LaChanze Joins Lineup of WALL TO WALL WOMEN OF SOUL at Symphony Space

Tony- and Emmy-winning actress, singer, and dancer LaChanze has joined the lineup of Wall to Wall Women of Soul at Symphony Space, along with the recent additions of all-female salsa band Lulada Club; poet Mahogany L. Browne, on video; and a robust roster of previously announced artists. Curated by Monique Martin, the event takes place Saturday, April 1, from 3-11pm, in the Peter Jay Sharp Theatre at Symphony Space (2537 Broadway, at 95th Street). Admission for both in-person and live-stream tickets is free.

Wall to Wall Women of Soul is the 2023 event in Symphony Space's signature series of marathon performances revisiting towering artistic legacies, which The New York Times has described as "an annual gift to New York City." The all-day concert features a wide range of the City's artists interpreting not just the undisputed icons of 1960s and '70s, but also the genre's more distant past and its recent and current innovators. In the 9pm segment, LaChanze will celebrate Chaka Khan, Aretha Franklin, and Roberta Flack.

Additional artists featured in Wall to Wall Women of Soul include the singer, songwriter, producer, and Labelle member Nona Hendryx, with an all-women orchestra; Harlem's GLR¥A AND THE RAKIEM WALKER PROJECT; Grammy-winning singer-songwriter J. Hoard; Native and African-American vocalist, songwriter, composer, and educator Martha Redbone; The Soapbox Presents, which artist Marija Abney created during lockdown to bring free live music to Black and brown communities; gospel/jazz/soul vocalist Marcelle Davies Lashley; "ghettotrance" singer Anthony Mills, accompanied by pianist and DJ ELEW; author, producer, and creative executive Thembisa Mshaka; and singer Xavier Smith, who performs the beloved annual tribute show Ladies of Soul.. Members of ​Ladies of Hip-Hop, which provides opportunities for girls and women in hip-hop culture, will perform-and lead the audience in-Black social dance. Mari Ella and DJ Miss Saigon will keep the energy high, spinning classic soul music between segments.

About LaChanze

​​With a career that has spanned thirty-one Broadway seasons, LaChanze consistently brings women of complexity and triumph into the cultural lexicon. She won a Tony Award for her performance as Celie in The Color Purple, originated the role of Ti Moune in Once on This Island (Tony Award nomination), and upheld her commitment to artistic excellence this past season as Wiletta in Alice Childress' historic play Trouble In Mind (Tony Award nomination). Other notable stage performances include roles in Summer: The Donna Summer Musical (Tony Award nomination), A Christmas Carol, The Secret Life of Bees, If/Then, The Wiz, Ragtime, Uptown... It's Hot! and Dreamgirls. On screen, LaChanze has delivered memorable roles in both TV and film, including Handel's Messiah Rocks: A Joyful Noise (Emmy Award), East New York, The Blacklist, Melinda, The Help, HBO's The Night Of, Law & Order: SVU, The Good Fight, Sex And The City, and the Disney animated feature film Hercules, among other titles.

This season, LaChanze serves as producer both on the 20th anniversary revival of Suzan-Lori Parks' acclaimed Pulitzer-Prize-winning play Topdog/Underdog as well as Kimberly Akimbo, a new musical by Tony Award-winning composer Jeanine Tesori and Pulitzer-Prize-winning playwright David Lindsay-Abaire. She is the President of Black Theatre United, a community of creatives dedicated to awareness, accountability, and advocacy.

About Monique Martin (Curator)

As a propagator of art, culture and ideas, Monique Martin brings her passion and experience in community building through the arts to elevate and instigate. An independent creative producer, artist, curator and marketing consultant, she has partnered with and produced for Joe's Pub, Disney Theatricals, Apollo Theater, New Victory Theater, Southbank Centre/UK, The Met Museum, Park Avenue Armory, NJPAC, Queens Theater in the Park and HBO. As Programming Director for the River to River Festival, SummerStage, and Harlem Stage, she expanded the programming by including contemporary circus, and International Artists. At Harlem Stage (2017-21), she introduced the first international artist-Afro-Swedish MC and playwright Jason 'Timbuktu' Diakite-to be commissioned and presented by the institution, and grew its commissioning and education programs. She is an experienced commissioner of new work, working closely with artists from ideation to successful premiere. She is an ardent facilitator of collaborations across cultures, sectors and genres, and has partnered with cultural consulates and embassies from across the globe. She is currently focusing her work on New York City's reopening supporting artists and arts organizations in presenting outdoor, virtual and hybrid arts and making her first contemporary circus.

About Symphony Space

Symphony Space is a multi-disciplinary performing arts center where bold programming, presented in a uniquely warm and welcoming environment, forges indelible relationships between artists and audiences.

Symphony Space's fundamental mission is to connect art, ideas, and community through their performances and their commitment to literacy and education through the arts. Known for an array of ground-breaking programs, including Selected Shorts, their immersive Wall to Wall concerts, and their innovative Global Arts education initiative, Symphony Space presents a full slate of original, affordable (and free) programming within New York City and in communities throughout the country through tours, public radio broadcasts, podcasts, and virtual events. On their stages and in the classrooms they serve, Symphony Space fosters access to the arts through all the disciplines.

Symphony Space was founded in the belief that the arts bring people together, transcend barriers, and celebrate both our similarities and differences. Through adventurous and impactful performances, commissions, and conversations, Symphony Space continues to invigorate these guiding principles, harnessing the power of the arts to engage, inspire, and build community.

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