Tonight's First Preview of JOSEPHINE with Deborah Cox Cancelled at Asolo Rep

Asolo Rep has confirmed it has cancelled tonight's first preview of the world premiere musical JOSEPHINE, starring Deborah Cox. Performances are scheduled to resume tomorrow, Thursday, April 28.

"JOSEPHINE is a complicated world premiere Broadway-bound musical, and there are many complex elements involved in creating a successful production of this caliber," said Michael Donald Edwards, Producing Artistic Director of Asolo Rep. "Last night, we at Asolo Rep made the difficult decision to cancel tonight's first preview performance because we felt strongly that this production needed one more day of technical rehearsal in order to present the best possible performance for our live audience and to ensure the safety of the cast. We look forward to performances resuming as scheduled on Thursday, April 28."

Patrons with tickets for tonight's performance are being contacted by Asolo Rep's Box Office. Ticket holders are encouraged to call the box office at 941.351.8000 or 800.361.8388 to exchange their seats.

Inspired by Stephen Papich's book Remembering Josephine, the musical revolves around Baker's stint as the star of the Folies Bergère in Paris between 1939-45, her scandalous affair with Swedish Crown Prince Gustav VI, and her heroic service in the French Resistance during World War II. She was hailed as the "Black Pearl." Picasso dubbed her the "Nefertiti of Now." Ernest Hemingway called her "the most sensational woman anyone ever saw." The entrancing Josephine Baker was beautiful, ambitious, and the toast of Europe at the height of her fame in the 1920s-30s. Born into poverty in St. Louis, she rose to become an icon of the Jazz Age, captivating Paris audiences as a dancer, singer, actress and the twentieth-century's first international black female sex symbol.

JOSEPHINE features Kevin Earley (Broadway's LES MISERABLES, Thoroughly Modern Millie, and A Tale of Two Cities) as Jo Bouillon, Josephine Baker's band conductor and love interest; and Mark Campbell (national tours of The Phantom of the Opera, Guys & Dolls; television's Sleepy Hollow) as Baker's forbidden lover, Prince Gustav VI of Sweden.

The cast of JOSEPHINE also features Jelani Alladin, Tori Bates, Dillon Cassidy, Elyse Collier, Asia Dekle, Lynette DuPree, Timothy J. Fitzgerald, Laura Keller, Michael Keyloun, Matthew McGee, Alison Mixon,Julian Ramos, Naomi C. Walley, and Zach Williams; Orchestrations, arrangements and musical supervision by Steve Orich; scenic design by Paul Tate dePoo III; costume designer Eduardo Sicangco; lighting design by Brian Nason; sound designer by Justin Stasiw; and projection design by Alex Basco Koch.

Photo by Mike Ruiz