JOSEPHINE: A MUSICAL CABARET Comes to The Segal Centre for Performing Arts This Month

The Segal Centre for Performing Arts will present the critically and multi-award-winning, Josephine: A Musical Cabaret starring Tymisha Harris and directed/choreographed by Sean Cheesman. The biographical cabaret created by Tymisha Harris, Tod Kimbro, and Michael Marinaccio will be in the Sylvan Adams Theatre from May 28 to June 18, 2023.

Josephine: A Musical Cabaret is an international award-winning and off-Broadway one-woman show that combines cabaret, theatre, burlesque, and dance to tell the story of the iconic Josephine Baker, the first African American international superstar and one of the most remarkable figures of the 20th Century.

After debuting at the 2016 San Diego Fringe Festival and winning the distinctions of "Outstanding Solo Performance" and "Best Show", Josephine toured throughout North America in 2017, picking up awards and 5-star reviews at every stop. From there, the show was selected by SoHo Playhouse in New York City to be part of the 2017 Fringe Encore series in October 2017. Josephine was awarded the honour of "Outstanding Production" at the Encore series, and in early 2018 was offered a limited 8-week off-Broadway run at SoHo Playhouse to sold-out performances and great critical acclaim. For this production, Harris was nominated for the 2018 Vivian Robinson AUDELCO Award for Outstanding Solo Performance.

In the summer of 2018, the show travelled across Canada to five festivals, and was the top selling show at each one of them, earning another dozen awards. In 2019, the show went to the Edinburgh Fringe for the first time, where it was a critical and box office hit. In February of 2020, the show played in Australia for the first time. At the Adelaide Fringe Festival, the sold out, extended run received rave reviews and received a coveted "Critics Circle Award". From there, Josephine planned to tour Europe and dozens of engagements in the US and Canada, but in March 2020 the pandemic had other plans.

Thankfully in 2021, Josephine returned to venues across the US and Canada, including the St-Ambroise Montreal Fringe Festival, also promotional partner for this production, where it continued to win over audiences and critics, and winning the Segal Centre award for Best English-Language Production.

The Segal Centre production will pair the incredible Josephine with Choreographer-to-the-Stars and So You Think You Can Dance's Sean Cheesman and a stellar creative team to elevate this already exquisite performance into the stratosphere, spreading Baker's message of love and unity across the globe. The Segal Centre is known for developing and producing new works, musicals, and cabarets such as April Fools, Piaf/Dietrich (fka The Angel and the Sparrow), The Hockey Sweater, A Musical, The Louder We Get (fka Prom Queen), Belles Sœurs, to name but a few. Josephine: A Musical Cabaret is the next production to get this development treatment with an enhanced rendition of the Fringe success story. This revamped production boasts new costumes, a redesigned set, and an expanded repertoire of songs and material including a live band onstage.

"After years on the Fringe circuit, winning over audiences and sweeping awards, we're so thrilled to give it the Segal Centre sparkle and bring it to our professional mainstage for even more people to enjoy." said Artistic and Executive Director Lisa Rubin.

Tymisha Harris (aka "Tush") has been performing professionally for over 25 years. Her early credits include assistant choreographer and backup dancing for the 90s pop group N*SYNC, backup dancer for LFO, multiple roles at Universal Studios Orlando, and a featured role in the hit movie series Bring It On. More recent endeavors include the national tour of Rock of Ages, a European tour with the innovative and world-renowned Pilobulus Dance Theater Company, and founding member and Assistant Director/Choreographer of the successful Orlando based troupe, VarieTease.

Sean Cheesman is an internationally renowned choreographer, creative director, and producer. He has worked with some of the world's top entertainers including Michael and Janet Jackson, Prince, TLC, Vanessa Williams, Carmen Electra, Tina Turner, Queen Latifah, Cher, and Britney Spears. He has won two MTV Music Video Awards for choreography in Michael & Janet Jackson's "Scream" and Prince's "Cream" videos. He also appeared and choreographed in the Warner Brothers film The Bodyguard. He was a producer and the creative choreographer for Andrew Lloyd Webber's search for Dorothy on the TV show Over the Rainbow. He is well known for his role as a choreographer and judge on Dirty Dancing: Time of your Life, the popular T4 show Musicool, and he is a staple on So You Think You Can Dance (USA, Canada, and UK). He recently choreographed The West End production of Prince of Egypt. He is also a creative director for the world-renowned Swiss-based Art on Ice. Segal Centre audiences will remember his work as Choreographer on April Fools and The Louder We Get (then titled Prom Queen).

"Josephine: A Musical Cabaret will take you on a journey. If you are already a fan of Josephine Baker, you won't be let down. And if you're not yet there, you will become one and add her to your list of amazing, unforgettable humans," said Director and Choreographer Sean Cheesman.

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