Tony Award-winner Melba Moore and "American Idol" star Diana DeGarmo will headline the touring company of Brooklyn.
DeGarmo will take on the title role in the national tour of the musical, an urban fairy tale by Mark Schoenfeld and Barri McPherson that played Broadway during the 2004-2005 season. Moore will play Paradice, her rival diva. Tony Award-winner Cleavant Derricks (Dreamgirls, Big Deal), who appeared in the Broadway production, will also be on hand for the tour; he will once again play The Street Singer. Brooklyn's tour, which will kick off at the Bushnell Center in Hartford, CT this June, will feature the show as it was on Broadway--at an intermission-less 90 minutes.
The tour will once again be directed by Jeff Calhoun (Big River); he will also co-produce the tour with Producers Four and John McDaniel, who will also return as the show's music supervisor. The rest of the dates and venues of the Brooklyn tour will soon be announced.
Moore won a Tony Award for her star-making performance in Purlie, and has also appeared on Broadway in Les Miserables, Inacent Black, Timbuktu! and Hair. She is also a noted R&B singer whose hits include "Falling" and "Read My Lips," for which she received a Grammy Award nomination. Film and TV credits include The Fighting Temptations, "Loving," All Dogs Go to Heaven and a self-titled series.
DeGarmo, who is now 18, was the second place finalist on "American Idol 3." She has appeared in musicals such as Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, and released an album called Blue Skies in 2004.
Brooklyn began performances on September 23rd, 2004 and opened officially on October 21st, 2004 at the Theatre (formerly the Plymouth Theatre). It had played 28 preview and 283 regular performances when it closed on June 26th, 2005. According to press notes, Brooklyn "tells a wondrous sidewalk fairy tale about a young girl searching for fame and the father she never knew. With just one clue to lead her, she lands in the city that bears her name, Brooklyn." The musical starred as its title soulfully-voiced title character, and also featured Derrick, , Karen Olivo and others in its cast.Ramona KellerEden EspinosaGerald Schoenfeld
For more information on the upcoming Brooklyn tour, visit www.brooklynthemusical.com.
