Milwaukee Rep's LOW DOWN DIRTY BLUES Begins Today

Award-winning, multi-talented performers, Felicia Fields, Chic Street Man and Sugaray Rayford, heat up The Rep's Stackner Cabaret in Low Down Dirty Blues. Audiences will forget about the cold weather when they come see these powerhouse entertainers belt out the blues. Directed by Randal Myler, the production begins performances in The Rep's Stackner Cabaret tonight, March 20, 2015 and runs through May 24, 2015. Opening night is Sunday, March 22, 2015.

The night club may be closed, but the party is just heating up! Join a group of musician/singers as they gather after-hours to swap stories and share their fervor for music. Four multi-talented performers pour their passion, soul, and love into the greatest hits of Muddy Waters, Ma Rainey, Sophie Tucker, Howlin' Wolf, Pearl Bailey, and many more. Twenty-two smokin' songs, non-stop blues riffs, titillating double-entendres, and hot rhythms keep the theater sultry and steamy from the first note to the last.

THE CAST:

Felicia Fields, an award-winning performer, earned a Tony Award nomination for her portrayal of Sofia in The Color Purple on Broadway. Her credits at Goodman Theatre include: Crowns, The Rose Tattoo, The Amen Corner, Ma Rainey's Black Bottom, and A Christmas Carol. In Chicago she has also performed at Marriott Theatre Lincolnshire, Chicago Shakespeare Theater, Northlight Theatre and Drury Lane Oakbrook Terrace. Production credits include: Nunsense; Nunset Boulevard; Swinging on a Star; Some Like It Hot; Richard II; It Ain't Nothing But the Blues; Low Down Dirty Blues; A Civil War Christmas; Hot Mikado; Show Boat; Ain't Misbehavin'; Dreamgirls; and Hello, Dolly!, among others. Fields has received a Black Theatre Alliance Award and nominations, many Jeff Award nominations, and the award for Best Actress in a Musical for her performance in Sophisticated Ladies. TV and film credits include Early Edition, Save the Last Dance, The Knights of Prosperity, and many commercials and voice-overs.

Chic Street Man returns to The Rep after being the Music Director for Sounding the River: Huck Finn Revisited (2000/01 Season). Regional theater credits include: Spunk (Public Theater); Ruined (Oregon Shakespeare Festival); Ma Rainey's Black Bottom (Seattle Repertory Theatre); and Lost Highway (Mark Taper Forum). Contributing author, musical arranger, performer for It Ain't Nothin' But the Blues (Arena Stage/Denver Theatre Company). Composer: Permutations (PBS Great Performances). Albums: Seven, including Lullablues. Founder, Chic Street Man's School of Performing Arts. Featured performer, various U.N. events. Film: Triple Bogey and Hangin' with the Home Boys. Awards: 1990 Audelco Award and 1992 NAACP Theatre Arts Award (Spunk), San Francisco Bay Area Theatre Critic's Circle Award/Musical Direction (Polk County). Teaching: Heifetz International School of Music and Seattle Conservatory of Music. Education: University of California, Santa Cruz.

Sugaray Rayford, an accomplished blues musician, fronts his own band, the Sugaray Rayford Band, and is one of lead vocalists for the band the Mannish Boys. His first critically-acclaimed solo CD, Blind Alley, was self-released in 2010 and it was followed by his second solo CD, Dangerous, in 2013. Based in L.A., Rayford was asked to host a blues jam at Cozy's in Sherman Oaks. It is through that venue that Rayford met and has played with a number of world-class musicians. He has a thriving solo career in L.A. having done studio vocals on several projects, including the theme for Judge Joe Brown, the movie trailer City Lights, music for Person of Interest, and many other projects. In May 2012, he made his stage debut starring in the Tony Award-winning play It Ain't Nothin' But the Blues at the Portland Center Stage. He joined members of the New York Broadway cast for a six-week run playing the part previously played by the late Ron Taylor.

(Note: Fourth cast member to be announced soon.)

The Creative Team for Low Down Dirty Blues includes: Director, Randal Myler; Scenic Design, Collette Pollard; Costume Design, Janice Pytel; Lighting Design, Rob Perry; Sound Design, Josh Horvath; Stage Manager, Kim McCann.

Single tickets for all Low Down Dirty Blues performances are now on sale and can be purchased online at www.MilwaukeeRep.com, by phone at 414-224-9490 or in person at The Rep's Ticket Office at 108 E. Wells Street. Ticket prices start at $40.00. Group tickets are also available for purchase by calling Morgan Halverson in Group Sales at 414-290-5340.

Milwaukee Repertory Theater is a nationally-recognized company that presents compelling dramas, powerful classics, award-winning contemporary works, full-scale musicals, housed in its three unique performance venues - the Quadracci Powerhouse, Stiemke Studio and Stackner Cabaret. The Rep also produces an annual production of A Christmas Carol at the beautiful and historic Pabst Theater. Under the leadership of Artistic Director Mark Clements and Managing Director Chad Bauman, The Rep is committed to creating plays that are meaningful and relevant to the society we live in - plays that are challenging, visceral, and engage the community through the issues they explore, demonstrating how a theater deeply rooted in its locality can also enjoy a richly influential and resonant national voice.

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