Bessie Smith News

Following the hugely successful premiere run of Tomorrow May Be My Last: The Janis Joplin Story at The Union Theatre in August, Collette Cooper now returns to the stage as the original Queen Of Rock, Janis Joplin at The Old Red Lion Theatre in Islington for a three week run from 24th May - 11th June.

Three dynamic vocalists and an all-female jazz band pay tribute to three of history's greatest jazz singers in the musical performance Bessie, Billie, & Nina—Pioneering Women in Jazz at Pepperdine University's Smothers Theatre in Malibu on Thursday, March 24, 2022 at 8 p.m.  

Award-winning Porchlight Music Theatre has announced that its 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 extended through March 20 at The Ruth Page Center for the Arts.

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.

In a tribute honoring the musical legacies paved by Bessie Smith, Billie Holiday and Nina Simone, Bessie, Billie, and Nina: Pioneering Women in Jazz fills Popejoy Hall with the soundtrack of a social movement on Sunday, March 28 at 3 pm.

Porchlight Music Theatre has staged a number of similar revues over the years, and I look back on those most fondly for the tremendous talent they have showcased. That could not be more true of director Kenny Ingram's production of Sheldon Epps's BLUES IN THE NIGHT.

Featuring audience favorite shows as well as two Michigan Premieres, Meadow Brook Theatre's 2022-2023 season has something for everyone!

Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts has already welcomed some jazz greats to its stage this season, and there’s still more to come this spring, including a special presentation from Jazz at Lincoln Center on Sunday, March 6.

SISTAS THE MUSICAL has announced its return on April 2 at Off-Broadway's The Actors Temple Theatre for an open-ended run. This live musical production is written by Fulbright Scholar and Columbia University professor Dr. Dorothy Marcic, based on interviews with Black women over several years

In her 54 Below solo show debut, Gabrielle Lee brings the brass and the bang and a bangarang band.

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.

The first show of the year 2022 to take place in the Vergennes Opera House will pay tribute to four amazing female Jazz/Blues singers.

This month, FEINSTEIN’S/54 BELOW, Broadway’s Supper Club & Private Event Destination, will present some of the brightest stars from Broadway, cabaret, jazz, and beyond.

Northglenn Arts Presents, north metro’s professional performance series, celebrates Black History Month with two shows at the Parsons Theatre. This year features the musical storytelling of the History of African American Music Part 2 and the narrative of movement in One People, Many Voices. 

Chicago Theatre Week (#CTW22), an annual celebration of the rich tradition of theatre-going in Chicago during which visitors and residents can access value-priced tickets, returns for its 10th year and will take place February 17-27, 2022. 

Billie! Backstage with Lady Day, written and performed by Synthia L. Hardy, directed by Bryan Rasmussen, and produced by Gary Lamb, will open at the Sierra Madre Playhouse February 25-27, 2022. Fri. & Sat. at 8:00, Sun. at 2:30.

Check out what's coming to streaming this month, including new additions to Seth Rudetsky's concert series, Flying Over Sunset, the SIX alternates' concert at 54 Below, Sweet Magnolias season two and the highly-anticipated fourth season of The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel!

 Porchlight Music Theatre announces new dates for Porchlight Revisits Passing Strange, Wednesday, May 18 at 7 p.m. and Thursday, May 19 at 1:30 and 7 p.m. and the staged reading of Paul Oaley Stovall’s+ Clear, A New Musical Experience, Tuesday, May 31 at 7 p.m.  

Porchlight Music Theatre announces new dates for Porchlight Revisits Passing Strange, Wednesday, May 18 at 7 p.m. and Thursday, May 19 at 1:30 and 7 p.m. and the staged reading of Paul Oaley Stovall's Clear, A New Musical Experience, Tuesday, May 31 at 7 p.m.  

Trav'lin - The 1930s Harlem Musical Romance, a joyful celebration of love in the Jazz Age with a classic jazz and blues score, is receiving its Southeast regional premiere to kick off the Mainstage Series at Florida's Winter Park Playhouse.