MAMA, I WANT TO SING! 40th Anniversary Revival Receives Seven Audelco Award Nominations

Audience Development Committee Inc. (Audelco) will host their 51st Annual Audelco Awards on Monday, November 20th, 7pm at the Alhambra Ballroom in Harlem. The highly anticipated Mama, I Want to Sing! 40th Anniversary Revival is nominated in seven categories for their excellence in black theatre!

The Black gospel musical Mama, I Want to Sing! (Mama!) premiered in 1987 to critical acclaim and saw international success with tours throughout the United States, Japan, Europe and across the Caribbean. Mama! tells the real life story of music trailblazer Doris Troy - co-creator Vy Higginsen's older sister - as she battles between her religious upbringing and the pull of an exciting career in the entertainment industry.

After the huge triumph of Mama!, Higginsen and her husband/co-creator Ken Wydro went on to write other successful productions such as Alive! 55 and Kicking, as well as an award winning music program for youth and adults at the Mama Foundation for the Arts.

Beginning in February 2023, the revival production of Mama, I Want to Sing! played a three-week run of 19 performances in the venue where the Mama! journey began: El Teatro (formerly The Heckscher Theatre) at El Museo Del Barrio in East Harlem. By staging the production in both Black History Month (February) and Women's History Month (March), Higginsen, alongside daughter and Director Ahmaya Knoelle Higginson, further affirmed Black female stories as a strong and vital presence in the American cultural landscape.

The production garnered press coverage and pickup from a wide variety of channels including The New York Times, Good Day New York, News Channel 12, NY1, Broadway Radio, and more, with critics stating "Mama, I Want to Sing!exemplifies a new Harlem Renaissance!"

While the revival production was widely enjoyed by music and theater enthusiasts from a myriad of backgrounds, it holds special importance for African-American audiences who witnessed a crucial aspect of their cultural legacy dramatized for the stage.

Established in 1973 by Vivian Robinson, Audelco strives to support, acknowledge, and honor individuals and organizations representing the black theater arts community.

Mama Foundation for the Arts' very own Artistic Director Ahmaya Knoelle is nominated in the Director of a Musical category, alongside long time Mama staff member Kevin McKoy who is nominated in the Outstanding Musical Director category. Latrice Arlene Cherry-Sturdivant (Mama), Lamont O'Neil and Bishop Richard Hartley (Reverend Winters), and young ingenue Asa Sultan (Doris Troy), were all nominated in Lead Actor categories. Last but not least, Mama, I Want to Sing! is nominated for Best Revival of a Musical.

"None of the success we have achieved would be be possible without the talent, creativity and passion of our beloved cast, the legacy of Doris Troy, the hard work of the entire Mama team," said Higginsen, who went on to mention, "and of course the support from the public; from those who have been with us since our start in 1987, to the new audiences who can see themselves through our story."

Audelco members can vote for 51st Annual Audelco Awards nominees at audelco.org. You can learn more about Mama, I Want to Sing! and Mama Foundation for the Arts at mamafoundation.org.

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