Photos & Video: Get a First Look at SHOUT SISTER SHOUT! at Ford's Theatre

Ford Theatre Society's East Coast premiere of SHOUT SISTER SHOUT! opens tonight, Wednesday, March 22 at Ford's Theatre (511 Tenth Street, NW Washington, DC 20004). Tickets are on sale at the Ford's Theatre box office and online.

Get a first look at photos below!

Inspired by Gayle F. Wald's book Shout, Sister, Shout! The Untold Story of Rock-and-Roll Trailblazer Sister Rosetta Tharpe, this musical tells the story of Sister Rosetta Tharpe-one of America's most influential rock-and-roll, R&B and gospel crossover singers and guitarists. Ambitious, courageous and uncompromisingly public, Tharpe became a pioneer of the women's movement for racial and sexual equality and is a musical legend who redefined the national and international music scene in the 1930s.

The cast is led by Carrie Compere (The Color Purple, Holler If Ya Hear Me; Off-Broadway's The Lightning Thief: The Percy Jackson Musical) as Sister Rosetta Tharpe and Carol Dennis (The Color Purple, Street Corner Symphony, Big River) as Katie Bell Nubin, with Kelli Blackwell (Olney Theatre Center: Disney's Beauty and the Beast) as Mahalia Jackson, Felicia Boswell (Emmy winner and Grammy nominee for NBC's Jesus Christ Superstar LIVE) as Marie Knight, Joseph Anthony Byrd (Seattle Rep's Shout Sister Shout!) as Cab Calloway, Raquel Jennings (Ford's Grace) as Showgirl/Usher/Nurse, Joe Mallon (Ford's The Trip to Bountiful, A Christmas Carol, Death of a Salesman) as Richie, Keenan McCarter (Southern Illinois Summer Music Festival's Roméo et Juliette) as Dizzy Gillespie, Sinclair Mitchell (The Lion King) as Reverend Tharpe, Jarran Muse (Ford's Grace) as Russell Morrison/Nicholas Brother, David Rowen (Off-Broadway's Bob Marley's Three Little Birds) as Lucky Millinder/Neckbone, Nia Savoy Dock (Signature Theatre's The Color Purple) as LeeAnne/Showgirl, Jamal Antony Shuriah (American Idiot National Tour) as Little Richard/Nicholas Brother and Jalisa Williams (Signature Theatre's The Color Purple) as Showgirl. Jessica Bennett (Olney Theatre Center's Beauty and the Beast), Jay Frisby (Ford's Grace), Troy Hopper (Ford's Violet) and Michael Wood (Olney Theatre Center's Beauty and the Beast) are swings. Stephanie Klapper Casting provided support with New York casting.