Highlights from the new musical Dorothy Dandridge! will be presented at Carnegie Hall’s Zankel Hall on Sunday, July 17 and Monday, July 18, featuring selections from the work with book and lyrics by Trey Ellis and music and lyrics by Shelton L. Becton. The concert will be directed by Tamara Tunie.
The cast of The Songs of Dorothy Dandridge! The Musical stars N’Kenge as Dandridge, with Tony nominee John Cariani as Earl Mills, Aisha de Haas as Ruby Dandridge, Phillip Attmore as Harold Nichols, Jeremy Webb as Otto Preminger, MAC Award winner Dawn Derow as Marilyn Monroe, Dominic Nolfi as Jack Dennison, Trisha Jeffrey as Vivian Dandridge, Natalie Renee as Etta Jones, Dewitt Fleming Jr. as Phil Moore, and Grace Field as the Marilyn Monroe standby.
Dandridge was the first African American woman to be nominated for Best Actress at the Academy Awards; she was an actor, dancer, and vocalist who died at the age of 42. The musical, which explores her life through a mixture of American Songbook classics and a contemporary score, was conceived by N’Kenge, who recently appeared in the Tony-nominated revival of Caroline, or Change, and who is also the musical’s lead producer.
Producers are Richard Bell, Park Row Equity Partners, Tegan Summer, Sam Williams, Michael Loeb, and Derow Enterprises in association with Coalition for African Americans in the Performing Arts.
For more information and tickets, visit DorothyDandridgeMusical.com.
