On Kentucky Avenue - Wade and Wade Productions

Six (6) time Audelco Award winning show, "On Kentucky Avenue", is seeking dancers for 3 upcoming performances in Atlantic City for Black History Month at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino on Feb 18th and 19th! www.onkentuckyavenue.com Dancers We are seeking fit and able African-American/Hispanic-American/POC male and female dancers who sing, experienced and well-versed in musical theatre and varied styles of dance, including swing. Preferably: Men: 5'10' to 6'1" Women: 5'6" to 5'10" Age range: early 20s to mid 30s Auditions will be held, initially, online, via video submission. We will send each candidate a video clip of the choreography to learn and return via email, along with their 16 bar vocal sampling in the period of the late 1960’s. Production states: "All COVID protocols are in effect. You have to be vaccinated and take weekly tests and submit to the production manager. The audition/rehearsal and venue space is sanitized daily. The Hard Rock Hotel & Casino audiences have to be vaccinated, masks are optional for the vaccinated. Seeking talent in tri-state area. SEND PHOTO AND RESUME TO TY STEPHENS (tystephens@msn.com).

Synopsis 

On Kentucky Avenue is a fictional story inspired by real people in a real place.
Ivan King is a self-made man of color; an entrepreneurial impresario of entertainment. Orphaned as a teen, he has used street wit and love of music to fashion a life for himself. He has inherited music from his parents, struggling entertainers themselves, before Ivan lost them a fatal car accident. With the help of local friends, club owners and entertainers, Ivan has become a fixture in Atlantic City nightlife, creating ambitious and lavish productions, eventually landing at the Club Harlem, where he has built a solid name and reputation. Today, in the summer of 1969, it is the height of the Civil Rights movement. King, both Kennedy's and Malcolm X have been assassinated as Ivan fights to keep Club Harlem open while Black rage boils and urban blight threatens Black clubs and theatres all over the country. 

Ivan's reputation attracts top names in the business, as well as the best ensemble performers, such as the beautiful Betty Jo Stanton, his lead show girl and the focus of his love life. Despite his reputation as a lady’s man, Ivan builds shows around Betty Jo, showcasing her talents and dressing her up in finery, lavishing her with status, praise and affection, while however, never committing to her with his heart or his words. 

Frustrated by Ivan's lack of commitment, Betty Jo accepts the help of an ambitious Atlantic City businessmen, Mr. Homer Paisley, who brokers an opportunity for her to play Las Vegas as Lena Horne's understudy. In the six months she's away, Ivan begins to date a featured singer, Pauline Pierce, Betty Joe's best friend, giving her gifts as well, but not his heart. When Betty Joe returns from Vegas to reclaim her spot and her man, Pauline must contend with a broken heart and losing her best friend. We also learn that Ivan has accepted a loan from Mr. Paisley, who by now is asserting public pressure to be paid the interest on the loan. 

After weeks of rehearsal, it's the dress rehearsal before tonight's opening. We've met the stage manager, Larry, whose voice booms from the back of the house, unseen throughout. Ivan tell his company members, who are all aware of the problems the Club is having, that there is a chance Club Harlem will become a casino. However, before he can do so, Paisley has arrived before him, leveraging new costumes he has bought for them brandishing ownership over the cast and setting new rules. 

The dress rehearsal begins and Paisley continuously interrupts asking Ivan for his money, Eventually he finds his way to Betty Joe's dressing room revealing that he is in love with her. She is repulsed. The show must go on, we meet other singers and a comedian who confronts Paisley. Against a backdrop of picket lines and riots, there is growing tension between the Showgirls and the female dancers. Pauline eventually leaves and Paisley makes an aggressively desperate move to shut down the show. Ivan feels he has lost it all. On Kentucky Avenue's creators ask, can our ancestors upon which we stand sustain us through our darkest hour - or even help and heal us as we fight for their legacy?