Theater Latté Da Announces THE GHOSTLIGHT SERIES

Theater Latté Da announced today THE GHOSTLIGHT SERIES, five virtual cabarets launching January 2021. Produced by Associate Artistic Director Kelli Foster Warder, and curated by Foster Warder as well as Founding Artistic Director Peter Rothstein, Regina Marie Williams, and Q Brothers Collective, the virtual cabaret series will feature more than 40 Minnesota artists showcasing stories and songs delivered monthly beginning January and running through July 2021. The series begins with TWELVE BLOCKS FROM WHERE I LIVE, featuring Regina Marie Williams and showcasing images of Minneapolis 2020 captured through her own camera lens. RE-CAST invites some TLD favorite actors to perform roles they never got to play. HEROIC ACTS OF MUSIC sheds a light on performances throughout history when musicians chose melody and beauty over violence and oppression. Award-winning and internationally acclaimed theater artists, Q Brothers Collective, presents THE RAP PACK, a hip hop cabaret developed as part of NEXT UP-Theater Latté Da's new works initiative, launched earlier this year. Finally, MUSIC TO OUR EYES: DESIGNERS SING OUT puts Twin Cities theater designers center stage. For years audiences have seen their artistry, but it's high time to hear their stories.

"We are excited to engage our audiences in a way that meets this moment, by sharing not just the skill and passion of these Minnesota artists but the stories and heart that propels them," shares Foster Warder. "As difficult as these times are, there is also beauty and opportunity. We hope this series brings encouragement and connection for our audiences and our artists in a time when we need both."

On May 25 2020, Regina Marie Williams began to capture moments of pain and promise at the intersection of 38th and Chicago. TWELVE BLOCKS FROM WHERE I LIVE features photos and songs attempting to capture a profound Minneapolis moment that catapulted a national movement. Curated by Kelli Foster Warder and Regina Marie Williams with music direction by Sanford Moore. Featuring performances by Regina Marie Williams and Sanford Moore.

In RE-CAST, some of the Twin Cities most treasured actors are invited to perform the roles they never got to play. Every actor is plagued by the word "typecast"; so we asked them to remove those barriers, those expectations, and sing the songs they've longed to sing. It will be an evening filled with passion, joy and surprise. Curated by Kelli Foster Warder with music direction by Jason Hansen.

HEROIC ACTS OF MUSIC celebrates courageous moments in history when artists chose to make music in the face of violence or oppression. A cellist plays an Adagio during the seige of Sarajevo; teenagers defy Hitler's order and dance to American Swing music in Nazi Germany; and in 1939, a Black opera singer denied a stage sings for a nation on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. Curated by Peter Rothstein.

THE RAP PACK is an experimental hip hop cabaret developed by the four members of Q Brothers Collective. It is an anachronistic smash-up of the old variety show, Vegas-style showbiz, and contemporary experimental hip hop-blending singing, rapping, dancing, sketch comedy, and theater. Created by Q Brothers Collective.

Finally, you've seen the beautiful work of designers who've worked on Theater Latté Da's stage for years. Their clothes define a character; their lights figuratively and literally illuminate the story; their scenery creates the world of a play. Now it's time to hear their stories. MUSIC TO OUR EYES: DESIGNERS SING OUT shifts the spotlight to our designers, who will share the events that have shaped their lives and the inspirations behind their choice to become a theater artist. Curated by Kelli Foster Warder and Peter Rothstein with music direction by Denise Prosek.

The series features over 40 Minnesota artists including Rush Benson, Paul Bigot, Renee Guittar, Rich Hamson, John Jamison, Nora Montañez, Sarah Ochs, Greta Oglesby, Britta Ollmann, Tod Peterson, Dan Piering, Regina Marie Williams, Evan Tyler Wilson, Abbee Warmboe, and more.

THE GHOSTLIGHT SERIES passes are on sale now. Series passes are $75 per household and includes access to all five virtual cabarets. Visit Latteda.org or call the Box Office at 612-339-3003.

Theater Latté Da is an award-winning Twin Cities musical theater company that combines music and story to illuminate the breadth and depth of the human experience. The company seeks to create new and impactful connections between story, music, artists, and audience by exploring and expanding the art of musical theater. www.latteda.org

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