Photos: Inside the Two-Night Presentation Of THE SONGS OF DOROTHY DANDRIDGE! THE MUSICAL at Carnegie Hall

Producers Richard Bell, N'Kenge, Park Row Equity Partners, Tegan Summer, Sam Williams, Michael Loeb and Derow Enterprises, in association with Coalition for African Americans in the Performing Arts and LBlakes Partners, recently presented "The Songs of Dorothy Dandridge! The Musical," at Zankel Hall in Carnegie Hall. Held July 17th and 18th, the 11 cast members performed selections from the hotly-anticipated new production of Dorothy Dandridge! The Musical, which celebrates the life and legacy of pioneering actress Dorothy Dandridge. With book and lyrics by Trey Ellis and music and lyrics by Shelton L. Becton, the presentation was directed by Tamara Tunie.

Leading the cast in the title role was N'Kenge, who recently co-starred in the Tony Award-winning musical Caroline, or Change, with Tony nominee John Cariani (Fiddler on the Roof, Something Rotten! The Band's Visit and Caroline, Or Change) as Earl Mills, Aisha De Haas (Bring In Da Noise, Bring In Da Funk, RENT and Caroline, Or Change) as Ruby Dandridge, and Phillip Attmore (Shuffle Along, Hello, Dolly!) as Harold Nicholas.

The cast also included Jeremy Webb as Otto Preminger, Mac Award winner Dawn Derow as Marilyn Monroe, Dominic Nolfi as Jack Dennison, Trisha Jeffrey as Vivian Dandridge, Natalie Renee as Etta Jones, Dewitt Fleming Jr as Phil Moore, and Grace Field as the Marilyn Monroe stand by.

On both nights, the shows were performed to an exuberantly cheering audience that included several theater stars and industry members. An intimate reception followed each show at the Red Eye Grill where the cast and creative team mingled with industry VIPs over champagne and hors d'oeuvres.

N'Kenge, the musical's conceiver and lead producer, said, "Our 2-night presentation was an absolute labor of love. It was wonderful to see the public excited about this iconic story. Developing a musical takes a village and Carnegie Hall was a glorious way to give people a sneak peek of this very special show."

Tamara Tunie said, "A lot of hard work, culminated in an evening of original music and song, that did EXACTLY what I hoped it would do: create a buzz, garner financial support, and leave the audience wanting MORE! They left Zankel Hall vibrating! It's only the beginning!"

Colleen Winney of LBlakes Partners summed it up: "N'Kenge delivered knockout performances. Get ready Broadway. Dorothy will WOW!"

Photos provided by Victor Lee and Neal Bennington.

Special thanks to the Park Central Hotel.

Find out more about supporting this exciting new show at: DorothyDandridgeMusical.com

Dewitt Fleming, Jr, Jennie Harney-Fleming, Jeremy Webb and Nat Chandler

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