FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: February 17, 2015

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Broadway Center Produces Musical Homage to Harlem Renaissance Ain’t Misbehavin’: The Fats Waller Musical Plays Tacoma, Edmonds, Bellingham and Olympia in March 2015

Sponsors: Carol Milgard Breast Center, CHI Franciscan Health, Columbia Bank, Korsmo Construction, MultiCare Mary Bridge Children’s Hospital & Health Center | Media: KUOW 94.9

Tacoma, WA – Five Pacific Northwest performers (including Tacoma’s own Stephanie Anne Johnson) will “take the show on the road” this March, performing the Broadway Center-produced Ain’t Misbehavin’: The Fats Waller Musical in Tacoma, Edmonds, Bellingham and Olympia. The show will open at Tacoma’s historic Pantages Theater on March 7, 2015 at 7:30 p.m. Tickets start at $19 and are on sale now.

Ain't Misbehavin' is a musical revue with a book by Murray Horwitz and Richard Maltby, Jr., and music by various composers and lyricists, as arranged and orchestrated by Luther Henderson. It was originally performed on Broadway in 1978. Directed by Tyrone Brown, Broadway Center’s production will transport audiences to the Harlem Renaissance during the Roaring Twenties for a rowdy evening filled with the evocative music of jazz great Fats Waller.

Director Tyrone Brown is a Seattle-based theatre director and producer. His directing credits include Passing Strange, Black Like Us, Hot Grits: A (Punk) Play on Music and Hamlet X. He is currently the artistic director of the Brownbox Theatre, a company dedicated to the creation, development and production of re-imagined Black theater.

Darrius Willrich is responsible for the musical direction of Ain’t Misbehavin’. Willrich graduated from Cornish College of the Arts with a degree in jazz piano and is the creator of the label Critical Sun Recordings, which has now become a music community as well as a showcase for his and his colleagues’ productions.

Choreographer and Seattle native Stanley Wesley Perryman toured the United States and the world as a principal dancer with the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater and Dance Theatre of Harlem between 1975 and 1983. Stanley was a Principal Guest Artist in the Metropolitan Opera’s production of Aida, as ‘Lead Gladiator’ for three consecutive seasons starting in 1975. Stanley made his Broadway debut in 1975 as ‘Jesus’ in Your Arm’s Too Short to Box with God, continuing to perform in Bob Fosse’s Dancin’ (1979) and Sweet Charity (1985-89). Stanley toured the U.S. and Europe with Lena Horne, as her male lead singer/dancer from 1983 to 1985. Stanley also has several movie and television appearances to his credit.

The five principal actors include:

Stephanie Anne Johnson, a Tacoma native who rose to national fame as one of the top 20 contestants in season five of NBC’s The Voice. Stephanie has also performed with Seattle Opera and Portland Opera. She is passionate about inspiring the next generation of performers and spent time working with young musicians through United by Music North America, Secondary Academy for Success and The Gig Spot.

Charles Simmons, a performing artist from Tacoma who began his arts career after joining the DASH Center for the Arts. Simmons has also spent his career choreographing for different teams, showcases and organizations throughout the Northwest.

Carmen Brantley-Payne, a full-time actor currently residing in Portland, Ore. A few of her favorite roles include Audrey II in The Little Shop of Horrors and the Fruitcake Lady in season four of NBC’s Grimm. This is her second time performing with Broadway Center for the Performing Arts.

Eric Clausell, a native of New York City, who has been performing in musicals in the United States and abroad since his childhood. Since moving to Tacoma in 2012, Eric has starred in several Tacoma Musical Playhouse productions including Ragtime (Coalhouse Walker, Jr.),Annie (Rooster), and A Little Princess (Pasko).

Shaunyce Omar, a professional screen, stage and voice over actress from Seattle, Wash. The Gregory, Georgie and Seattle Times Footlite Award recipient and has appeared on The Librarians (TV) and in many regional theaters across the United States. Some of Shaunyce’s most notable performances include Hattie McDaniel in Hi Hat Hattie, Evillene in The Wiz, Jeannette in Crowns, Ida B. Wells 4 in Constant Star, Lou Bessie in The Old Settler, Pastor Margaret in Amen Corner, Candy in Rejoice, Power Woman in Menopause the Musical (National Tour), and Mama in Chicago. Shaunyce has had the privilege of performing in 49 of the 50 states as well as Canada, Russia, Japan and Australia!

Tickets for Ain’t Misbehavin’ at Tacoma’s Pantages Theater on March 7 at 7:30 p.m. are $19, $29, $35, $49 and are on sale now.

Touring performances are as follows: Edmonds Arts Center, March 21, 2015 at 7:30 p.m.; Mount Baker Theatre, March 27 at 8:00 p.m.; Washington Center for the Performing Arts, March 28, 2015 at 7:30 p.m. and March 29, 2015 at 2:00 p.m. Tickets for touring shows may be purchased directly from their respective venues.

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The Broadway Center for the Performing Arts gratefully acknowledges the following for support of the 2014-15 Season: ArtsFund, Ben B. Cheney Foundation, The Boeing Company, CHI Franciscan Health System, City of Tacoma, Key Bank, Korsmo Construction, The News Tribune, Paul G. Allen Family Foundation, Pierce County Arts Commission, The Puyallup Tribe, and Washington State Arts Commission.