Fantasia Barrino to Lead AFTER MIDNIGHT on Broadway; Opens at Brooks Atkinson Theatre on Nov. 3!

Scott Sanders Productions (lead producer) announced today that After Midnight (a new production of Cotton Club Parade, conceived by Jack Viertel, which played two smash-hit, sold-out engagements at City Center) will open on Broadway at the Brooks Atkinson Theatre (256 W 47th Street) this fall. Director/choreographer Warren Carlyle and superstar fashion duo Isabel and Ruben Toledo will join nine-time Grammy Award and Pulitzer Prize winner Wynton Marsalis and The Jazz at Lincoln Center All-Stars to bring the lavish shows of the hip Harlem nightclub to a whole new generation of theatergoers. After Midnight will begin preview performances on Friday, October 18, 2013 with an official opening night set for Sunday, November 3, 2013. Group tickets are now available. Casting, musicians and general on sale date will be announced shortly.

Jazz is a state of mind. It's a structure for innovation, forward momentum and freedom. The evocative new musical After Midnight will take the sexy, smoky glamour of the original Jazz Age and catapult it into a whole new era of heart-pounding, mind-blowing entertainment for modern Broadway audiences. Refracted through a contemporary lens, AfterMidnight will celebrate Duke Ellington's years at the Cotton Club using his original arrangements and performed by a world-class big band of 17 musicians hand-picked by living jazz legend, Wynton Marsalis. The timeless tunes set against a narrative of Langston Hughes poetry will provide an authentic backdrop for an array of cutting-edge performances by 25 sensational vocalists and dancers, including special guest stars, whose interpretations will shatter everything you think you know about music, nightlife and Broadway. Welcome to the new Jazz Age.

The Jazz at Lincoln Center All-Stars, Artistic Director, Wynton Marsalis, will celebrate jazz's large-ensemble tradition in a way never-before-heard on Broadway as they perform a vast repertoire of Duke Ellington's original arrangements. After Midnight will explode with masterpieces by the greatest jazz composers of the time, including Jimmy McHugh and Dorothy Fields ("I Can't Give You Anything But Love" and "Digga Digga Doo"), a young Harold Arlen ("Stormy Weather," "I've Got the World on a String," "Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea,"), and of course, the legendary Duke Ellington ("Rockin' in Rhythm," "Cotton Club Stomp," "Black and Tan Fantasy," and "Creole Love Call").

"In the Swing Era, jazz dominated the music charts for a reason: it's sophisticated yet down-home, and people can get down for a profoundly good time while still being uplifted. Those things have never left our music, and Broadway is the perfect place to showcase to the world the contemporary relevance of swing," said Wynton Marsalis. "Come on down, to get down and be lifted up."

After Midnight will mark the Broadway debut of prolific fashion designer Isabel Toledo (costumes). A literal marriage of art and design, Isabel and Ruben Toledo are one of this generation's most creative couples. Isabel, best known for creating Michelle Obama's first inauguration day dress, is often described as a "designer's designer" whose work is greatly admired by the fashion community and Ruben is an award-winning artist who renders all of Isabel's designs. He is the author of Style Dictionary, a collection of his drawings and watercolors.

"Cues from the past inspire us to create something new and singular," said Isabel Toledo. "The opportunity to delve into the theater world via the sultry innovative nightlife scene of the jazz age was too tantalizing too pass up. Jazz is deeply entrenched in my creative process, it all starts with rhythm."

Peter Hylenski (sound) and Tony Award-winners John Lee Beatty (set design) and Howell Binkley (lighting design) round out the After Midnight design team.

Cotton Club Parade received rave reviews from theater and music critics alike during the original City Center run in 2011 and an encore presentation last fall. The New York Timesraved "So this is swing! Now I know how hot, how sultry, how funny and how irresistible it can be. Mr. Marsalis made jazz come to life with a focused intensity and rhythmic savvy that left me open-mouthed with wonder."

After Midnight is produced by Scott Sanders Productions, and Wynton Marsalis, in association with Marks-Moore-Turnbull Group; Stephen and Ruth Hendel;Tom Kirdahy.

The performance schedule for After Midnight will be as follows: October 18 through November 10, 2013: Mondays through Saturdays at 8 p.m. with matinee performances on Wednesdays and Saturdays at 2 p.m. There will be 3 pm matinee performances on Sunday 11/3 and 11/10; no performances on Monday 11/4; and curtain will be at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday 11/7. Beginning November 12, 2013: Tuesdays through Thursdays at 7:30 pm, Fridays and Saturdays at 8 pm, and matinee performances on Wednesdays and Saturdays at2 pm and Sundays at 3 pm. Tickets, which range from $60.00 to $142.00 (premium tickets will be available for $199), go on sale to the general public on Monday, July 1, 2013 via Ticketmaster.com or by calling (800)-745-3000. Tickets for groups of 12 or more can be purchased by calling 212-239-6262 or 800-432-7780 or by visiting http://groups.telecharge.com.