Original Musical MARIAN Starring Emilie Kouatchou & More to Have Additional Invite-Only Readings This Week

Liquid Theatre Collective and Randy Donaldson, Executive Producer, will present two additional private, invitation only readings of MARIAN, an original musical based on the life of world-renowned contralto, Marian Anderson, with story by Elkin Antoniou G, Chelsea Marie Davis & Caleen Sinnette Jennings, music by Chelsea Marie Davis & Victoria Theodore, lyrics by Chelsea Marie Davis & Emily Ruth Hazel and book by Caleen Sinnette Jennings & Elkin Antoniou G. Directed by Tamara Tunie, with music direction by Brian P. Whitted and arrangements by Victoria Theodore, the readings will be held at Marian Anderson Theatre at Aaron Davis Hall - The City College of New York (129 Convent Avenue - Harlem, NY) on Friday, November 18 at 11am and Friday, November 19 at 3pm.

Twenty-four years before Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. gave his "I Have a Dream" speech, a Black woman stood on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial and sang before an unprecedented, racially integrated audience of 75,000 people. After struggling against societal forces to fulfill her dream of becoming a world-class singer, Marian Anderson reaches her greatest potential as an artist, only to risk everything during the 1930's pre-civil rights movement. THIS IS HER STORY.

The Authors state "Marian Anderson rose from desperate circumstances to enrich, inspire, and enlighten the world with music. She sang and spoke in multiple languages to remind us that humanity has one, unified voice. In this tumultuous time in history, we need heroes to help us imagine and create a more just, inclusive world. Marian is a role model who healed through music and exemplified love, equity and the eternal, unbreakable connection between all people."

The cast of MARIAN is Sarah Dacey Charles✶ (Eleanor Roosevelt), Jonathan Christopher✶ (Orpheus Fisher), Chelle Denton✶ (Glinda), Erica Durham✶ (Young Marian), Emilie Kouatchou✶ (Marian Anderson), Brian Krinsky✶ (Kaminka), Tracey Conyer Lee✶ (Isabella Anderson), Benjamin Lurye✶ (Boghetti), Chani Maisonet✶ (Alberta Hunter), Christopher McCrewell✶ (Walter White), Joshua Morgan✶ (Sol Hurok), Wonu Ogunfowora✶ (Alyce Anderson), Amma Osei✶ (Aunt Mary/Sis. Johnson), Rema Webb✶ (Anna Anderson), Curtis Wiley✶ (Billy King), J.D. Webster (Roland Hayes), and Elijah Dawson (Ensemble), Eddie Egan✶ (Ensemble), Charlotte Odusanya (Ensemble), Rachel Policar✶ (Ensemble) and Hethyr Verhoef✶ (Stage Manager). ✶Denotes member of Actors Equity Association.

The creative and production team includes Dave Tweedie (Drums), Sherisse Rogers (Bass), Daniel Baker (Sound Designer) Brad Zuckerman (Sound Engineer), Amber Snead, CSA & Kendra Lynn Lucas (Binder Casting) (Casting), and Brierpatch Productions (General Management).

Bios

Elkin Antoniou G

(Story/Book) began her career as a professional ballet dancer and musical theatre performer. Favorite credits: The Phantom of the Opera, (First National Company), Fame: The Musical (West Coast Premiere), Gypsy (w/ Bette Midler). She developed/co-produced the Academy Award nominated foreign film, Most. She co-wrote the films Teenage, Requiem, and The Magical Ingredients of Becoming a Somebody. Elkin co-wrote and directed Let Me Entertain You Again (Abingdon Theatre/54Below).

Chelsea Marie Davis

(Story/Music/Lyrics) is a multi-genre songwriter & jazz vocalist. She studied Music and Psychology at Chapman University. She is an Artist-in-Residence with the Johnny Mercer Foundation and the All the Arts for All the Kids Foundation. Her original songs have been featured on Freeform, WB, CMT, CBS, and on NPR in LA Theater Works' production of the award-winning play The Whipping Man.

Caleen Sinnette Jennings

(Story/Book) is an actor, playwright, director, and Professor Emerita of Theatre at American University. She is author of over 75 plays, seven of which are published by Dramatic Publishing Company. Her play, Queens Girl in the World, was produced off-Broadway in spring 2022. Arena Stage has commissioned her to write a play on Ruth Bader Ginsberg and she is currently a senior consultant to the Director of the Folger Shakespeare Library.

Victoria Theodore

(Music/Arrangements/Music Direction) Oberlin and Stanford graduate, was Music Director for SUMMER: The Donna Summer Musical on Broadway, has toured extensively with Beyoncé and Stevie Wonder, and keyboardist on the 2013 "Arsenio Hall Show." She and Dave Tweedie are the band EnSPirits. Victoria also performs with Freestyle Love Supreme, was 1 pianist for Oscar winning Best Film CODA and is featured in Tick, Tick...BOOM, Lin Manuel Miranda's debut film!

Emily Ruth Hazel

(Lyrics) is a cross-pollinating poet, writer, and lyricist. She was awarded a National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship to develop a full-length poetry book manuscript during a residency at The Hambidge Center. A graduate of Oberlin College's Creative Writing Program, she has twice been awarded national Dorothy Sargent Rosenberg Poetry Prizes and has written more than twenty commissioned works. Her chapbook, Body & Soul (Finishing Line Press), was a New Women's Voices finalist.

Brian P. Whitted

(Music Direction) is a native of North Carolina and a proud product of a home-schooling education. He studied Classical Piano Performance in High School at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts and furthered his musical education at the University of North Carolina (Greensboro), where he earned his BFA in the same. He has been a church pianist and choir director since the age of 8. After college, he moved to New York City which is where he began his career. Becoming the Music Director of the George Faison Firehouse in Harlem, Brian was the Musical Director for If This Hat Could Talk starring Stephanie Mills, Melba Moore and Tony Terry, and Love Lies featuring Angie Stone and Brian McKnight, both shows going on tour. He was Musical Director for Phylicia Rashad's Paul Robeson and Zora, starring Lynn Whitfield, where he also provided musical arrangements. Brian was the Musical Director for Cook, Dixon and Young (previously known as Three Mo' Tenors) and Mario Cantone's An Evening With Mario Cantone. Legendary song writing team Ashford and Simpson brought Brian on board to be the Musical Director of their new musical Invisible Life. He served as Musical Director for such notables as Jennifer Holiday, Brenda Braxton, and Tituss Burgess. And when Leslie Odom, Jr. and Norm Lewis needed someone to step in when their regular MD had a conflict, Brian was the man they called. He is very proud to have been part-time pianist, arranger, and background singer for Bette Midler for nearly ten years. While working with her, he made his Carnegie Hall debut, a concert hosted by James Taylor. He made his Broadway debut with Chicago: The Musical and worked for that production for 14 years. He made his Conducting debut with the same show. Brian has played "pit piano" in the orchestra for many Broadway shows such as Violet, Shuffle Along, and The Color Purple. He toured with Roberta Flack and BeBe Winans. He now lives in Wilmington, NC and works as Music Director of the Opera House Theater Company.

Tamara Tunie

(Director) directed Feelin' Good!, Tony Award-winner LaChanze's autobiographical, one-woman show. She produced and directed the feature film See You in September, directed and co-wrote the world premiere of Jazzland at The Harlem School of the Arts, and is directing the new musical Dorothy Dandridge, about the life of the legendary Hollywood movie star. Also, under Ms. Tunie's direction, Love and Southern Discomfort, a new musical currently in development, destined for Broadway.

www.marianmusical.com

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