NOW PLAYING! Sistas: The Musical
After a smash, award-winning run at the Midtown International Theater Festival,
SISTAS is moving uptown to the home of Off-Broadway hits!
SISTAS THE MUSICAL
A musical journey of
African-American women
from Bessie Smith to Beyoncé
3-time Tony winner Hinton Battle and JenKay present SISTAS, a musical journey of a multi generational African-American family.Using the lyrics of songs made famous by artists like Ma Rainey, Billie Holiday, Lena Horn, Erykah Badu, Jill Scott, Beyoncé and many others, the Musical play tells of the struggles, the joy and the triumphs of being Black in America, of being a woman in America – as told through the life of one woman and the women in her family.
Moving from the days of Jim Crow to the present, the narrative is presented through songs like Strange Fruit, Society’s Child, Taint Nobody’s Business, right up to the present with more contemporary songs of worth and independence – I am Not My Hair by India Arie, Alicia Keyes’ A Woman’s Worth, Golden by Jill Scott.
Beginning September 29, 2011!
Performance Schedule:
Thursday 7 p.m.
Saturday 4:30 p.m.
Sunday 4:30 p.m.
Visit the Sistas page on Facebook for more information!
Tickets can be purchased by visiting www.telecharge.com, by calling 212-239-6200 or by visiting the Box Office at St. Luke’s Theatre.
The Devil’s Music: The Life and Blues of Bessie Smith: NOW PLAYING!
Sexy and racy, Blues singer Bessie Smith was the definition of a Red Hot Mamma and the most successful entertainer of her time. On the eve of her tragic death in 1937, Bessie takes center stage in a Memphis “buffet flat.” Now, among friends, she tells the story of her amazing life, career, her loves and losses. Put your troubles aside, and soak up the blues as Bessie Smith comes to life and sings the songs that made her so unforgettable, St. Louis Blues, Need a Little Sugar in my Bowl and Nobody Knows You When You’re Down and Out.
The incandescent Miche Braden plays iconic blues singer Bessie Smith and performs thrilling renditions of 15 songs associated with one of America’s great divas.
“Run, don’t walk, to the current production of “The Devil’s Music: the Life and Blues of Bessie Smith.” The riveting and incandescent Miche Braden is the lead in director Joe Brancato‘s new staging about one of the great divas of the 1920s.” –Newstimes.comShow schedule: Monday at 7 PM
To purchase tickets go to www.telecharge.com or call: 212-239-6200
Travel to Narnia!
“One of the best pieces of family theatre I’ve seen”
- Broadway World Jr.
“Sure to keep children and grown-ups enthralled…magical”
- Broadway World
THE LION, THE WITCH AND THE WARDROBE
from the book by C.S. Lewis
dramatized by le Clanché du Rand
The White Witch has trapped Narnia in a perpetual state of winter with no hope of Christmas. But all that changes when four siblings venture through an old wardrobe and enter this land of talking animals, charming fauns, giants and dwarves. Standing shoulder to shoulder with Aslan the Great Lion, the children courageously battle the forces of evil and discover that Love is the deepest magic of all. In this inventive and highly theatrical adaptation of C.S. Lewis’ classic, two actors give a tour-de-force performance that’s sure to delight children and adults alike.
Open to all, most suitable for ages 6 and up.
Meet the actors and get a free
Narnia sticker after every performance!
Now Playing: Saturdays at 11 a.m.
Directed by Julia Beardsley O’Brien
Starring Andrew Fortman and Erin Layton
featuring percussionist Shaun Gallant
Check out the 2 great reviews on Broadway World Jr. and BroadwayWorld.com here and here!
Visit www.narniaoffbroadway.com or follow the show on Facebook for more information!
For tickets call 212-239-6200 or visit www.telecharge.com.
Channeling Kevin Spacey: Now Playing!
Office Space meets Scarface in this hilarious comic romp! In Channeling Kevin Spacey we meet Charlie, a meek pushover stuck in a dead end job and a loveless relationship. After a particularly soul-squashing day at work, Charlie has an epiphany and resolves to change his life. Channeling Kevin Spacey has garnered international acclaim and taken home the coveted “Best of Fest” award at the Toronto, Winnipeg, and Edmonton Fringe festivals. Fans of both Kevin Spacey and Al Pacino are in for a treat as Charlie’s metamorphosis channels the characters of both actors, triggering devastating and hilarious confrontations. For more information, go to: www.ckstheshow.com.
Show schedule: Friday and Saturday at 8 PM, Sunday at 7 PM.
To purchase tickets go to www.telecharge.com or call: 212-239-6200
Danny and Sylvia: The Danny Kaye Musical is a HIT!
photo by Carol Rosegg
Brian Childers and Kimberly Faye Greenberg
Danny and Sylvia: The Danny Kaye Musical is playing to houses at 90% capacity and the press is raving about
Off-Broadway’s new hit musical!
Performances: Saturdays at 2.
Tickets $59.50 & $31.50 via www.telecharge.com
or (212) 239-6200.
What the critics are saying about
“DANNY AND SYLVIA: THE DANNY KAYE MUSICAL”
“The popular, versatile comic entertainer Danny Kaye, and his wife, the songwriter Sylvia Fine, are profiled in a delightful off-Broadway musical called “Danny and Sylvia: The Danny Kaye Musical,” now on view at St. Luke’s Theatre. Childers seems tireless as he sings, dances and leaps about the stage, skillfully recreating Kaye’s clownish personality, complete with flamboyant hand motions, zany physical actions and quick wit. He easily executes the crazy accents and impromptu gibberish, as well as the fast-paced lyrics for which Kaye was famous.
Notable examples are his rendition of the Weill/Gershwin tongue-twister “Tchaikowsky,” in which he rattles off the names of dozens of similar-sounding Russian composers, and his audience-rousing version of “Minnie the Moocher.”
Sylvia is nimbly portrayed by Kimberly Faye Greenberg as loving, yet with a ruthless edge. Greenberg sings beautifully, conveying Fine’s love for the mostly undisciplined Kaye along with her astute, apparently sharklike business aptitude.
Somehow director Pamela Hall keeps it all in check and moving along smoothly.
This musical is an enjoyable look back at Kaye’s unique abilities, and an excellent showcase for the talented Greenberg and Childers.”
–Jennifer Farrar, NEW YORK TIMES/ASSOCIATED PRESS
“Watch those limbs!!! Brian Childers’ physicality is so like Kaye’s it’s a see-it-to-believe-it experience. Childers can dive into gibberish and do accents like Sid Caesar; he gambols, pivots, yelps, frolics, leaps, squeaks, and giggles. He acts, too. He’s a charmer. Enjoy Childers, whether leading the audience in singing Cab Calloway’s “Minnie the Moocher,” prancing through Fine’s still-fine “Anatole of Paris” or drilling through “Tchaikovsky”. Kimberly Faye Greenberg not only resembles Fine, she radiates her fearlessness. Greenberg reveals heart beneath Fine’s heartlessness plus compassion for her comic-savant husband.”
–Leonard Jacobs, BACKSTAGE
“DANNY AND SYLVIA is an entertaining evening. Fueled by the talents of its two stars, it’s a smoothly paced revue that doesn’t bog itself down with heave does of exposition. Bob Bain and Robert McElwaine have written a very good score that also includes some of Kaye’s most memorable performances. Brian Childers portrays Danny Kaye with loving care and exquisite attention to vocal and physical detail. His impersonation of Kaye is simply uncanny and his spectacular dead-on rendition of “Minnie the Moocher” is a memorable highlight. Kimberly Faye Greenberg has a strong comedic presence as songwriter Sylvia Fine, Kaye’s creative partner and eventual spouse and is an excellent match for Childers. Pamela Hall directs the script sweetly and Gene Castle has done a great job bringing Kaye’s choreography to the stage. Fans of Danny Kaye will not be disappointed with this production. It’s a pleasure to see Brian Childers portray him.”
–Jason S. Grossman, NYTHEATRE.COM
“Childers and Greenberg have good stage chemistry and both belt out the songs with gusto. Childers is at his best singing Kurt Weill’s and Ira Gershwin’s “Tchaikovsky,” a tongue-twisting litany of 58 Russian composers sung in a breakneck 38 seconds.”
–CURTAIN UP
“The life of Danny Kaye is a whopper of a story.”
–John Simon, BLOOMBERG
“DANNY AND SYLVIA” is a heartfelt tribute to the well-known comedian and the significant contribution of his lesser-known wife. We get to see some of the brilliance that made Kaye a star of stage, screen and TV. Watching Brian Childers bring Kaye to life, you get the sense his style may have influenced the Monty Python crew and certainly influenced Nathan Lane.”
–Paul Cozby, ABOUT.COM
“Danny Kaye fans will love Brian Childers’ recreation of the ‘Tummler’.”
–Merle Exit, MERLE’S WHIRLS
“Danny and Sylvia: The Danny Kaye Musical is a little jewel. The production is a triumph of casting with Brian Childers as Danny Kaye. Mr. Childers received the 2002 Helen Hayes Award for “Outstanding Leading Actor in a Musical” and the Mary Godwater Award for his performance as Danny Kaye in Danny and Sylvia: A Musical Love Story. Understandably there are more awards attached to his name and we at Arts & Leisure News Service add their name to the accolades for his performance in Danny and Sylvia: The Danny Kaye Musical.”
–Joyce Hauser, ARTS & LEISURE NEWS SERVICE
“Brian Childers flawlessly achieves the reincarnation of Danny Kaye in his high-energy fluency and physical commitment to the role. He not only captured the character in song and dance, but also used the play’s sporadic narrative to engage the audience and add depth to what we already know about the famous showman.
Playing Sylvia Fine, Kaye’s steadfast and loving wife, Kimberly Faye Greenberg shone as the playful yet disciplined backbone to Danny Kaye’s funnyman routines. Fine was also the creator of some of his most renowned material.
By the finale it is clear why the world quickly embraced the tongue-twister master and all-around performer that was Danny Kaye. Danny and Sylvia: The Danny Kaye Musical is a great evening off-Broadway and will have you singing those fabulous Danny Kaye songs for weeks to come.”
– Alyssa Lettman, Best of Off-Broadway.com
For more information, visit: www.dannyandsylvia.com
Danny and Sylvia star featured in Backstage Magazine
Perfect Fit
Kimberly Faye Greenberg juggles musical theater and dresser gigs.
By Simi Horwitz
July 10, 2009
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For Kimberly Faye Greenberg, being a Broadway dresser while pursuing her onstage career is a perfect fit. “I’m well-organized, I can multitask, I can memorize a lot of things quickly, I can move around quickly, I get along with many personalities, and I understand the workings of a show and its etiquette,” she says.Greenberg has worked as a dresser for seven years on a host of shows, including The Lion King and currently Billy Elliot. At the same time, she has performed in musical theater across the country. At the moment, she is starring Off-Broadway in the two-hander Danny and Sylvia: The Danny Kaye Musical, with book and lyrics by Robert McElwaine and music by Bob Bain.
The Long Beach, Calif., native insists the juggling hasn’t been all that difficult, mostly because she knows her priorities. “I’m an actor first,” she says, and dressing is worked around her performances. On Danny and Sylvia it’s relatively easy, as she has only four shows per week: three matinees (Wednesday, Saturday, and Sunday) and a Saturday evening performance. Greenberg is a “swing” dresser, meaning she substitutes for other dressers when they can’t make it. She also does “day work.”
“It’s preparing the costumes before performances,” she explains. “I check the clothes and shoes to make sure there are no rips. During the week, I may do day work at Billy Elliot from 1 to 5. On Sunday morning, day work is from 9 to 12:30.” To her knowledge, she is the only dresser who is also a working actor.
Even more striking, “Being a dresser has not stood in the way of my being seriously considered for some of the shows I’ve dressed,” she points out. “I may not have gotten the roles, but being a dresser had nothing to do with it. I’m known, I’m trusted, and I’m liked.” Greenberg has even participated in Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS events including the Easter Bonnet competitions, singing and dancing on stage alongside the Broadway cast for whom she worked as a dresser. “I’ve sung solos at these events,” she says, speculating she may be the only dresser who has done so.
Dressing Up
Greenberg showed an aptitude for “dressing” early on. During a summer break from the University of California, Irvine, where she was majoring in musical theater, she worked as an intern at Sacramento Music Circus. Within short order she had moved up the ranks to dresser and then wardrobe supervisor. A few years later, when she was living in New York, Greenberg bumped into one of the dressers she had supervised, and he got her a job. “If I had not run into him, I don’t think I’d be a dresser today,” she says.
Greenberg’s first dressing gig was The Lion King, which she calls baptism by fire because of its scale and complexity. Approximately 15 dressers work simultaneously backstage. Greenberg says their steps are so planned and precise, the action resembles a highly choreographic dance. (See the July 2 Back Stage profile of actor Jill Paice, who describes the art of quick changes in Broadway’s 39 Steps.) A dresser is always prepared for contingencies, carrying a needle, thread, and scissors at all times. “There are occasions when an actor has to be cut out of a costume,” says Greenberg. The Lion King, for example, offered further challenges due to the large pieces of scenery swinging on and off the stage. On that show, Greenberg sustained a serious injury that required surgery and physical therapy.
On any show, a swing has to learn the “track” of the dresser for whom she’s subbing. “These are notes that take the dresser from point A to point B to the end of the show,” Greenberg says. The more complex the show, the more important it is for the swing to trail after the dresser while she’s working, and perhaps even do a dry run with the dresser on hand, before taking on the job solo. The amount of preparation is often dependent on the lead time a swing has, the size of the show, and the swing’s experience backstage.
Greenberg became a member of IATSE before joining the actors’ unions. She is now a member of Equity and AFTRA.
An Actor First and Foremost
At the moment, Greenberg’s thoughts are centered on the challenges of playing Sylvia Fine, Danny Kaye’s wife. Without impersonating Fine, Greenberg hopes she has captured her essence. “I couldn’t imitate her even if I wanted to,” says the actor. “There isn’t enough video on her. I read a couple of Danny Kaye biographies and gleaned some information about her. She was a businesswoman and wore the pants in that family. Still, she was a very private person.” Greenberg feels that Fine has to be understood within the context of her era, and though Fine may have seemed unpleasantly aggressive, Greenberg remains convinced Fine was driven on behalf of Kaye because she truly loved him. “I want to show her human side,” the actor says.
Coincidentally, Greenberg’s dresser at Danny and Sylvia is an aspiring actor, and Greenberg couldn’t be more pleased to serve as a mentor. Being a dresser has helped her understand a dresser’s needs and concerns. She appreciates their hard work and does not treat them as ill-regarded servants. Indeed, she has a renewed respect for all the players in a production, and, most important, working backstage has put the entire world of show business in a broader perspective. On the one hand, she sees dressing as a day job, “as cool as it may be.” On the other hand, she sees her dream job—starring in a musical on Broadway—in a more tempered light, too.
“A lot of the glow has worn off,” she says. “It’s the job I aspire to, but it’s a job, with its good points and bad points. I approach auditioning differently now. The desperation is gone, and that’s not because I have a job. Ideally, I wouldn’t have to be a dresser. But I now have a more realistic view of the performing-arts world as a whole. I understand it’s a business. It’s called show business.”
“Danny and Sylvia: The Danny Kaye Musical” has an open-ended run at St. Luke’s Theatre, 308 W. 46th St., NYC. Tickets: (212) 239-6200 or www.telecharge.com,
www.dannyandsylvia.com.
From Playbill.com an article about the director
of “Danny and Sylvia”
Pamela Hall: An Ingenue Who
Got Lost in the Stars
She made her Broadway debut as Nina, the winsome waitress who sings “I’ve Never Said I Loved You” in Dear World, then replaced Betty Buckley as Martha Washington in 1776 and was Philia in Broadway’s second A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum.
Then — poof! — she got out of the ingénue business and, for all practical and visible purposes, dropped off the side of the stage while she was still ahead of the game.
In truth, Pamela Hall only relocated behind the footlights and became a director.
Her efforts are now displayed in the year-old Danny and Sylvia, with Brian Childers and Kimberly Faye Greenberg, twinkling ‘n’ shining under the roof of St. Luke’s Theatre (308 W. 46th).
