Eugene Fleming Leads Cast Of SCANDALOUS PEOPLE - A SIZZLING JAZZICAL At FringeNYC 8/14-30

Broadway veteran EuGene Fleming will head The cast of seasoned stage actors and exciting newcomers. Fleming has appeared in numerous musicals including Never Gonna Dance, The Tap Dance Kid, and A Chorus Line. Other cast members include: Nicole Hill, Matt Stewart, Jennifer Swiderski, Ryan Clardy, Shina Ann Morris, Nirene S. Brown, Jeb Kreager, Terry Lavell, Buzz Roddy, Johnny Flynn, Ryan Dietz and Jesse Sullivan, Graham Kuptz, Jenny LaRoche, Kisa Willis, Monique LeFlore, Brittany Younger and Davina Porter.

Acclaimed pianist, composer, and arranger Tommy James will join the Scandalous People creative team as the musical director. James has performed and/or recorded with bands such as The Duke Ellington Orchestra and has served as the musical director of the international tour of the Tony Award-winning musical Bring In Da Noise, Bring In Da Funk. Scandalous People - A Sizzling Jazzical features a libretto by Myla Churchill, music by Benny Russell and direction by Fredi Walker-Browne (original Rent cast member). Other members of the creative team include: Obediah Wright (choreography), Christopher J. Tuccillo (orchestration), Natalie Robin (lighting) Lisa McFadden (costumes), and Sean O'Halloran (sound).

Scandalous People will play five performances at the Minetta Lane Theatre (18 Minetta Lane) in the West Village. The performance schedule is as follows: Wednesday, August 19 at 10:30 p.m., Friday, August 21 at 6:00 p.m., Saturday, August 22 at 4:45 p.m, Friday, August 28 at 9:15 p.m. and Saturday, August 29 at 2:15 p.m. Tickets are $15 and can be purchased, beginning Friday, July 24 by visiting www.FringeNYC.org or by calling 866.468.7619. Tickets will be available at the Minetta Lane Theatre fifteen minutes before curtain the day of the performance.

Set in a 1920s Harlem speakeasy, Scandalous People is a "jazzical" rife with leggy chorus girls, vaudevillian antics, backstage drama and comedy. The story revolves around Dewey Demarkov, an African-American showman and resident impresario of the Do Drop Inn. Dewey's innovative productions garner the praise and attention of the infamous Mae West, who wants a show built around her; and the notorious gangster Dutch Schultz, who's looking for a foray into Harlem's speakeasy scene. With their money and support, Dewey's dream of mounting a groundbreaking black and white revue on racially polarized Broadway seems within reach...but at what cost?

For more information about the New York International Fringe Festival, Fringe NYC, A Present Company Production visit www.fringenyc.org . For complete details about Scandalous People - A Sizzling Jazzical visit www.scandalouspeople.com

EuGene Fleming
EuGene Fleming (Dewey) Broadway credits include: NEVER GONNA DANCE, LOOK OF LOVE, ONE MO' TIME, KISS ME KATE, FOSSE, STREET CORNER SYMPHONY, SWINGIN' ON A STAR, HIGH ROLLER SOCIAL AND PLEASURE CLUB, BLACK AND BLUE, THE TAP DANCE KID, SOPHISTICATED LADIES and A CHORUS LINE. His National Tours include: SMOKEY JOE'S CAFÉ, THE WIZ and SONG AND DANCE. Film credits include Stephen Spielberg's CATCH ME IF YOU CAN.

TOMMY JAMES (Musical Director), a leading pianist, composer, arranger and music director, majored in composition at the Manhattan School of Music. Over the years he has worked with an eclectic group of artists in many musical genres.

Among the outstanding artists and bands with whom he has performed and /or recorded are The Duke Ellington Orchestra, Lionel Hampton, Joe Williams, Maureen McGovern, Cleo Laine/John Dankworth, Eartha Kitt, Nell Carter, Roy Ayers, The Stylistics, Melba Moore, George McCrae, Stanely Turrentine, Billy Vera, The Spinners, and The Temptations. He has served as music director with the international tour of the Tony-award winning musical "BRING IN ‘DA NOISE" starring Savion Glover. He has also been musical director for Eartha Kitt, Doc Powell, Bobbi Humphrey, and others.

Mr. James' arrangements (some published by Warner Bros.) have been performed by the Ellington Orchestra, New York Pops, LA Philharmonic, Buffalo Philharmonic, Atlanta Symphony, Brooklyn Philharmonic, New York's The Supper Club, and during the Jerry Lewis Labor Day Telethon.

August 14-30

Tix: $15 For tickets visit www.fringenyc.org
New York, NY Today, MyChurch Productions announced venue, cast and creative team updates for the world premiere of Scandalous People - A Sizzling Jazzical at the New York International Fringe Festival, FringeNYC, A Present Company Production, August 14-30, 2009.

Photo credit Linda Lenzi

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