TV: Mary Bridget Davies Talks JANIS JOPLIN on 'Katie'

A NIGHT WITH Janis Joplin star Mary Bridget Davies stopped by today's 'Katie' to talk about making her Broadway debut in the new production now in previews at the Lyceum Theatre. Check out a clip from the appearance below!

"I've always had an affinity for Janis," explained the 35-year-old blues singer from Cleveland. "And my parents raised me on the best music - American Rock 'n Roll!"

A NIGHT WITH Janis Joplin is playing at the Lyceum Theatre (149 W. 45th Street), with an opening night set for Thursday, October 10th.

Mary Bridget Davies is reprising her role as Janis Joplin on Broadway, having taken the country by storm with her critically acclaimed performance. "Producing a version of the Joplin screech that starts somewhere around the singer's ankles, wends its way up into the back of her throat and shoots off into the farthest reaches of the theater" (The Washington Post), Davies received the 2013 Cleveland Critics Circle Award for Best Actress in a Musical and was nominated for a 2013 Helen Hayes Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Resident Musical.

The cast also includes Taprena Michelle Augustine (The Book of Mormon), Tony Award nominee De'Adre Aziza (Passing Strange), Allison Blackwell (The Gershwin's Porgy and Bess) and Nikki Kimbrough (Dreamgirls) who play Joplin's backup singers, "The Joplinaires," and are featured as some of the iconic female singers who influenced Joplin's music. They will be joined by Kacee Clanton (A Night with Janis Joplin regionally) as Janis Joplin alternate andAlison Cusano (A Night with Janis Joplin regionally) as Joplinaire swing and Janis Joplin understudy.

Starting, Monday, October 14th, Davies will perform Tuesday through Saturday evenings and Sunday matinees (6 performances per week). Clanton will perform Wednesday and Saturday matinees. For information during previews and the most up to date performance schedule, please check the A NIGHT Janis Joplin website at www.anightwithjanisjoplin.com.

Like a comet that burns far too brightly to last, Janis Joplin (Mary Bridget Davies) exploded onto the music scene in 1967 and, almost overnight, became the Queen of Rock 'n' Roll. The unmistakable voice filled with raw emotion and tinged with Southern Comfort made her a must-see headliner from Monterey to Woodstock. A Night With Janis Joplin is a musical journey celebrating Janis and her biggest musical influences - trailblazers like Aretha Franklin, Etta James, Odetta, Nina Simone and Bessie Smith, who inspired one of Rock 'n' Roll's greatest legends.