NaTasha Yvette Williams to Star in Cleveland Play House's 'Mahalia: A Gospel Musical'

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.

For Single Tickets: Call (216) 795-7000, ext. 4, or visit www.clevelandplayhouse.com, For groups of 10 of more, call CoSandra Wheeler, (216) 795-7000, ext. 180

MAHALIA: A GOSPEL MUSICAL Cast:

Terry Burrell (Aunt Duke/Mildred/Reporter) has many Broadway credits including Thoroughly Modern Millie, Swinging On a Star, Into The Woods, Dreamgirls, Honky Tonk Nights, Eubie, and the first London production of Showboat. Burrell received a Helen Hayes Best Actress in a Musical nomination for her portrayal of Queenie in Queenie Pie. Other regional credits include Man Of La Mancha, Up From Paradise, Of Thee I Sing, The Wiz, Bubbling Brown Sugar, Jar the Floor, Thunder Knockin' At The Door, Copacabana, The Women of Brewster Place, Cinderella, and Almost Heaven (the latter at Promenade Theatre); Grand Night For Singing, Sweet and Hot, Ain't Misbehavin', Time and Again, and The World Goes Round, West Side Arts Theatre; Sheila's Day, Sophisticated Ladies, and Smokey Joes Café. Burrell has performed her cabaret act internationally and has performed in Jazz In July concerts with Dick Hyman; Lyrics and Lyricists at the 92nd Street Y; with The Duke Ellington Orchestra in Venice, Italy; and for the Oslo Jazz Festival, Norway.

JMICHAEL (Francis/Music Director) holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Alabama State University and a Master of Arts degree from the University of Michigan. He has produced corporate shows at The Mirage and Caesar's Palace Hotels in Las Vegas and was a featured performer for Disney Cruises and Disneyland. His 21st Century Platters, a Platters tribute show, has performed with the Pueblo Sy andmphony in Colorado, The Alabama Symphony, and ten shows with the prestigious Pittsburgh Symphony-Marvin Hamlisch, Conductor. The Jmichael SoundFlyte Big Band performs for events nationwide. Black Nativity, Swimming Upstream, The Wiz, Blues in the Night, Ain't Misbehavin', The Piano Lesson, and Mahalia are a few of the shows for which Jmichael has served as Music Director/Arranger. He won kudos for his acting performances in Mahalia (multiple roles) and as Wining Boy in The Piano Lesson. Jmichael was co-writer and performed the title song for the movie Olive Juice.

C.E. Smith (Cousin Fred/Rev. Lawrence/Dorsey/Reporter) returns to The Cleveland Play House where he was in the 1997-1998 season's Blues in the Night. Broadway credits include participating in the reading of the upcoming Leap of Faith, The Full Monty (original cast member), It Ain't Nothing But the Blues (Broadway cast album soloist), and Street Corner Symphony. Selected regional credits are Crowns, The Denver Center for the Performing Arts and Prince Theater; Aida and The Full Monty, Maine State Musical Theatre; Once on This Island, Baltimore CenterStage and American Musical Theatre of San Jose; Play On, Seattle Repertory Theatre; Don't Stop the Carnival (world premiere), Coconut Grove Playhouse. Additional credits include The Music of Andrew Lloyd Webber (featured soloist), touring with Lena Horne in The Lady and Her Music, and national tours of Ain't Misbehavin' (first national tour), Blues in the Night (first national tour), Black Broadway, and The Full Monty. He has extensive international theater/concert credits and has appeared in soap operas, movies, and commercials.

Natasha Yvette Williams (Mahalia) returns to The Cleveland Play House where she was in the
1997-1998 season production of (I Could) Stop On a Dime and Get Ten Cents Change. On Broadway, Natasha Williams Played Sophia in The Color Purple. She was in Dessa Rose at the Lincoln Center and played Mammy in London's West End Production of Gone with the Wind. Selected national tours include the following: The Drowsy Chaperone as Trix the Aviatrix, All Shook Up as Sylvia, Seussical the Musical as Sour Kangaroo, Cinderella as Grace, Parade in the ensemble, and The Goodbye Girl as Mrs. Crosby. Ms. Williams has performed in regional theaters across the country and has a gospel CD on www.digstation.com. Television and film credits include several appearances on "One Life to Live," Studio 54, and Trippin. Ms. Williams is grand prize winner of the first annual Kraft Foods New Voices of Gospel Talent Search.

MAHALIA: A GOSPEL MUSICAL Creative Team:

TOM STOLZ (Playwright) is an actor and veteran member of The Old Log Theater, founded by Tom Stolz's father Don Stolz in 1941. One of the Twin Cities' most popular actors, Mr. Stolz began his acting career as a child and has since appeared in over 150 productions at The Old Log. He also has a long list of credits as a scenic designer and director and is founder of Promised Land Productions, which is dedicated to spreading the Gospel message through the Theater Arts. Since 1984, Mr. Stolz has performed his one man presentation The Gospel According To St. Mark in churches, colleges, prisons, art centers, and theaters throughout the United States, Canada, Switzerland, Israel, and of course, at The Old Log, where it is a Lenten tradition. Inspired by his love of Gospel music, especially that of Mahalia Jackson, Mr. Stolz wrote Mahalia: A Gospel Musical to bring a message of love and hope to a world starved for good news.

Kent Gash (Director) is associate artistic director of The Alliance Theatre, where he has directed and choreographed Radio Golf; Sophisticated Ladies (Suzi Award, Best Choreography); Sleuth; Cuttin' Up; Elliot, a Soldier's Fugue; Jelly's Last Jam (Suzi Awards for Best Musical, Director and Choreography); tick, tick...Boom; Top Dog/Underdog (Elliot Norton Award, Best Director); Five Guys Named Moe; King Hedley II; Shakespeare's R&J; Pacific Overtures (Atlanta Journal Constitution citation for Best Show of the Year and nine Independent Reviewers of New England Awards including Best Musical and Best Director of a Musical); and A Lovely Sunday for Creve Couer. Off Broadway credits include Call the Children Home, Miss Evers' Boys, Home, and Beggar's Holiday. Mr. Gash is co-author of Langston in Harlem, featured in the National Alliance of Musical Theatre's 2004 Festival of New Musicals, and Josephine's Song. As associate artistic director of the Alabama Shakespeare Festival he directed and choreographed The Negro of Peter the Great, Guys and Dolls, Godspell, A Night in Tunisia, Troilus and Cressida, Twelfth Night, and Five Guys Named Moe. Regional credits include Native Son, Intiman Theatre; The Brother's Size, McCarter Theatre; Pure Confidence, Cincinnati Playhouse and The Denver Center for the Performing Arts where he also staged Gee's Bend and Crowns; Private Lives and Coriolanus, Shakespeare Santa Cruz;
the first African-American production of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof and Joe Turner's Come and Gone,
TheatreVirginia; Harriet's Return starring Debbie Allen, the Geffen Playhouse and Kennedy Center; Ain't Misbehavin', North Shore, Hartford Stage, Maltz-Jupiter Theatre, and Trinity Rep; and From the Mississippi Delta and A Christmas Carol, Trinity Rep.

EDWARD E. RIDLEY, JR. (Organist) returns to The Cleveland Play House having served as musical
director for Gee's Bend; ReGina Taylor's Crowns (directed by Dianne McIntyre); and I Could Stop on a Dime and Get Ten Cents Change (also directed by Dianne McIntyre); as well as Blues in the Night; Love, Janis; and Ain't Misbehavin'. Other credits include Caroline or Change, Cuttin' Up, Tony n' Tina's Wedding, A Brief History of White Music, and Five Guys Named Moe. Mr. Ridley serves as music director for the Christian Fellowship Center Church and is also on the music faculty at the Eastern Campus of Cuyahoga Community College. His versatility and talent as a performer have allowed him to accompany such great artists as Aretha Franklin, Lauryn Hill, Walter Hawkins, and Clark Terry.

The design team for Mahalia: A Gospel Musical includes Emily Beck (Scenic Designer), Austin Sanderson (Costume Design), William H. Grant III (Lighting Designer) and James C. Swonger (Sound Design). The Cleveland Play House's Production Staff is responsible for the sets, costumes, lighting, props, furniture, scenic painting, sound, special effects and/or wigs used in this production.