Donald Byrd News

Oprah Winfrey, Scott Sanders and the producing team of the Broadway smash hit THE COLOR PURPLE, The Musical about Love, are proud to announce that Des Moines will host the North American Touring production of THE COLOR PURPLE for 8 performances, April 7 to 12, 2009.

Back by popular demand, the Broadway smash hit, Oprah Winfrey Presents The Color Purple, is returning to the Motor City! Don't miss out as this limited engagement arrives in Detroit for only eight performances, from Tuesday, April 14 through Sunday, April 19.

Oprah Winfrey, Scott Sanders and the producing team of the Broadway smash hit 'The Color Purple' are proud to announce that Ordway Center for the Performing Arts will host the first North American touring production of 'The Color Purple' from March 17 - 29, 2009. Tickets are on sale at ordway.org.

Oprah Winfrey, Scott Sanders and the producing team of the Broadway smash hit THE COLOR PURPLE, The Musical about Love, are proud to announce that Memphis will host the first North American Touring production of THE COLOR PURPLE for 8 performances from March 31- April 5, 2009. Tickets are $25-$85. Tickets are on-sale, but there is a very limited number left. They may be purchased at the Orpheum Box Office from 9am-5pm Monday through Friday, David-Kidd Booksellers, and all Ticketmaster locations. Charge by phone (901) 525-3000 or go online at www.orpheum-memphis.com.

The producers of THE COLOR PURPLE are proud to announce that American Idol Season 3 winner Fantasia Barrino will reprise her starring role of Celie for the Washington, D.C. engagement. The Kennedy Center will host the first North American Touring production of THE COLOR PURPLE for five weeks, June 30 - August 2, 2009. Tickets are on sale now.

Oprah Winfrey, Scott Sanders and the producing team of the Broadway smash hit 'The Color Purple' are proud to announce that Ordway Center for the Performing Arts will host the first North American touring production of 'The Color Purple' from March 17 - 29, 2009. Tickets are on sale at ordway.org.

Spectrum Dance Theater, Seattle Theatre Group's resident dance company, since 2006, presents Icono-Clan, a Mainstage production at The Moore Theatre on April 25th at 8:00pm and April 26th at 5:00pm. This evening-length production will celebrate three outstanding powerhouses of the American dance scene: Merce Cunningham, arguably the country's greatest living choreographer; Gus Solomons Jr., a seminal figure in postmodern and experimental dance; and Donald Byrd, the most unconventional provocateur and dance maker/thinker of our times.

Bristol Riverside Theatre presents the World Premiere of What You Will, a BRT original interpretation of Shakespeare's comedy Twelfth Night from February 10 through March 1, 2009. A daring and bold take on the classic comedy that combines the language of Shakespeare with contemporary rhythms and movement, What You Will is conceived and co-directed by BRT Artistic Director Keith Baker and Donald Byrd, acclaimed choreographer of Broadway's The Color Purple and Artistic Director of Seattle's Spectrum Dance Theater. Music direction and original music by hip hop producer Justin Ellington completes the marriage of text, high-energy movement and heart-pounding music. What You Will begins previews February 10, opens February 12, and closes March 1, 2009. Tickets are $29 - $37, with $10 student tickets, and are available by calling the Box Office at (215) 785-0100 or visiting the theatre at 120 Radcliffe Street in Bristol, with information online at www.brtstage.org. [A full performance schedule follows on page 4.] In this new interpretation, Shakespeare's original text is heard with a distinctively contemporary American voice as the worlds of modern urban and classical theatre are fused. In What You Will (Shakespeare's full title for the play was Twelfth Night, Or What You Will), the social center of Illyria is Club 12th Night - a place where pranks and disguises, playful games and folly rule. A shipwrecked woman stumbles into the club, beginning a chain of events leading to an astonishing conclusion. Mistaken identities, intrigue, music, a beautiful heiress, drunken partiers, and a spiteful servant merge with a hip-hop rhythm in Shakespeare's enchanting tale of revelry and love.

Award winning choreographer Lula Washington brings her riveting mix of athletic choreography, imaginative costumes and captivating theatricality to the Ordway Center for the Performing Arts on Friday, February 6 at 7:30 p.m. The performance is part of the 2008-09 planet Ordway Target World Dance Season.

Bristol Riverside Theatre presents the World Premiere of What You Will, a BRT original interpretation of Shakespeare's comedy Twelfth Night from February 10 through March 1, 2009. A daring and bold take on the classic comedy that combines the language of Shakespeare with contemporary rhythms and movement, What You Will is conceived and co-directed by BRT Artistic Director Keith Baker and Donald Byrd, acclaimed choreographer of Broadway's The Color Purple and Artistic Director of Seattle's Spectrum Dance Theater. Music direction and original music by hip hop producer Justin Ellington completes the marriage of text, high-energy movement and heart-pounding music. What You Will begins previews February 10, opens February 12, and closes March 1, 2009. Tickets are $29 - $37, with $10 student tickets, and are available by calling the Box Office at (215) 785-0100 or visiting the theatre at 120 Radcliffe Street in Bristol, with information online at www.brtstage.org. [A full performance schedule follows on page 4.] In this new interpretation, Shakespeare's original text is heard with a distinctively contemporary American voice as the worlds of modern urban and classical theatre are fused. In What You Will (Shakespeare's full title for the play was Twelfth Night, Or What You Will), the social center of Illyria is Club 12th Night - a place where pranks and disguises, playful games and folly rule. A shipwrecked woman stumbles into the club, beginning a chain of events leading to an astonishing conclusion. Mistaken identities, intrigue, music, a beautiful heiress, drunken partiers, and a spiteful servant merge with a hip-hop rhythm in Shakespeare's enchanting tale of revelry and love.

Award winning choreographer Lula Washington brings her riveting mix of athletic choreography, imaginative costumes and captivating theatricality to the Ordway Center for the Performing Arts on Friday, February 6 at 7:30 p.m. The performance is part of the 2008-09 planet Ordway Target World Dance Season. In this single Ordway presentation, Lula Washington Dance Theatre promises to take the audience on an emotional journey that explores the human condition through a mix of propulsive movement, honest expression and humor. Founded in 1980 with a $25 loan and a dream, the ensemble has risen to become one of the largest and most admired African-American dance companies in the West. Lula Washington is the main choreographer and the artistic 'voice' of the company. She augments her own work with choreography by famous artists such as Donald Byrd and Donald McKayle, and with the work of talented young choreographers, including Bernard Gaddis and soon, Christopher Huggins (both formerly of the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater). The company is known for exploring theatrical, entertaining, and energetic works that are accessible to all audiences. Choreography is set to a range of music from experimental to blues, including: Taj Mahal, Vivaldi, Bach, Chopin, John Coltrane, Bob Marley, and Duke Ellington. The company is composed of young, athletic dancers, many of whom were groomed in Lula's inner city dance studio where she works with children starting as young as three years old in a program called: 'I Do Dance, Not Drugs!' While Lula encourages her dancers to be excellent performers, she also instills in them a desire to teach and to engage the community of children and adults around them.

Oprah Winfrey, Scott Sanders and the producing team of the Broadway smash hit THE COLOR PURPLE, The Musical about Love, are proud to announce that the North American Touring production of THE COLOR PURPLE will return by popular demand to the Fox Theatre for eight performances, April 14 through 19. Tickets go on sale at 10 a.m. Friday, Jan. 23! Nominated for eleven Tony Awards?, including Best Musical, THE COLOR PURPLE opened on December 1, 2005 at the Broadway Theatre where it ran for over two record-breaking years. It is based on the classic Pulitzer Prize-winning novel by Alice Walker and the moving film by Steven Spielberg. It is the unforgettable and inspiring story of a woman named Celie, who finds the strength to triumph over adversity, and discover her unique voice in the world. With a joyous GRAMMY?-nominated score featuring gospel, jazz, pop and the blues, THE COLOR PURPLE is about hope and the healing power of love. Michael Kuchwara, the Associated Press described THE COLOR PURPLE as 'a Roof-Raising story of triumph.' And Richard Corliss of TIME Magazine said, '[it is] a soaring, epic tale. It made a joyful noise in my heart.' Elysa Gardner from USA Today raved, 'Pure heart! It celebrates the inspiring relationships of faith and love, A Broadway hit!'

Bristol Riverside Theatre is pleased to announce the winners of their highly successful First-Ever By The River Poetry Slam. The event, held last month, packed over 250 students, parents and friends into the theatre and showcased creative poetry works by 40 high school students from all over the area. Schools represented included Bristol High School, Harry S Truman High School, Burlington City High School, West Windsor-Plainsboro High School South, and Abington Friends School.

Oprah Winfrey, Scott Sanders and the producing team of the Broadway smash hit THE COLOR PURPLE, The Musical about Love, are proud to announce that Des Moines will host the North American Touring production of THE COLOR PURPLE for 8 performances, April 7 to 12, 2009. Tickets for THE COLOR PURPLE go on sale to the public at 10 a.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 20, 2009 at the Civic Center Ticket Office, all Ticketmaster locations, charge-by-phone at (515) 243-1888 and online at CivicCenter.org. Groups of 20 or more should call (515) 246-2300.

Bristol Riverside Theatre concludes its Bridges Informance Series with Donald Byrd's renowned Spectrum Dance Theatre on Friday, January 9. Byrd recently choreographed Broadway's Tony-nominated hit The Color Purple, and he is the collaborator and co-director for BRT's upcoming World Premiere of What You Will.

Bristol Riverside Theatre concludes its Bridges Informance Series with Donald Byrd's renowned Spectrum Dance Theatre on Friday, January 9. Byrd recently choreographed Broadway's Tony-nominated hit The Color Purple, and he is the collaborator and co-director for BRT's upcoming World Premiere of What You Will.

Bristol Riverside Theatre continues its Bridges Informance Series with visionary Hip Hop Theatre artist Will Power on Friday, December 5. Viewed as a pioneer in the genre of Hip Hop Theatre, Power has created his own style of theatrical communication, fusing original music, rhymed language and dynamic choreography to produce compelling evenings of work.

Bristol Riverside Theatre continues its Bridges Informance Series with visionary Hip Hop Theatre artist Will Power on Friday, December 5. Viewed as a pioneer in the genre of Hip Hop Theatre, Power has created his own style of theatrical communication, fusing original music, rhymed language and dynamic choreography to produce compelling evenings of work.

Bristol Riverside Theatre continues its Bridges Informance Series with renowned theatre artist Teo Castellanos on Friday, October 17. Castellanos' appearance will continue to introduce audiences to innovative performances as BRT gears up for the February 2009 World Premiere of What You Will, a BRT original urban theatre adaptation of Shakespeare's comedy Twelfth Night.

Bristol Riverside Theatre continues its Bridges Informance Series with renowned theatre artist Teo Castellanos on Friday, October 17. Castellanos' appearance will continue to introduce audiences to innovative performances as BRT gears up for the February 2009 World Premiere of What You Will, a BRT original urban theatre adaptation of Shakespeare's comedy Twelfth Night.