Ensemble Theatre Presents TRAV'LIN THE 1930S HARLEM MUSICAL, Now thru 7/26

The Ensemble Theatre in Houston, Texas, is offering Trav'lin - the 1930s Harlem Musical as its season finale, Artistic Director Eileen J. Morris has announced. Official opening is June 25, 2015 with performances from tonight, June 20 through July 26. The new staging follows a sold-out run of the show at the 2010 New York Musical Theatre Festival (NYMF) and a successful 2013 production at the Jubilee Theatre in Fort Worth, Texas.

The director and choreographer is Atlanta-based Padtro Harris, choreographer of the Tony-award winning Raisin in the Sun directed by Kenny Leon. Musical direction is by Carlton Leake, a veteran of stage, film and concert hall who has collaborated with Harris on several previous Ensemble productions. The cast includes Houston-area performers Brandon Delagraentiss, Anthony Boggess-Glover, Regina Hearne, Andre' Neal, An'gelle Sylvester and Aisha Ussery.

Trav'lin - The 1930s Harlem Musical celebrates the joyful energy of the Jazz Age with a classic jazz and blues score rediscovering Harlem Renaissance composer J.C. Johnson (1896-1981). The original book by Gary Holmes and Allan Shapiro, inspired by Johnson's tales of his life and times, follows three couples of different generations as they play the game of love in 1930s Harlem. All learn a truth of the heart when George, a retired Pullman porter and a church deacon, meets his match in the guise of a down-and-out stranger who is not the person she pretends to be.

Johnson collaborated with some of the best-loved composers and lyricists of the period including "Fats" Waller, Andy Razaf, Chick Webb, George Whiting and Nat Schwartz. He wrote Bessie Smith's signature "Empty Bed Blues" and his music has been performed and recorded by numerous stars including Billie Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald, Louis Armstrong, Fred Astaire, Duke Ellington and Count Basie. Theatre audiences on Broadway and around the world have heard his songs in shows such as Ain't Misbehavin" and Me and Bessie.

Trav'lin - The 1930s Harlem Musical received its first fully staged presentation as an invited selection at NYMF in 2010, featuring Broadway performers Doug Eskew (Five Guys Named Moe) and Brenda Braxton (a Tony-award nominee for Smokey Joe's Café). Reviewers hailed the production as a "one of the best musicals of the year . . . a high octane, jazzy soul fest" (New York Amsterdam News), calling it "a minor miracle" (Huffington Post) and "pure delight" (JBSpins). The Wall Street Journal highlighted the show in a feature story on the composer.

In 2013, the show enjoyed a second successful run at the Jubilee Theatre in Fort Worth, Texas, selling out more than half its performances and receiving numerous standing ovations. Critics found it "charming and engaging" (Star-Telegram) and a "guaranteed crowd pleaser" (TheatreJones) that was "funny and genuinely moving" (John Garcia's The Column).

The Ensemble Theatre is located at 3535 Main Street in downtown Houston. More information can be found at www.ensembletheater.org. Tickets to Trav'lin - The 1930s Harlem Musical are available for purchase on-line at the theatre's web site or by phone (713-520-0055). More information about the play can be found at www.travlinthemusical.com.

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