Broadway In South Africa: The Concert is a star-studded evening that will feature world-premiere songs created by award-winning Broadway composers, like Grammy Award winner Henry Krieger, performed by Broadway stars like Eden Espinosa and Billy Porter. This benefit concert will raise money for the January 2009 South African initiative of a new, not-for-profit organization called Broadway In South Africa (BSA), and will take place on Monday, October 6, 2008 at 7:30 p.m. in the Peter Jay Sharp Theater at Peter Norton Symphony Space, located at 2537 Broadway at 95th Street.
BSA commissioned composers
Jeff Blumenkrantz,
Bobby Cronin, Jonathan Reid Gealt,
Adam Gwon,
Michael John LaChiusa, Henry Krieger,
Steve Marzullo,
Bill Russell,
Jeremy Schonfeld and
Georgia Stitt to create music based on poems, stories and drawings created by African students.
The new works will be performed by Sebastian Arcelus (
Jersey Boys),
Stanley Bahorek (Spelling Bee), Sean Bradford (
The Lion King),
Tituss Burgess (
The Little Mermaid),
Eden Espinosa (
Rent), Renee Elise Goldsberry ("One Life To Live"),
Mandy Gonzalez (In the Heights), Frankie James Grande (Mamma Mia),
Adam Kantor (
Rent),
Kendra Kassebaum (
Wicked),
Norm Lewis (
The Little Mermaid),
Julia Murney (
Wicked),
Billy Porter (Ghetto Superstar),
Kate Shindle (
Legally Blonde) and Lisa Nicole Wilkerson (
The Lion King).
The concert's opening act features South African performers
Bongi Duma, Ron Kunene, Tsidi Manye,
S'Bu Ngema and Mpume Sikakane, all from
The Lion King on Broadway.
The concert will also showcase Broadway dancers
Gabriel Croom (
The Lion King), Timmothy Erlich (
Rent national tour),
Kenway Kua (
Wicked), Ray Mercer (
The Lion King), Brandon O'Neal (
The Lion King),
Luis Salgado (In the Heights), Rickey Tripp (In the Heights) and Phillip Turner (
The Lion King) performing a powerful modern dance piece with traditional African movement, choreographed by Charles O. Anderson, artistic director and founder of Dance Theater X.
The evening's director is
Jen Bender (
The Lion King) and music director is
Brad Haak (
Mary Poppins).
Following the performance, VIP ticket holders will have an opportunity to mingle with the performers at a post-show reception.
Individual tickets can be purchased for $20 (for those under 25 years of age), $60 and $100, and are available by calling Symphony Space at 212.864.5400 or visiting
www.symphonyspace.org. VIP sponsor packages range in price from $500 to $5,000, and are available by contacting Sean Bradford, BSA founding member, at artforanewworld@gmail.com or 917.370.6915, or by visiting
www.broadwayinsouthafrica.com.
All proceeds from this concert will go to Broadway in South Africa. Make non-concert donations at
www.fracturedatlas.org/donate/1818. For more information on the program, visit
www.broadwayinsouthafrica.com.
About the program: Broadway in South Africa (BSA) is a cooperative nonprofit venture created by professional working actors, dancers, singers, directors, musicians and producers from New York City - all brought together by their desire to affect change in the world through art and, themselves, learn from the potential of bridging two different cultures artistically. As BSA's deep philosophy is that all children deserve the opportunity to explore their own creative potential, and should never be denied exposure to art because of their life situations, the organization's aim is to create cross-cultural exchange between professional artists and youth in need via workshop and performance initiatives in South Africa.
For the 2009 inaugural year of the annual South African initiative, 16 professional New York artists will spend 10 days in South Africa. They will conduct a four-day arts intensive for underprivileged youth that include acting, dance, music and playwriting workshops. Approximately 50 students, ages eight to 13, will participate. Performance will be held at Baxter Theatre or Artscape in Cape Town, Teatro at Montecasino in Johannesburg and the Agape Orphanage and other TBA venues in Durban. There will also be performances for local orphanages and communities in all three cities.
At a time when acceptance of cultural differences throughout the world seems, at best, difficult to achieve, even during the Olympic Games, the world's largest sporting event, Broadway in South Africa is doing its part to bridge gaps and helps build unifying relationships between cultures.
