MARS. But her conflict with the politics of the day led her to renounce her US career and leave the country in pursuit of other dreams. She spent the next several years traveling extensively - both without and within. Then, in 2009, Jomama began laying the groundwork for her return to the US. She collaborated with wunderkind musician, Bobby Halvorson and crafted the album, LONE STAR. She convened a new backing group, the Sweet Peaches. She made select appearances in the States, building her momentum with Standing-Room-Only gigs including her sold-out LONE STAR CD release concert at Joe's Pub in New York City.

Directed by Kym Moore with music direction by Bobby Halvorson, JOMAMA JONES * RADIATE features Jomama Jones and her Sweet Peaches. The JOMAMA JONES * RADIATE band is led by Bobby Halvorson and features: Ted Cruz, Sean Dixon, Michael O'Brien and Kelly Rossum.

Design team for JOMAMA JONES * RADIATE is Arnulfo Maldonado (Set Design), Lucrecia Briceno (Lighting Design), Oana Botez-Ban (Costume Design), and Nick Kourtides (Sound Design). The show was developed in collaboration with New Dramatists, as part of New Dramatists' Full Stage NYC, supported by funds from the City of New York Theater Subdistrict Council, LDC, the City of New York, and Time Warner.

Kym Moore (Director) is the Gerard Visiting Assistant Professor of Theatre Arts and Performance Studies at Brown University where she teaches acting and directing. Her directing credits include: for colored girls that have considered suicide when the rainbow is enuf (Penumbra Theatre); KHMER AMERIKA (HereArts Center); BLACK, OUTSIDE, and THE DATE (The Women's Project); MUSES (The Boston Center for the Arts); COVER (Semi-Finalist Samuel French Festival); ADVENTURES OF A BLACK GIRL IN SEARCH OF GOD (The Workshop Theatre); and LE HOT BLU: AN AMERICAN SYNCOPATED MUSICAL (Assoc. Dir; Manhattan Theatre Club).

Bobby Halvorson (Music Director) is a Los Angeles-based composer and multi-instrumentalist. He has composed two musicals with librettist, David Murray, the most recent entitled, BERMUDA. Bobby holds a BFA from UC Santa Barbara, and an MFA in Music Composition from CalArts.

Now in its 34th year, Soho Rep's 2010-11 season is the fourth under the leadership of Artistic Director, Sarah Benson, and the third for Executive Director, Tania Camargo. Soho Rep is dedicated to cultivating and producing visionary, uncompromising, and exuberant new plays. They perform to one of the youngest adult audiences in New York City, with over three-quarters of its audience aged 18-40.

Critics continue to herald Soho Rep as the go-to theatre destination for new and original works. New York Magazine states, "this indispensable theater offers more excitement per chair than any space in town," Time Out New York says, "Soho Rep is the best theater in NYC (official)," Variety exclaims "[Soho Rep] has claimed an increasingly vital spot...the venue has suddenly become one to watch for Manhattan theatergoers starved for new work," and the New York Times declares Soho Rep to be "one of the most daring companies."

Dan Le Franc was recently awarded the New York Times Outstanding Playwright Award for the Soho Rep production of his play SIXTY MILES TO SILVER LAKE in 2009. Over the last decade, Soho Rep productions have garnered eleven OBIE Awards -- most recently for Sarah Benson (director) and Louisa Thompson (set designer) for the critically acclaimed New York premiere of Sarah Kane's BLASTED; six Drama Desk nominations, two for BLASTED (Outstanding Director of a Play - Sarah Benson and Outstanding Actor in a Play - Reed Birney) and four for their critically acclaimed production of FRANKENSTEIN, the Oppenheimer Award for EVERYTHING WILL BE DIFFERENT, and two Kesselring Awards for Melissa James Gibson and Mark Schultz. In recent years, Soho Rep has presented plays by established and emerging theatre artists such as Richard Maxwell, Mac Wellman, Dan LeFranc, Nature Theater of Oklahoma, Young Jean Lee and The Flying Machine.

Scheduled December 29 through January 15, performance schedule for JOMAMA JONES varies (see end of release for specifics). Tickets are $25 general admission, $35 premium reserved seats, and $15 day-of student rush. Tickets for the December 31st performance of JOMAMA JONES * RADIATE will be $50 and include a special New Year's Eve Show & Party. Tickets can be reserved by calling TheaterMania at 212-352-3101 or online at www.sohorep.org.

For additional information about Soho Rep., call 212-941-8632 or visit www.sohorep.org.

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