CAST ANNOUNCED FOR WORLD PREMIERE OF "SUGAR HILL: THE ELLINGTON/STRAYHORN NUTCRACKER"
Jazz-Stepped Reimagining of the World's Most Beloved Ballet Featuring A Libretto And Concept by Jessica Swan and the Music of Duke Ellington and Billy Strayhorn
Directed by Tony, Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle Award Nominee and Emmy Award Winner Joshua Bergasse
CHICAGO – Tony Award® - winning producers David Garfinkle and Dr. Ron Simons announced the complete cast for the world premiere of SUGAR HILL: The Ellington/Strayhorn Nutcracker which will play Chicago’s Auditorium Theatre Dec. 19-30.
The production will star Jinhao Zhang and Josué Gomez as Nutcracker, Alicia Mae Holloway as Lena, Shavey Brown as Sweet Pea, Jennifer Jade Ledesna as The Angel, Kenneth Darryl Ard as Uncle Dross, and Brenda Braxton as Mother Sugar/Mama Stall. Additional cast includes Nikolas Danilovich-Eugene Gaifullin, Larissa Gerszke, Nayara Lopes, Natascha Mair, Tatiana Nuñez and Scott Weber. Audrey Borst, Joshua Dawson, Nathan Fister, Johnathon Darcelle Hart, Ayaka Kamei, Laura Katherine Kaufman, Amarachi Valentina Korie, Muata Ayodele Langley, James Luc, Chase Maxwell, Charlotte McKinley, Dario Natarelli, Megan Prout, Jocelyn Iris Raykumar, Ange ‘Gregg’ Sainvilus, Tyler D. Singletary, Olivia Tang-Mifsud and Matt Wiercinski will complete the SUGAR HILL cast.
Tickets are on sale now, and available for purchase at auditoriumtheatre.org.
As previously announced, this original production is directed by Tony, Drama Desk and Outer Critics Award nominee and Emmy Award-winner Joshua Bergasse, with choreography by Jade Hale-Christofi. The show features a world-renowned creative team of dance superstars, with additional choreography by Caleb Teicher and Emmy Award nominee Jon Boogz, and dance consultation from Special Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement recipient, Graciela Daniele, Orchestrations and Arrangements are by Grammy Award®-winner John Clayton and three-time Tony Award® nominee Larry Blank, Paul Masse (Dance Arranger) and Tripp Phillips (Production Stage Manager). Casting by Mungioli Theatricals, Inc.
An exhilarating story told in dance, SUGAR HILL is set to the music of the genre-defying collaboration between jazz icons bandleader/composer Duke Ellington and composer, Billy Strayhorn, in a captivating way that has never been done before.
In its world premiere, SUGAR HILL reveals the glamour of the 1930s as seen through the lens of the nonconformist daughter of a high-society Black family in Manhattan and her own fantastic dreamworld in the Sugar Hill neighborhood of Harlem. A jazz-steeped reimagining of the classic tale, this Nutcracker dance-story sends a stirring message that champions individuality and the journey to find the power of your unique self: “Go find what makes you different to find your magic.”
Produced by Hello Entertainment, Dr. Ron Simons, Rob Quadrino, Valencia Yearwood, Willette Klausner, Dr. Yemin (Yuan) McDougal, Nicole Eisenberg, Chinese Performing Arts Production International, Carol Hefren Tillotson, Harris Ferris, Kathleen and Chip Rosenbloom/Mary Cossette, Brass Bull Productions, Billy Strayhorn Songs, Inc. and Schirmer Theatrical.
Executive Producers A. Alyce Claerbaut and Robert Thompson.
Associate Producers Christian McBride, Mickalene Thomas and B'in Live.
For more information, please visit www.sugarhillnutcracker.com
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