Boxcar Introduces SUNDAY SOLO SERIES In January

Boxcar Theatre is pleased to announce its inaugural SUNDAY SOLO SERIES at The Palace Theatre, home of The Speakeasy, starting in January. The Series will feature three exceptional artists: magician-storyteller Kevin Blake and actor-singers Doris Bumpus and Dedrick Weathersby.

Blake kicks off the series with three special dates, Thursday - Saturday, January 3 - 5. Starting in February, the Series will continue on the first three Sundays of each month through June. There will be two shows on each date at 4:30 p.m. and 7 p.m. Individual tickets range from $37 - $63. A $120 Flex Pass offers premium seats for any three shows.

Tickets go on sale this Friday, December 7 at boxcartheatre.org/sundaysolo.
Magician Kevin Blake has opened for Third Eye Blind at the Fillmore, toured with Band of Magicians in New Zealand and Australia, lectured at Google and impressed judges and audiences on America's Got Talent. Over the last several years, he has also performed several shows at The Speakeasy's Club 1923, wowing audiences with his stories and sleight of hand.

Boxcar Theatre is proud to welcome Blake back in a brand new show titled, Magic Man at The Speakeasy, an interactive experience of magic and mystery, replete with visual illusions and mentalism. Using legerdemain as a comedic window into finding everyday happiness in a fast-paced world, this often poignant show seeks to answer the question: What is a magician who cannot believe in magic? Following his three January dates, Blake performs at 4:30 p.m. and 7 p.m. on February 3, March 3, April 7, May 5 and June 2.

Born and raised in Texas, Dedrick Weathersby got his start in theater with regional acting credits including Jimmy Early in Dreamgirls, Coalhouse Walker, Jr. in Ragtime, Benny in In the Heights and Angel in Rent. This year, he received wide attention with his debut album, Remembering James, available on Spotify, Apple, Amazon and all other major digital music streaming platforms. Following its release, Weathersby held the number one spot on the R&B Soul charts for two weeks.

Boxcar Theatre will present Weathersby in a cabaret version of his chart-topping album, depicting the story of James Brown, the Godfather of Soul. Remembering James weaves Brown's hit songs with stories from the history of the era he lived through, episodes that shaped the artist's life and work like the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. A six-piece band directed by Will Roc Griffin will accompany Weathersby in bringing the passion of Brown's music alive while offering a message of hope to a grief-stricken nation looking for a moment of healing and celebration. Remembering James runs at 4:30 p.m. and 7 p.m. on February 10, March 10, April 14, May 12 and June 9.

Doris Bumpus rounds out the trio of Sunday Solo performers. Bumpus' credits include Effie White in Dreamgirls; Shug Avery in The Color Purple; Lady in Brown in for colored girls who have considered suicide / when the rainbow is enuf; Ruth Younger in A Raisin in the Sun; and Camae in The Mountain Top, for which she was nominated for a 2017 Broadway World Award for "Best Actress in a Drama Play."

Bumpus makes her Boxcar debut in Lady Day at Emerson's Bar and Grill, a play written by Lanie Robertson, set in 1959 in a seedy bar in Philadelphia, where Billie Holiday gave one of her last performances. With iconic songs like "God Bless the Child" and "Strange Fruit," Lady Day offers a riveting portrait of Holiday and her music four months before her death. Terence Ivory directs, with musical direction from Willis Hickerson, Jr. Lady Day runs at 4:30 p.m. and 7 p.m. on February 17, March 17, April 21, May 19 and June 16.

"We are delighted to offer The Palace Theatre stage to these three wonderfully gifted performers," said Boxcar Theatre Artistic Director Nick A. Olivero. "We've scheduled this series to take place on nights when our marquee show, The Speakeasy, is dark. During the month of January, in addition to Kevin Blake's three dates, Boxcar will co-produce six special-edition shows for SF Sketchfest. The Speakeasy will then reopen its 2019 season with a set of new characters and storylines - The Speakeasy: Age of Scofflaws - on January 31. Opening night is scheduled for Thursday, February 21."

For more information about Boxcar Theatre and its upcoming season, including the Sunday Solo Series, SF Sketchfest and The Speakeasy, please visit boxcartheatre.org.

Boxcar Theatre was co-founded in 2005 by Nick A. Olivero, and has produced over 60 plays and musicals including Hedwig and the Angry Inch, Little Shop of Horrors, Clue, three Tennessee Williams plays in repertory and four Sam Shepard plays in repertory. It has also been the home for such companies as Crowded Fire and the Neo-Futurists as well as dozens of other emerging groups over the years. In 2007 the company opened its first venue, the Boxcar Playhouse in San Francisco's SoMa district, and in 2010 their second space, the Boxcar Studios in the Tenderloin. The company is currently located in The Palace Theatre, a multimillion-dollar space designed and built for Boxcar Theatre, which opened in 2016.

For more information visit thespeakeasysf.com.

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