Birth Place: Chattanooga, TN, USA
Latest News on Bessie Smith:
Tony Award winner and original Dreamgirls star Jennifer Holliday brought the house down at 54 Below with a powerful performance of “I Am Changing,” the signature anthem she made famous on Broadway.
An all new trailer has been released for the Tony nominated Broadway musical 'A NIGHT WITH JANIS JOPLIN' playing at London's Peacock Theatre for a limited run from August 20th. Check out the video here!
Jennifer Holliday, the Tony and Grammy Award-winning original star of Dreamgirls, appeared on Tamron Hall for a special performance of “And I’m Telling You I’m Not Going.' Holliday won a Grammy Award for the performance of the show-stopping Dreamgirls song and her Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical for playing Effie White. Watch the video!
Award-winning Porchlight Music Theatre latest mainstage production the “Best Musical” Tony Award-nominated Blues in the Night, conceived by Sheldon Epps, with the music of Bessie Smith, Johnny Mercer, Harold Arlen, Vernon Duke, Gordon Jenkins, Alberta Hunter and others, is now playing through March 13 at The Ruth Page Center for the Arts, 1016 N. Dearborn St.
Set in 1948 in a Chicago hotel that has seen better days, the interwoven stories of BLUES IN THE NIGHT evoke the misery and humor of life, love and the dogged determination to do more than just survive. The drama reveals itself through glorious songs by Bessie Smith, Duke Ellington, Johnny Mercer, Alberta Hunter, Harold Arlen, Jimmy Cox, Ida Cox and more.
Austin-based duo Pike & Sutton recently announced their new self-titled band project earlier this fall. Led by 'hometown favorites' (Austin American-Statesman) Patrice Pike and Wayne Sutton, the band has evolved out of the longtime alternative rock band Sister 7 and will release their debut full-length Heart Is A Compass in early 2020. To close out the year, they've teamed up with Blues Traveler's John Popper for a reimagined version of Otis Redding and Carla Thomas' classic 'New Year's Resolution.'
BroadwayHD is about to rock 'n' roll! This new year will bring the 48th anniversary of Janis Joplin's untimely death and 50th anniversary celebration for Woodstock, so BroadwayHD is opening the new year by releasing A NIGHT WITH Janis Joplin starring the show's Tony-nominated star Mary Bridget Davies. The cast will also feature Aurianna Angelique, Ashley Támar Davis, Tawny Dolley, Paige McNamara and Jennifer Leigh Warren. This tribute to the iconic rock star will be released on what would have been her 76th birthday, January 19.
The Wallis production of BLUES IN THE NIGHT, conceived and directed by Sheldon Epps, starts performances next week in the intimate Lovelace Theater! Artistic Director Paul Crewes snuck into rehearsal to chat with cast members Yvette Cason, Bryce Charles, Chester Gregory, and Paulette Ivory about this exciting new production.
Art has a responsibility and so too does the artist - one of the many requirements of art is that it elevates the viewer in some manner - not necessarily in spirit - but definitely in thought. In many ways Franck de las Mercedes embraces this responsibility as his work not only pleases aesthetically, it often teases intellectually. The viewer is often left having to dig deep within de las Mercedes subjects, tunneling with him, in a manner towards what can only be de?ned as the sublime. De las Mercedes, is also an artist that shares his existence with the viewer taking us through the ups and downs of not only his life, but of life in general - thereby adding the understanding of the human condition to his artistic responsibility.
