Lillias White to Lead TEXAS IN PARIS at the Eisemann Center

Eisemann Center Presents continues the Theatre Series with the production Texas in Paris, a musical by Dallas' own Alan Govenar, based on true events, starring Tony Award winner LiLlias White with Willy Welch for five performances November 16-19, 2017 at the Eisemann Center, 2351 Performance Drive in Richardson, Texas.

Akin Babatunde directs this story of a man and a woman - one white, one black ? invited to France to perform at the Maison des Cultures du Monde. They have never met, have no professional singing experience, and face the challenge of working together and co-existing in an unfamiliar world. Apprehensive of each other, they struggle with preconceptions but forge a surprising spiritual bond that transforms their on-stage performance and their lives.

Texas in Paris was originally produced Off-Broadway at the York Theatre Company in 2015. The show received four Audelco Award nominations for Musical Production, Director, Actress, and Musical Director. In addition, LiLlias White received a Lucille Lortel Award nomination for her role as Osceola Mays.

LiLlias White is a singer and actress of stage, television, and film who is particularly admired for her performances in Broadway musicals. In 1997 she won the Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical and Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical for portraying Sonja in Cy Coleman's The Life. She was nominated for a Tony Award again in 2010 for her work as Funmilayo in Fela Kuti's Fela!. She is also an active cabaret singer and has appeared in concert with the Boston Pops Orchestra, the Brooklyn Philharmonic, and at Carnegie Hall.

Willy Welch has performed Off-Bway in: Flipside: The Patti Page Musical. Recent Regional & Tours: Ain't Nothin' But the Blues, Bonnie & Clyde, Flipside: The Patti Page Musical, Sanders Family Trilogy (Stanley), Annie (FDR), Woody Guthrie's American Song (Woody), Man of La Mancha, Civil War Christmas, Guys on Ice, Pump Boys & Dinettes (Jim), Assassins (Proprietor & Balladeer), The Gifts of the Magi. Besides acting, Willy is a touring singer/songwriter whose compositions have been performed & recorded by dozens of artists, including Peter Paul & Mary, Jason Alexander, the Dallas Shakespeare Festival and Barney & Friends (PBS).

Performances of Texas in Paris are November 16-18, 2017 at 8:00 pm with matinees on November 18 and November 19, 2017 at 2:00 pm in the Bank of America Theatre. Tickets are $40-$48 and are available online at www.eisemanncenter.com or by calling the Eisemann Center Ticket Office at 972-744-4650. Group discounts for 10 or more are available at 972-744-4650.

The Charles W. Eisemann Center is located at 2351 Performance Drive in Richardson, Texas. The Eisemann Center is accessible from Highway 75 North taking the Galatyn Parkway/Renner Road exit going north and the Galatyn Parkway/Campbell Road exit going south, or from the DART light rail station at Galatyn Park. Eisemann Center Presents 2017-2018 sponsors include: The Dallas Morning News, WFAA-TV, UT Dallas School of Arts & Humanities, Altrusa International of Richardson, Inc., Methodist Richardson Medical Center, State Farm and Raising Cane's.