SFBATCO Announces Virtual Extension Of Critically Acclaimed I, TOO, SING AMERICA

The San Francisco Bay Area Theatre Company announced on Thursday that I, Too, Sing America will be available for streaming on the platform AnywhereSeat beginning Friday, February 18. A theatrical concert that celebrates the works of poets of color through original music and choreography, the show was conceived by Othello Jefferson and Jamie Yuen-Shore, and features Stage Direction by Yuen-Shore, Musical Direction by Jefferson, and Choreography Direction by Christine Chung.

I, Too, Sing America completed its three-week run at the Brava Theater Center in San Francisco on February 13. The production received rave reviews from several publications, including the San Francisco Chronicle, which heralded it as "the jolt of positive energy we need...sincerely and thoughtfully envisioned." Inspired by Jefferson's ritual of reading the works of Black American poets to his young daughters, the show-which includes works by Langston Hughes, Gwendolyn Brooks, Jean Toomer, and Victoria Chang-is enjoying its third production, having won 2019 Theatre Bay Area awards for Outstanding Production of a Musical, Outstanding Direction of a Musical, and Outstanding Choreography.

In order to bring the production to a wider audience, SFBATCO partnered with San Francisco-based production company The Complex to capture dynamic footage of the live performance on Thursday, February 3rd with seven cameras. The capture was edited in real time by The Complex, and live-streamed on SFBATCO's Twitch channel for free. The Complex emerged as a leader in live-stream production when the need emerged during the pandemic, and Twitch viewers were amazed by the quality. Now, The Complex has remastered that footage to give virtual viewers an even more exciting experience.

"As an organization, we are always committed first and foremost to serving artists and audiences in the San Francisco Bay Area," says SFBATCO Artistic Director Rodney Earl Jackson, Jr. "But I felt that this beautiful piece that Othello [Jefferson], Jamie [Yuen-Shore], and Christine [Chung] created needed to reach a wider audience. The poems represented in the show may have all been written by people of color, but they speak to the nuances of the human experience shared by people of all backgrounds. And the music and choreography elevate the text and allow for different points of access. I am so thrilled to be able to share this piece with audiences around the world."

I, Too, Sing America virtual tickets start at $15, and are available at: http://sfbatco.anywhereseat.com/.

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