SARAH SINGS A LOVE STORY Opens this Week

Crossroads Theatre Company's more than two-decade run at 7 Livingston Ave. comes to an end this month with the world premiere of Stephanie Berry's Sarah Sings a Love Story, a musical play that weaves the life and music of the great Sarah Vaughan through the enduring romance of two devoted fans. The building, opened in 1991, will soon be razed to make way for a new performing arts complex for Crossroads and other members of the New Brunswick Cultural Center.

Sarah Sings a Love Story runs March 9 through 26; opening night is Saturday, March 11. Tickets range from $25 to $55.

The play opens as Elaine Torbry is getting ready to see one of Vaughan's final concerts in New York City, while Russell, her beloved husband of more than 30 years is hospitalized. The event will be bittersweet. She cannot remember a time without Russell or the music of Sarah Vaughan. As music and muse in their lives, Vaughan offers a dreamlike memory book of recollections and songs that carry Elaine back to their courtship and through their life together. Along the way, Vaughan's life parallels theirs, providing a musical biography of one of the jazz world's greatest performers.

"Stephanie Berry was inspired by the longtime romance and marriage of her brother and sister-in-law," said Crossroads' Producing Artistic Director Marshall Jones III. "In the play, Elaine and Russell find their strength and perseverance through the divine voice of Sarah Vaughan. Audiences will experience the power of jazz and the sound of Sarah Vaughan through the characters' parallel stories."

The play features Tamar Davis (Sarah Vaughan), who gained fame as the muse and protégé of her mentor, the late Prince. They co-authored the Grammy-nominated duet, "Beautiful, Loved and Blessed." She won raves on NBC's "The Voice," and appeared in "Motown the Musical," Davis has toured with Tyler Perry and is the founder of the Syren Arts Academy and The Tamar Davis Project for visual and performing artists.

Marva Hicks (Elaine Torbry) has starred on Broadway in "Motown the Musical," "Caroline or Change," "The Lion King," "Lena Horne: The Lady and Her Music," and off-Broadway in such shows as "Little Sjhop of Horrors and "Cabin in the Sky." She toured with the late Whitney Houston and Michael Jackson, as well as Stevie Wonder.

Curtiss Cook (Russell Torbry) has appeared in multiple Netflix programs including "Luke Cage," "Shutter Island," "Arbitrage," The Interpreter," Bull" and "Elementary." He also appears on "House of Cards."

Musician/composer/arranger Nat Adderley Jr. is musical director. He is best known as Luther Vandross' musical director and composer of several of his recordings, including the Grammy-nominated "Give Me the Reason." He also arranged many recordings, including Vandross' Grammy-winning duet with Beyoncé, "The Closer I Get to You." Adderley arranged Natalie Cole's 1987 recording of "When I Fall in Love," and albums for Aretha Franklin, Gloria Lynne. A pianist, Adderley played on R&B star Jaheim's recent hit single, "Back in My Arms." He is from a distinguished musical family - son of composer and jazz cornet and trumpet player Nat Adderley and nephew of saxophonist Cannonball Adderley. A graduate of Yale, Adderley was raised in Teaneck and still lives in New Jersey.

Playwright Stephanie Berry is also an accomplished stage, film and television actress well known to Crossroads audiences most recently for her roles in Autumn and Repairing a Nation. As a playwright, she has written more than a half dozen plays, including her solo piece, The Shaneequa Chronicles, for which she won an Obie, Audelco and New Voices Award at Harlem Stage. Her extensive regional theater credits include August Wilson's Seven Guitars, recently produced at Yale Repertory Theatre. She also has numerous film and television credits, including all of the "Law and Order" shows. Berry received the TCG/Fox Foundation Fellowship as a Distinguished Artist and is a founding member of Blackberry Productions Theater Company, a Harlem-based organization that develops new works and brings theater to underserved populations.

Director Jeffery V. Thompson's history with Crossroads goes back to 1980 when he starred in Purlie! under the direction of Ricardo Khan. His directing credits include The King and Me in New York; Paul Robeson at Passage Theatre Company; Welcome Home, Marian Anderson at NJPAC and Gorilla, My Love at the Lincoln Center Institute and Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park. As an actor, he has appeared on and off-Broadway and in regional theater. He also directed Stephanie Berry in The Shaneequa Chronicles.

Sarah Sings a Love Story will be Crossroads' final production in the building it has occupied since 1991 as the City of New Brunswick plans to raze 7 and 9 Livingston Avenue, home of George Street Playhouse, to make way for a new performing arts complex that will house the two companies and the American Repertory Ballet. The new complex is being constructed by the city, the New Brunswick Development Corporation and a number of other community partners. It is expected to be completed by the summer of 2019. The theater was previously located on Memorial Parkway.

"Crossroads intends to continue its long-standing tradition as the nation's premier African American theater company and we look forward to remaining an important part of the New Brunswick arts community for many years to come," said Jones. "I'm optimistic that this will be a great opportunity for us along with our partner arts organizations in the city to continue doing what we do best in a new arts center that meets the needs of our diverse audiences and artists."

Over the next two seasons, Crossroads will partner with performing arts venues around the state to present its 2017-18 and 2018-19 seasons. Next season's productions will be Mecca Tales, by Rohina Malik, about Muslim women traveling to Mecca; Familiar, a family comedy about African immigrants living in Minnesota; and an encore presentation of Ain't Misbehavin' directed by the legendary André De Shields. Venues will be announced in the near future.

"While we await the completion of the New Brunswick performing arts center, Crossroads will engage with an expanded audience by taking our shows on the road," said Crossroads Board of Trustees President Anthony P. Carter. "As we bring our productions to new venues in New Jersey, we look forward to welcoming both new and old audiences to experience the richness and vibrancy of culturally diverse theater that have been Crossroads' hallmarks for nearly 40 years."

Founded in 1978 by Ricardo Khan and L. Kenneth Richardson, Crossroads Theatre Company embraces the vision that African-American theater is intended for a broad-based, diverse audience. As a major force in the development of new ideas and the introduction of formerly marginalized writers, Crossroads produces works that enrich and diversify the representation of African American culture on the American stage. Crossroads was the winner of the 1999 Tony Award for Outstanding Regional Theater in the United States.

Performances are March 9, 10, 11, 16, 17, 18, 23, 24 and 25 at 8 p.m.; March 12, 18, 19, 25 and 26 at 3 p.m.; and March 15 and 22 at 10 a.m.

Tickets range from $25 to $45. Opening night tickets are $55 on March 11 and include a reception. For tickets, call 732-545-8100 or go online to crossroadstheatrecompany.org.

To post a comment, you must register and login.