Returning to Cleveland after acclaimed performances in The Color Purple on Broadway and Gone with the Wind in London's West End, NaTasha Yvette Williams takes the stage in the lead role of The Cleveland Play House production of Mahalia: A Gospel Musical. Since 1997, when she performed in The Play House production of (I Could) Stop On a Dime and Get Ten Cents Change, Williams has also played in several Broadway national tours and performed her gospel music all over the world. Kent Gash, Associate Artistic Director of The ALLIANCE THEATRE in Atlanta, GA, is directing Williams in this musical tribute to the most celebrated gospel singer of all time. Mahalia: A Gospel Musical begins in the Bolton Theatre at The Cleveland Play House on Friday, January 30 and runs through Sunday, February 22, 2009. Tickets are on sale now at The Cleveland Play House box office by calling 216.795.7000 ext 4 or online at www.clevelandplayhouse.com.
Mahalia: A Gospel Musical is presented in promotional partnership with Time Warner Cable and The Kulus Foundation. The media sponsor for Mahalia: A Gospel Musical is 107.3 FM The Wave WNMV.
"In tradition of our fabulously successful show, Ella," says Cleveland Play House Artistic Director Michael Bloom, "this inspiring biography is another musical gift to a city that knows how to sing."
Director Kent Gash, an MFA Directing student of Bloom's at UCLA School of Theatre, Film and
Television, remarks, "Mahalia Jackson was a unique human being and this production celebrates the
ministry of her music. The synergy of doing this play in the community of Cleveland during this time in history is such a worthwhile and fulfilling experience."
A fusion of narrative, riveting dialogue scenes, and over two dozen songs, Mahalia: A Gospel Musical traces The Life and career of the world's most loved gospel singer from her birth in New Orleans as a grandchild of plantation slaves through her rise to wealth and international fame. Mahalia won her first success on the gospel circuit, then goes on to phenomenal triumph at New York's Carnegie Hall and the great concert stages of the world. Mahalia also lent her songs and spirit to the struggle for civil rights and became known as the "Voice of the Movement."
In addition to the dynamic figure of Mahalia, the musical includes a host of vivid characters including her squabbling family in New Orleans, the driven and excitable gospel composer Thomas Dorsey, and her friend and mentor Martin Luther King.
Cleveland's storied Gospel history is documented in Cleveland's Gospel Music, a book by Frederick Burton that describes the landscape of 1920s through the 1980s when gospel quartet groups, radio announcers, solo artists, and promoters established Cleveland as the gospel singers' metropolitan hub. To celebrate this rich history, local choruses, choirs and ensembles have been invited to join Williams and the cast of Mahalia: A Gospel Musical on stage to perform the finale song, "Move On Up A Little Higher." Groups confirmed to perform include Wings Over Jordan, Holy Spirit Catholic Church, Prayer Warriors, Inspirational Voices of Peace and The Greater Cleveland Panhellenic Choir.
Tickets for Mahalia: A Gospel Musical range from $42 to $64, with discounts available for groups of ten or more, for senior citizens aged 60 and over, and for military reservists and their families. Tickets are $10 for all students under the age of 25. A limited number of $10 rush tickets go on sale 90 minutes before curtain and remain on sale until 30 minutes before curtain, based on availability. The Cleveland Play House is located at 85th and Euclid Ave. next door to the Cleveland Clinic near University Circle.
