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Jelly's Last Jam
''Jelly's Last Jam'' is a musical with a book by George C. Wolfe, lyrics by Susan Birkenhead, and music by Jelly Roll Morton and Luther Henderson. Based on the life and career of Ferdinand Joseph LaMothe, known as Jelly Roll Morton and generally regarded as one of the primary driving forces behind the introduction of jazz to the American public in the early 20th century, it also serves as a social commentary on the African-American experience during the era. LaMothe was born into a Louisiana Creole family that was established and free before the Civil War. Plot The musical opens with the recently deceased Morton in a state of limbo, looking back on his life. He is reluctantly guided by the mysterious 'Chimney Man,' who forces him to recall the more painful moments of his life when he attempts to ignore or embellish them. Born into an old and wealthy mixed-race Creole family in New Orleans, the young Morton rebels against his upbringing by going into the streets and absorbi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jelly Roll Morton
Ferdinand Joseph LaMothe ( Lemott, later Morton; c. September 20, 1890 – July 10, 1941), known professionally as Jelly Roll Morton, was an American blues and jazz pianist, bandleader, and composer of Louisiana Creole descent. Morton was jazz's first arranger, proving that a genre rooted in improvisation could retain its essential characteristics when notated. His composition " Jelly Roll Blues", published in 1915, was one of the first published jazz compositions. He also claimed to have invented the genre. Morton also wrote " King Porter Stomp", " Wolverine Blues", " Black Bottom Stomp", and "I Thought I Heard Buddy Bolden Say", the last being a tribute to New Orleans musicians from the turn of the 20th century. Morton's claim to have invented jazz in 1902 was criticized. Music critic Scott Yanow wrote, "Jelly Roll Morton did himself a lot of harm posthumously by exaggerating his worth ... Morton's accomplishments as an early innovator are so vast that he did not really n ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Obba Babatunde
Obba may refer to: * Obba (town), an ancient town and former bishopric in the Roman province of Africa, now a Latin Catholic titular see * Oba (goddess), a Yoruba goddess ; Biology * ''Obba'' (fungus), a fungus genus in the order Polyporales * ''Obba'' (gastropod), a genus of land snail in the family Camaenidae Camaenidae is a Family (biology), family of air-breathing land snails, terrestrial molluscs, terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusks in the superfamily Helicoidea, the typical snails and their allies. This is one of the most diverse families i ... * ''Obba'', a synonym for '' Ugia'', a genus of moths ; People * Obba Babatundé (born 1950), American stage and movie actor * Hatem Obba (born 1991), Tunisian volleyball player See also * Oba (other) {{disambiguation, given name, surname ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mary Bond Davis
Mary Bond Davis (born June 3, 1958) is a singer, actor, and dancer from Los Angeles, California. She is best known for her performance as Motormouth Maybelle in the 2002 Broadway run of Hairspray. Biography Davis began her career at the age of 15 singing with different bands. She was a member of The Young Americans from 1974 to 1976, and appeared with them on ''The Bing Crosby Christmas Show''. In 1980, Davis auditioned for Ain't Misbehavin', which traveled throughout the United States and Canada, and in 1982, spent a year with the world tour of ''Ain't Misbehavin''. Davis' most memorable film appearance is in Eddie Murphy's Coming to America. Additional film credits include ''Jo Jo Dancer, Your Life Is Calling''; ''The Art Of Dying''; ''Hook''; ''Jeffrey''; ''New York Minute''; and ''Romance and Cigarettes''. Davis was in the original cast of the Broadway shows ''Mail'', ''Jelly's Last Jam'', '' Marie Christine'', and ''Hairspray''. She is a three-time winner of the Drama- ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Stanley Wayne Mathis
Stanley Wayne Mathis (born December 1, 1955) is an American actor, singer, and dancer. He played the character Schroeder in the 1999 revival of Clark Gesner's ''You're A Good Man, Charlie Brown''. Career Mathis played Paul in the revival of ''Kiss Me, Kate''. Additional Broadway credits include the revival of ''Wonderful Town'', ''Jelly's Last Jam'', and '' Oh, Kay!''. In 1997 Mathis appeared as Banzai in the original Broadway cast of ''The Lion King'', a musical adaptation of the 1994 Disney animated film of the same name. In 2009 he was in a Yale Repertory production of ''Death of a Salesman'' by Arthur Miller, playing the role of Stanley. He starred on Broadway in the musical comedy '' Nice Work if You Can Get It'' costarring Matthew Broderick and Kelli O'Hara. He starred in ''The Book of Mormon'' on Broadway as Mafala Hatimbi succeeding Michael Potts. In October through November 2023, he starred playing the role of Meyer Wolfsheim in Paper Mill Playhouse's world premie ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ann Duquesnay
Ann Duquesnay is an American musical theatre singer/actress, composer and lyricist. She is best known for '' Bring in 'da Noise, Bring in 'da Funk'', which earned her a Tony Award and Grammy Award nomination. Early life Duquesnay's parents were Southern sharecroppers who moved to Harlem when she was five years old. She converted to Catholicism as a child. Her formal music training began well after her stage years. She developed a passion for theatre, encouraged by director George C. Wolfe.Saltzman, SimonAnn Duqesnay Interview Theaterscene.net, September 27, 2004; retrieved November 23, 2006. Duquesnay's Broadway debut was in the revue ''Blues in the Night'' in 1982 as a standby. Two years later, she played Glinda in a revival of ''The Wiz''. She was next seen in ''Jelly's Last Jam'' as Gran Mimi and Ancestor. She was a replacement on Broadway in '' It Ain't Nothin But the Blues''. She toured extensively in the U.S. and internationally.She was critically acclaimed for her ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tonya Pinkins
Tonya Pinkins is an American actress and filmmaker. Her award-winning debut feature film ''Red Pill'' was an official selection at the 2021 Pan African Film Festival, won the Best Black Lives Matter Feature and Best First Feature at The Mykonos International Film Festival, Best First Feature at the Luléa Film Festival, and is nominated for awards in numerous festivals around the globe. Her web-series ''The Red Pilling of America'' can be heard on her podcast ''"You Can't Say That!"'' at BPN.fm/ycst She is known for her portrayal of Livia Frye on the soap opera ''All My Children'' and for her roles on Broadway. She has been nominated for three Tony Awards (winning one), and has won Obie, Lortel, Drama Desk, Outer Critics Circle, AUDLECO, Garland, L.A. Drama Critics Circle, Clarence Derwent, and NAACP Theater Awards. She has been nominated for the Olivier, Helen Hayes, Noel, Joseph Jefferson, NAACP Image, Soap Opera Digest, and Ovation Awards. She won the Tony Award for Best F ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Keith David
Keith David Williams (born June 4, 1956) is an American actor. He is known for his deep voice and screen presence in over 300 roles in film, stage, television, and interactive media. He has starred in such films as '' The Thing'' (1982), ''Platoon'' (1986), '' They Live'' (1988), ''Men at Work'' (1990), '' Final Analysis'' (1992), '' Larger than Life'' (1996), '' Armageddon'' (1998), '' Where the Heart Is'' (2000), and '' American Fiction'' (2023). He starred as Elroy Patashnik in the sixth season of the NBC series ''Community'' (2015) and starred as Bishop James Greenleaf in the Oprah Winfrey Network drama '' Greenleaf'' (2016–2020). His Emmy-winning voice acting career includes work as the narrator of Ken Burns films such as ''Jazz'' (2001), '' The War'' (2007), and ''Muhammad Ali'' (2021). In film, characters that he has voiced include Dr. Facilier in '' The Princess and the Frog'' (2009) and the Cat in '' Coraline'' (2009). On television, he portrayed Goliath in '' Ga ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Savion Glover
Savion Glover (born November 19, 1973) is an American tap dancer, actor and choreographer. Early life The youngest of three sons, Glover was born to a white father, who left the family before he was born, and a black mother. Glover's great-grandfather on his mother's side, Dick Lundy, was a shortstop in the Negro leagues. He managed eleven Negro League baseball teams, including the Newark Eagles.Lahr, 270. His grandfather, Bill Lewis, was a big band pianist and vocalist. His grandmother, Anna Lundy Lewis, was the minister of music at New Hope Baptist Church in Newark, New Jersey. She played for Whitney Houston when she was singing in the gospel choir, and was the one who first noticed Savion's musical talent. She once held him and hummed some rhythms to him, and he smiled and joined along. Glover graduated from Newark Arts High School in 1991. Career Glover stated that his style is "young and funk." When asked to describe what funk is, he says it is the bass line. "Funk is any ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jules Fisher
Jules Fisher (born November 12, 1937) is an American lighting designer and producer. He is credited with lighting designs for more than 300 productions over the course of his 50-year career of Broadway and off-Broadway shows, as well extensive work in film, ballet, opera, television, and rock and roll concert tours. He has been nominated 24 times for Tony Awards (as a lighting designer), more than any other lighting designer, and won nine Tony awards for Lighting Design, also more than any other lighting designer. Biography Fisher was born in Norristown, Pennsylvania, the son of Anne (Davidson) and Abraham Fisher, a retailer. He is a graduate of Carnegie Institute of Technology.Rothstein, Mervy"A Life in the Theatre: Lighting Designers Jules Fisher and Peggy Eisenhauer" playbill.com, June 23, 2005 He is married to choreographer-director Graciela Daniele. He has been in a professional partnership with lighting designer Peggy Eisenhauer since 1985, and they formed Third ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Toni-Leslie James
Toni-Leslie James is an American costume designer for stage, television and film. James was awarded The Irene Sharaff Young Masters Award and the 2009 Obie Award for Sustained Excellence in Costume Design. She received a BA in costume design from The Ohio State University. James was an associate professor and head of design in the theatre department of Virginia Commonwealth University for 12 years, and is currently an assistant professor of design and Yale Repertory Theatre resident costume designer for the Yale School of Drama. Her Broadway costume design credits include the costume designs for '' Bernhardt/Hamlet'' (2019 Drama Desk Award, 2018 Tony Award nomination), '' Come from Away'' (2017 Drama Desk nomination), the 2017 revival of August Wilson's '' Jitney'' (2017 Tony Award nomination, 2017 Drama Desk nomination), ''Amazing Grace'' (Hewes Design Award nomination), '' The Scottsboro Boys'' (Hewes Design Award nomination), '' Finian's Rainbow'', '' Chita Rivera: The Dancer' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Robin Wagner (designer)
Robin Samuel Anton Wagner (August 31, 1933 – May 29, 2023) was an American scenic designer. He won Tony Awards for his work on the Broadway productions of '' City of Angels'', '' On the Twentieth Century'', and '' The Producers''. Biography Wagner was born in San Francisco, the son of Phyllis Edna Catherine (née Smith-Spurgeon) and Jens Otto Wagner. His mother was from New Zealand and his father was from Denmark. He attended art school and started his career in theatres in that city with designs for ''Don Pasquale'', '' Amahl and the Night Visitors'', '' Tea and Sympathy'', and ''Waiting for Godot'', among others. In 1958, he relocated to New York City, where he worked on numerous off-Broadway productions before making his Broadway debut as an assistant designer for the Hugh Wheeler play '' Big Fish, Little Fish'' in 1961. His first solo project was a short-lived 1966 production of ''The Condemned of Altona'' by Jean-Paul Sartre. Wagner's many Broadway credits include ''Hai ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gregory Hines
Gregory Oliver Hines (February 14, 1946 – August 9, 2003) was an American dancer, actor, choreographer, and singer. He is one of the most celebrated tap dancers of all time. As an actor, he is best known for '' Wolfen'' (1981), '' The Cotton Club'' (1984), '' White Nights'' (1985), '' Running Scared'' (1986), '' The Gregory Hines Show'' (1997–1998), playing Ben on '' Will & Grace'' (1999–2000), and for voicing Big Bill on the Nick Jr. animated children's television program '' Little Bill'' (1999–2004). Hines starred in more than 40 films and also appeared on Broadway. He received many accolades, including a Daytime Emmy Award, a Drama Desk Award, and a Tony Award, as well as nominations for a Screen Actors Guild Award and four Primetime Emmy Awards. Early life Hines was born in New York City, on February 14, 1946, to Alma Iola (Lawless) and Maurice Robert Hines, a dancer, musician, and actor, and grew up in the Sugar Hill neighborhood of Harlem. He began tap dancing ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
