American Jazz Singer Freda Payne and Grammy Award Nominee B. Slade Joins THE SORTING ROOM

American Soul/R&B singer Freda Payne and Grammy Award nominee B. Slade, who brought down the house during the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts' co-production of For The Record: Scorsese - American Crime Requiem, bring their signature vocal styles to The Wallis for special one-night-only concerts in The Sorting Room on January 7 and 8, respectively. The Sorting Room, an exciting new intimate space for live performance, temporarily transforms The Wallis' Lovelace Studio Theater into a 150-seat nightclub that offers Los Angeles audiences the opportunity to see some of the best established and upcoming talent in cabaret, comedy, live contemporary music, dance performance and more, now through January 14.

Freda Payne got her start singing with the big bands of Duke Ellington and Quincy Jones, and is known for her R&B hits "Band of Gold" and "Bring the Boys Home," as well as the Broadway musical Jelly's Last Jam and her tribute to ELLA. Last year, Ms. Payne made her debut at The Wallis selling out her one-woman show "A Tribute to the Great Ladies of Jazz and the American Songbook." On Saturday, January 7 at 8pm, Ms. Payne returns to The Wallis and will delight audiences in a cornucopia of music from her treasure trove of R&B and Jazz classics in A Night with Freda Payne. Single tickets are now available for purchase for $45 at TheWallis.org. Click here to watch a past performance of Ms. Payne singing the hit "Band of Gold."

B. Slade, who has released several hundred songs on more than 30 albums over a span of 20 years, has won seven Stellar Awards, a GMA Award and received three Grammy Award nominations. On Sunday, January 8 at 8pm, A Conversation with B. Slade showcases music from his upcoming mix tape "The Black Belt," as well as fan favorites from his catalog. B. Slade will be joined by special guest musician Jonny Goood, who has worked as a bassist with Keyshia Cole, Joe Jonas, Miley Cyrus and currently Wiz Khalifa. Single tickets are now available for purchase for $25 at TheWallis.org. Click here to watch B. Slade perform "House of the Rising Sun" with the cast of For The Record: Scorsese at The Wallis from September.

Additional updates regarding The Sorting Room include:

Time change: Megan Hilty's A Merry Little Christmas performance times are now Tuesday, December 20 at 7pm and 9pm and Wednesday, December 21 at 7pm.

Special guests announced: Award-winning musical theater duo Kait Kerrigan and Brian Lowdermilk will be joined on Saturday, December 17 by special friends Alison Luff (Broadway's Matilda and LES MISERABLES, Pasadena Playhouse's Breaking Through); Kathryn Gallagher (Broadway and The Wallis' Spring Awakening); Tiana Okoye (NBC's Grease Live, Hollywood Bowl's A Chorus Line, Disney's Frozen - Live at the Hyperion); Rhett George (National tour of Memphis and Fame); Matthew Magnusson (La Mirada Theatre's Floyd Collins); and Andrew Samonsky (National tour of The Bridges of Madison County, La Jolla Playhouse's The Hunchback of Notre Dame).

About The Sorting Room:
Drawing its name from the original function within the Beverly Hills Post Office, The Sorting Room gives emerging artists the opportunity to establish relationships with new audiences, while giving veteran entertainers an intimate setting to perform and develop new work. The Sorting Room opened on December 3 with acclaimed Grammy Award-winner singer/songwriter Loudon Wainwright III, followed by the world premiere of Sandra Bernhard's new show Sandra Monica Blvd: Coast to Coast, and performances by Rumer Willis, Rebecca Spencer and tap dancer Melinda Sullivan.

Upcoming artists include: comic Cameron Esposito; cabaret singer Rita Wilson; Broadway star Megan Hilty; celebrated vocalist Ty Taylor; acclaimed musical duo Kait Kerrigan and Brian Lowdermilk; actress and master storyteller Christine Lahti and Los Angeles-based music group Ethio Cali. Special performances include Get Lit's Dante; Salastina Music Society's Chamber Messiah; a joyous multimedia concert of Langston Hughes' kaleidoscopic jazz poem "Ask Your Mama: 12 Moods to Jazz" by Dr. Ron McCurdy; a night dedicated to the songbook of Jerry Herman, featuring Broadway star Jason Graae with special guest Karen Morrow; and an improv show by the master comics of Immediate Theater, led by Dan Castellaneta (the voice of Homer Simpson).

Single tickets for The Sorting Room are now on available for $15 - $48. For more information or to purchase tickets, visit TheWallis.org, call 310.746.4000, or stop by in person at the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts Ticket Services located at 9390 N. Santa Monica Blvd., Beverly Hills, CA 90210. Ticket prices subject to change.

The Sorting Room Upcoming Artist/Shows:

Cameron Esposito
Thursday, December 15 at 8pm
Single ticket price: $25

Rita Wilson
Friday, December 16 at 8pm
Single ticket price: $40

Kerrigan - Lowdermilk & Friends
Saturday, December 17 at 8pm
Single ticket price: $35.
**Joined by special guests Alison Luff, Kathryn Gallagher, Tiana Okoye, Rhett George, Matthew Magnusson and Andrew Samonsky.

Salastina Music Society's Chamber Messiah
Sunday, December 18 at 7pm
Single ticket price: $48

A Merry Little Christmas with Megan Hilty
Tuesday, December 20 at 7pm & 9pm and Wednesday, December 21 at 7pm
Single ticket price: $45
**Please note updated times for Tuesday and Wednesday.

Get Lit's Dante
Tuesday, January 3 at 8pm
Single ticket price: $20

Ron McCurdy's The Langston Hughes Project
Wednesday, January 4 at 8pm
Single ticket price: $30

Ty Taylor's The Nouveau Mid-Century Romance Songbook
Thursday, January 5 at 8pm & 10pm
Single ticket price: $25

Christine Lahti
Friday, January 6 at 8pm
Single ticket price: $30

A Night with Freda Payne
Saturday, January 7 at 8pm
Single ticket price: $45

A Conversation with B. Slade
Sunday, January 8 at 8pm
Single Ticket price: $25

Jerry Herman: Broadway's Legendary Composer/Lyricist starring Jason Graae and special guest Karen Morrow
Wednesday, January 11 at 8pm
Single ticket price: $30

Ethio Cali
Thursday, January 12 at 8pm
Single ticket price: $30

Improv Co-op presents Immediate Theater
Friday, January 13 at 8pm
Single ticket price: $15

For more information about The Wallis, please visit: TheWallis.org.

To post a comment, you must register and login.