Photo Flash: MOTOWN Cast Members Return to Their BDF Roots in Philadelphia!
The Philadelphia stop of the Motown tour was particularly special for three of the smash-hit musical's cast members, Rodney Earl Jackson, Melanie Evans, and Galen Williams. All three performers met as students of the Broadway Dreams Foundation (BDF), a national non-profit performing arts training program, at Philadelphia's Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts. Through BDF the students were able to hone their performance skills, working alongside Broadway directors, choreographers. They also had the opportunity to make valuable connections with industry insiders, including casting directors Craig Burns and Rachel Hoffman, whose firm Telsey + Company cast the Motown tour.
"One of my tour highlights has definitely been playing at the Academy of Music in Philadelphia," said Galen Williams. "Philadelphia is like a second home, full of great memories performing at the Kimmel Center with the Broadway Dreams Foundation and amazing times with my BDF and Motown families! The Philadelphia audiences are always full of energy and super responsive. To be able to experience that energy with my fellow BDF alumni, Melanie and Rodney, is an experience I will never forget."Williams, Evans, and Jackson will continue on with the Motown tour as it makes stops in Buffalo, NY (through January 25), Boston, MA (January 27 - February 15), Durham, NC (February 17 - 22), Fort Lauderdale, FL (February 24 - March 8), and other cities across the country.The Broadway Dreams Foundation teaches the next generation of musical theater performers how to kick start their careers through unique, week-long performance intensives taught by Broadway's brightest stars and savvy industry insiders. BDF offers significant scholarships to hundreds of participants each year, ensuring that all qualified students are able to realize their Broadway dreams regardless of their financial status. This past year, 42% of all BDF students attended programs on full or partial scholarship. Past students have gone on to star in the Broadway, Off-Broadway and National Touring companies of If/Then, Bring It On The Musical (Ryann Redmond, Calli Alden), Annie (Gabby Bradbury), The Book of Mormon (Rodney Earl Jackson, Paris Nesbitt), Little Miss Sunshine (Jackson Tanner), Holler if Ya Hear Me (Ariana Groover), The Gershwins' Porgy and Bess (Lindsay Roberts), Evita (Katie Huff), Catch Me If You Can (Greg Kamp) and more.
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Rodney Earl Jackson, Melanie Evans, Galen Williams
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