Photos/Video: First Look at Pasadena Playhouse's JELLY'S LAST JAM

Get a first look at Pasadena Playhouse's new production of the Tony Award winning musical Jelly’s Last Jam, now on stage through through June 23, 2024. The production features a book by George C. Wolfe, music by Jelly Roll Morton, and lyrics by Susan Birkenhead with musical adaptation and additional music composed by Luther Henderson. 

Tickets are available at pasadenaplayhouse.org, by phone at 626-356-7529, and at the box office at 39 South El Molino Avenue, Pasadena, CA 91101. The production is directed by Kent Gash, with music direction by Darryl Archibald, and choreography by Dell Howlett.

The cast of Jelly’s Last Jam is led by John Clarence Stewart (P-Valley, Netflix’s Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist) as Jelly Roll Morton, Cress Williams (Living Single, CW’s Black Lightning) as Chimney Man, and Jasmine Amy Rogers (star of Broadway’s upcoming BOOP! The Musical) as Anita. 

The production also includes Karole Foreman (1776 National Tour) as Gran Mimi/Ensemble, Wilkie Ferguson III (Broadway’s Motown the Musical) as Jack the Bear, Grasan Kingsberry (Broadway’s The Color Purple) as Buddy Bolden/Ensemble, Summer Nicole Greer (MTW’s Million Dollar Quartet) as Miss Mamie, Doran Butler (La La Land) as Young Jelly/Ensemble, Cyd Charisse Glover-Hill (Broadway’s Black and Blue) as Hunnie, Naomi C. Walley (West Side Story International Tour) as Hunnie, Janaya Jones (MTW’s Grease) as Hunnie, Hannah Yosef (La Mirada Theatre’s Puttin’ On The Ritz) as Too Tight Nora/Ensemble, Joe Aaron Reid (Broadway’s If/Then) as Foot-In-Yo-Ass Sam/Ensemble, and Eric B. Anthony (Broadway’s Mary Poppins) as Three Finger Jake/Ensemble.

 The cast is rounded out by Davon Rashawn, Amber Liekhus, and Chante Carmel as Ensemble.

The creative team includes Edward E. Haynes, Jr. (Scenic Designer), Samantha Jones (Costume Designer), Rui Rita (Lighting Designer), Danny Erdberg and Ursula Kwong Brown (Sound Designers),  Kendrick Lawson-Knight (Assistant Scenic Designer), Caylyn Dabney (Assistant Costume Designer), Omar Madkour (Assistant Lighting Designer) with Casting by RBT Casting (Ryan Bernard Tymensky, CSA). The Stage Management team includes lark hackshaw (Production Stage Manager) and David S. Franklin (Assistant Stage Manager).

When legendary musician Jelly Roll Morton’s soul is forced to face the music, the self-proclaimed “inventor of jazz” is left at the ultimate crossroads. Follow Jelly from the back alleys of New Orleans to the sparkling stages of New York, as his remarkable journey unfolds in a stunning display of song, dance, and music. With soulful melodies, electrifying tap dancing, and fiery tunes that will leave you breathless, get your groove on with this dazzling musical masterpiece.

Recipient of three Tony Awards, six Drama Desk Awards, and three 1992 Outer Critics Circle Awards including Best Broadway Musical, Jelly’s Last Jam “makes the invention of jazz a miraculous, eruptive theatrical event… not merely an impressionistic biography of the man who helped ignite the 20th-century jazz revolution, but also a sophisticated attempt to tell the story of the birth of jazz in general and, through that story, the edgy drama of being black in the tumultuous modern America that percolated to jazz's beat” (New York Times).

Photo Credit: Jeff Lorch