{"id":39360,"date":"2022-06-09T09:31:50","date_gmt":"2022-06-09T13:31:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/?p=39360"},"modified":"2022-06-09T09:31:58","modified_gmt":"2022-06-09T13:31:58","slug":"on-stage-miranda-brings-his-freestyle-love-supreme-to-philly","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/?p=39360","title":{"rendered":"On Stage: Miranda brings his ‘Freestyle Love Supreme’ to Philly"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Denny Dyroff<\/strong>, Entertainment Editor, The Times\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"

Lin-Manuel Miranda<\/p><\/div>\n

Lin-Manuel Miranda has the \u201cMidas Touch.\u201d<\/p>\n

He is a Pulitzer Prize, Grammy, Emmy and Tony award-winning songwriter, actor, director and producer. Most notably, he is the creator and original star of Broadway\u2019s Tony-winning\u00a0\u201cHamilton\u201d\u00a0and\u00a0\u201cIn the Heights.\u201d<\/p>\n

Other Broadway honors are \u201cFreestyle Love Supreme\u201d\u00a0(2020 Special Tony Award recipient),\u00a0\u201cBring It On: The Musical\u201d\u00a0(co-composer\/co-lyricist, Tony nomination for Best Musical) and\u00a0\u201cWest Side Story\u201d\u00a0(2009 revival, Spanish translations).<\/p>\n

The Kimmel Cultural Campus (Broad and Spruce streets, Philadelphia, 215-731-3333, www.kimmelculturalcampus.org<\/a>) previously hosted a long run of \u201cHamilton\u201d at the Academy of Music. This week, the Kimmel Cultural Campus is presenting \u201cFreestyle Love Supreme\u201d at the Miller Theater \u2013 with a special Miranda bonus. <\/p>\n

On June 10, Miranda will make a special guest appearance for one show only. As an added attraction, \u201cHamilton\u201d alumni James Monroe Iglehart will make special guest appearances from June 7-11 and Christopher Jackson on June 11 and 12.<\/p>\n

Freestyle Love Supreme\u00a0is an\u00a0improvisational\u00a0hip-hop (also known as\u00a0freestyle rap) comedy musical group started by\u00a0Miranda\u00a0and Anthony Veneziale in 2004 and directed by\u00a0Thomas Kail. <\/a>In 2022, the group completed a\u00a0Broadway\u00a0musical run at the\u00a0Booth Theatre.<\/p>\n

The critically acclaimed improv sensation\u00a0was conceived by Philadelphia native Anthony Veneziale and created by Thomas Kail, Miranda, and Veneziale. It is a show that features talented performers providing non-stop action throughout a fast-paced evening — spinning suggestions from the audience into humorous bits, instantaneous songs and riffs, and fully realized musical numbers. Every night is different: no two shows are the same.<\/p>\n

The touring company includes Morgan Reilly AKA\u00a0\u201cHummingbird,\u201d\u00a0Andrew Bancroft AKA\u00a0\u201cJelly Donut,\u201d\u00a0Simone Acosta AKA\u00a0\u201cSims,\u201d Richard Baskin, Jr. AKA\u00a0\u201cRich Midway,\u201d\u00a0Jay C. Ellis AKA\u00a0\u201cJellis J,\u201d\u00a0Mark Martin AKA\u00a0\u201cMandible,\u201d Kaila Mullady AKA \u201cKaiser R\u00f6z\u00e9,\u201d\u00a0James Rushin AKA\u00a0\u201cShifty Hills\u201d\u00a0and Dizzy Senze AKA\u00a0\u201cDizzy.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201c\u2018Freestyle Love Supreme\u2019 is unlike any other show,\u201d said Reilly, during a recent phone interview from a tour stop in Denver, Colorado.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt has elements of music, hip hop, rap, music theater, rock and freestyle rap. It\u2019s more freestyle rapping than anything.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe start every evening with an MC check. He introduces us and then asks for a verb. The audience has already used a QR code in the program to send the words to the stage. It goes into a blue bucket. Then, we pull a word out and rap about it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Reilly did not arrive at this show from the music world. She graduated from Parkland High in Allentown and then got a degree in theater from Muhlenberg College.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe first time I did freestyle in front of an audience was when I auditioned for this show,\u201d said Reilly. \u201cIt\u2019s a joy learning to freestyle.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve been performing since I was three. Then I got into songwriting. I\u2019ve been writing songs all my life. When the pandemic hit, I moved back in with my parents. Then a friend suggested I try out for \u2018Freestyle Love Supreme.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

The rest is history \u2013 history that is being rewritten every night with a different story.<\/p>\n

Video link for \u201cFreestyle Love Supreme\u201d — https:\/\/youtu.be\/dBBJPvhpQA4<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cFreestyle Love Supreme\u201d is running now through June 12 at the Morris Theater. Ticket prices range from $45-$134.<\/p>\n

One of the timeless \u2013 and most popular \u2013 musicals in Broadway history is \u201cFiddler on the Roof.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"

Fiddler on the Roof<\/p><\/div>\n

Now through June 12, The Grand is presenting the 2022 National Tour of \u201cFiddler on the Roof\u201d at the Playhouse at Rodney Square (Wilmington, Delaware, BroadwayinWilmington.org<\/a>).<\/p>\n

The show, which is part of the Broadway in Wilmington series, is one stop on the national tour of the Tony Award\u00ae-nominated Broadway revival of\u00a0\u201cFiddler on the Roof.\u201d<\/p>\n

A beloved theatrical classic from Tony-winner\u00a0Joseph Stein\u00a0and Pulitzer Prize-winners\u00a0Jerry Bock\u00a0and\u00a0Sheldon Harnick, this critically acclaimed production is directed by Tony Award\u00ae-winner\u00a0Bartlett Sher\u00a0(\u201cTo Kill a Mockingbird,\u201d \u201cSouth Pacific\u201d and \u201cThe King and I\u201d) and choreographed by the acclaimed Israeli choreographer\u00a0Hofesh\u00a0Shechter.<\/p>\n

\u201cFiddler on the Roof\u201d\u00a0is the heartwarming story of fathers and daughters, husbands and wives, and life, love and laughter. This classic musical is rich with Broadway hits, including \u201cTo Life (L\u2019Chaim!),\u201d \u201cIf I Were A Rich Man,\u201d \u201cSunrise, Sunset,\u201d \u201cMatchmaker, Matchmaker,\u201d and \u201cTradition.\u201d<\/p>\n

The cast features Israeli theatre and film star\u00a0Yehezkel Lazarov\u00a0as\u00a0Tevye\u00a0joined by\u00a0Maite Uzal\u00a0as\u00a0Golde,\u00a0Andrew Hendrick\u00a0as\u00a0Lazar Wolf,\u00a0Brooke Wetterhahn\u00a0as\u00a0Yente,\u00a0Kelly Gabrielle Murphy\u00a0as\u00a0Tzeitel,\u00a0Ruthy Froch\u00a0as\u00a0Hodel,\u00a0Noa Luz Barenblat\u00a0as\u00a0Chava,\u00a0Daniel Kushner\u00a0as\u00a0Motel,\u00a0Solomon Reynolds\u00a0as\u00a0Perchik,\u00a0Jack O\u2019Brien\u00a0as\u00a0Fyedka\u00a0and\u00a0Jason Thomas Sofge\u00a0as\u00a0Constable.<\/p>\n

The original Broadway production of\u00a0Fiddler on the Roof, which opened in 1964, was the first musical in history to surpass 3,000 performances. The show won the 1965 Tony Award for Best Musical in addition to eight other Tony Awards that year. This acclaimed revival proudly\u00a0introduces a new generation to the iconic musical adored across the globe.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe tour, which is a bus-and-truck tour, started in 2018 and I joined in 2019,\u201d said Brooke Wetterhahn, during a phone interview Monday from a tour stop in Columbia, South Carolina.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe pandemic hit, and it stopped. We had been out for seven months and then it shut down in March 2020. Since then, it\u2019s been in phases. We were off for a long period of time \u2013 more than a year-and-a-half.<\/p>\n

\u201cLuckily, we were able to go back on the road on October 2021. Now, we travel with a lot of COVID protocols including a COVID Compliance Officer. We\u2019re all vaxxed and boosted and masking is in force. We\u2019re happy to do it so we can bring this art form to the people.\u201d<\/p>\n

The show is about Jewish people, but it really is a universal story about families. It\u2019s a very timeless, identifiable story no matter what religion people are.<\/p>\n

The show features a talented cast, lavish orchestra and stunning movement and dance from Israeli choreographer Hofesh Shechter and is based on the original staging by Jerome Robbins.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis production is based on the 2015 Broadway revival,\u201d said Wetterhahn. \u201cWe have the original choreographer\u00a0Hofesh\u00a0Shechter. He\u2019s taken some of the classical dances and modernized them. It\u2019s more updated.\u201d<\/p>\n

Wetterhahn grew up in Calabasas, California and then moved east to go to college in New York City.<\/p>\n

According to Wetterhahn, \u201cI am a Southern California native who grew up with Turner Classic Movie nights, \u2018Wurlitzer Weekend\u2019 organ festivals, and the piano\/conductor\u2019s score of\u00a0\u2018Fiddler on the Roof.\u2019<\/p>\n

\u201cI became a New York transplant in the fall of 2013, pursuing my B.F.A. in Drama at New York University, Tisch School of the Arts under the New Studio on Broadway for Music Theatre & Stonestreet Studios for Screen Acting.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn May 2017 I graduated from NYU Magna Cum Laude with Honors in Theatre & a double minor in Producing and Business of Entertainment, Media, & Technology! I was also humbled to be named Tisch Drama’s Artist & Scholar Award recipient, recognizing excellence in artistic and scholarly achievement.\u201d<\/p>\n

Wetterhahn has remained on the East Coast.<\/p>\n

\u201cMoving to New York from a small town in the San Fernando Valley was somewhat of a culture shock,\u201d said Wetterhahn. \u201cNew York is more a melting pot of culture. For me, it was a lovely change.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cFiddler on the Roof,\u201d which is based on Sholom Aleichem’s short story \u201cTevye\u2019s Daughters,\u201d is set in 1905 in Anatevka, a small Ukrainian Jewish village in Russia. It tells the story of\u00a0Tevye, his wife Golde and three of their daughters \u2014 Tzeitel, Hodel and Chava.<\/p>\n

It is about\u00a0Tevye, a poor milkman, and his struggle to preserve family values and traditions in a world where persecution and poverty have taken over. It tells the story of\u00a0Tevye\u2019s attempts to maintain his family and\u00a0Jewish\u00a0religious traditions during challenging times.<\/p>\n

His three older daughters are headstrong and willing to challenge tradition with their choices of husbands \u2014 Tzeitel with a poor young man from the village, Hodel with an idealistic freedom fighter and Chava with a Russian soldier.<\/p>\n

The show ran for a record-setting total of 3,242 performances. In 1965, \u201cFiddler on the Roof\u201d captured nine Tony Awards and was the winner of the 1965 New York Drama Critic Award for Best Musical.<\/p>\n

Over the years, the play has had numerous national tours and runs in New York — and was also turned into a movie. Four actors have become permanently identified with the role of\u00a0Tevye\u00a0— Zero Mostel, Herschel Bernardi, Topol and Theodore Bikel.<\/p>\n

Even though the show has been around for more than a half-century, it surprisingly is still topical \u2014 still in line with things going on in the world in 2022.<\/p>\n

\u201cJust doing \u2018Fiddler\u2019 now in the world\u2019s current political climate, it\u2019s become more topical,\u201d said Wetterhahn. \u201cIt was set in 1905 Russia and based in what is now modern-day Ukraine.\u201d<\/p>\n

Video link for \u201cFiddler on the Roof\u201d — https:\/\/youtu.be\/KfovEgpIFRw<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The shows at the Playhouse on Rodney Square will start at 8 p.m. on June 9, 10, and 11 and also at 2 p.m. on June 11 and 12.<\/p>\n

Ticket prices start at $48.<\/p>\n

\"\"

The Legendary Ingramettes<\/p><\/div>\n

The Legendary Ingramettes, who will perform on June 10 outside at the Arden Gild Hall (2126 The Highway, Arden, Delaware, www.ardenconcerts.com<\/a>) have been singing gospel music for 65 years.<\/p>\n

While their music is steeped in African American culture, their family history reflects the lives of African Americans in the American South over the last six decades.<\/p>\n

The Legendary Ingramettes were founded by Maggie Ingram\u00a0(who passed away in 2015) as a way to keep her family together through hardship and taken up by her daughter Almeta Ingram-Miller\u00a0as a way to continue Maggie\u2019s legacy.<\/p>\n

Born July 4, 1930, on Mulholland\u2019s Plantation in Coffee County, Georgia, Maggie worked in the cotton and tobacco fields with her parents.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey were working as sharecroppers,\u201d said Almeta Ingram-Miller, during a phone interview last week from her home in Richmond, Virginia.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy mom met and married my dad when she was 15. We moved to Miami where my mom worked as a domestic and my dad worked mowing lawns. He had a job mowing lawns at the old Orange Bowl Stadium in Liberty City, Florida.<\/p>\n

\u201cOne day, he gets up to go to work and said it was too much for him with my mom and five kids. He left for work one day and never came back.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe were very young. My mom\u2019s goal was to keep the family together. We had family members who wanted to help but that meant splitting us up. She insisted on keeping us together.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo, she prayed. We\u2019re a very faith-based family and our faith is what sustained us.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe prayed to God and he said \u2013 what do you have? She said \u2013 five children. God said to her \u2013 teach then to sing.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe lived in a tenement in Dade County \u2013 in Coconut Grove. She\u2019d sit us in a circle. She\u2019d pull a stick off a tree and beat time to teach us to sing. She was familiar with the style of male gospel quartets and used that.\u201d<\/p>\n

When God tells you to sing, a good place to start us in his house.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe sang in church \u2013 Wells Temple Church of God in Christ,\u201d said Ingram-Miller. \u201cWe stayed in Miami and then the doctors told my mom to move because of the heat.<\/p>\n

\u201cGod told her to move to Richmond, Virginia. So, we moved to Richmond. She acted purely on her faith in God. She was an amazing woman of faith.<\/p>\n

\u201cOn December 23, 1961, she loaded us up in her car \u2013 as green-and-white Chevy Belair — and we headed north. We went all the wat up Route 1 and Route 301 \u2013 an area where there were \u2018whites only\u2019 signs everywhere.\u201d<\/p>\n

In Richmond, Maggie worked in the home of Oliver W. Hill, the prominent civil rights attorney who represented the Virginia plaintiffs in the landmark\u00a0Brown v. Board of Education\u00a0case. The family joined Love\u2019s Temple Church of God in Christ and began singing in and around the city.<\/p>\n

With her children, Maggie also began a prison ministry, partnering with the Mount Gilead Baptist Church in the 1970s to institute programs like family day in Virginia prison camps.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe started at Camp 13 Prison,\u201d said Ingram-Miller. \u201cWe\u2019d be on the back of a flatbed truck singing our gospel songs. Eventually, we got the prisons to have \u2018family day\u2019 so families could get together.<\/p>\n

\u201cMom started writing most of the songs we sang. She wrote about things that were going on in our lives. She became a Civil Rights activist. She just wanted to do the right thing.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Ingramettes are truly gospel legends in Richmond, where they are known as the \u201cFirst Family of Gospel Music.\u201d<\/p>\n

Maggie earned many awards, including the prestigious Virginia Heritage Award in 2009 and a doctor of music degree from Virginia Triumphant College and Seminary in 2011. The Virginia Folklife Program\u2019s production of\u00a0\u201cMaggie Ingram and the Ingramettes: Live in Richmond\u201d\u00a0received the Independent Music Awards fan\u2019s choice award for Gospel Album of the Year in 2012.<\/p>\n

The Legendary Ingramettes bring roof-raising harmonies and explosively powerful vocals, all driven by the voices of women backed by a rock-solid house-shaking rhythm section. A live show from The Legendary Ingramettes is a house-rocking affair, with audiences literally getting whipped to a gospel fervor.<\/p>\n

\u201cEverything our mom did, she did because it was the right thing to do,\u201d said Ingram-Miller, \u201cAnd that\u2019s how we have continued.\u201d<\/p>\n

Video link for the Legendary Ingramettes \u2013 https:\/\/youtu.be\/rwTLcm98F34<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The outdoor show in Arden on June 10 will start at 5:30 p.m. Tickets are $20 at the gate.<\/p>\n

The quaint village of Arden has two sections that straddle Grubb Road. The Arden Gild Hall is located in the southern section.<\/p>\n

More good entertainment can be found this weekend in the northern section at a comfortable dinner theater.<\/p>\n

The\u00a0Candlelight\u00a0Theater is in the middle of its third production run of 2022. \u201cClue On Stage\u201d\u00a0is running now through June 26.<\/p>\n

\u201cClue: On Stage\u201d is adapted from the Paramount Pictures film written by Jonathan Lynn and the board game from Hasbro, Inc. written by\u00a0Sandy Rustin<\/a>.<\/p>\n

It’s a dark and stormy night, and you’ve been invited to a very unusual dinner party.<\/p>\n

Each of the guests has an alias, the butler offers a variety of weapons, and the host is, well . . . dead. When their host turns up dead, they all become suspects. Led by Wadsworth the butler, Miss Scarlett, Professor Plum, Mrs. White, Mr. Green, Mrs. Peacock, and Colonel Mustard race to find the killer as the body count stacks up.<\/p>\n

The play is a hilarious farce-meets-murder mystery that will leave both cult-fans\u00a0and newcomers in stitches as they try to figure out\u2026WHO did it, WHERE, and with WHAT!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cClue On Stage\u201d is a madcap comedy that will keep audiences guessing until the final twist.<\/p>\n

\u201cClue On Stage\u201d is running now through June 26 at the Candlelight Theatre. Tickets, which include dinner, beverages and dessert, are $65.50 for adults and $33 for children (ages 4-12).<\/p>\n

\"\"

Mary\u00a0Gauthier<\/p><\/div>\n

Mary\u00a0Gauthier is a woman of many talents. She is a Grammy-nominated\u00a0folksinger, a highly acclaimed songwriter and a celebrated author.<\/p>\n

Her songs have been covered by a multitude of artists including Jimmy Buffett, Dolly Parton, Boy George, Blake Shelton, Tim McGraw, Bettye Lavette, Mike Farris, Kathy Mattea, Bobby Bare, Amy Helm and Candi Staton.<\/p>\n

The Louisiana-born Nashville resident has won multiple awards, including at the International Folk Music Awards, the Independent Music Awards, and Americana Association Awards. \u00a0She has released a dozen albums starting with \u201cDixie Kitchen\u201d in 1997.<\/p>\n

Gauthier\u00a0is currently on tour in support of her new album\u00a0\u201cDark Enough to See The Stars\u201d \u2013 a tour that will make a June 10 stop at the World Caf\u00e9 Live (3025 Walnut Street, Philadelphia, 215-222-1400, www.worldcafelive.com<\/a>).<\/p>\n

In 2021,\u00a0Gauthier\u00a0released her first book, the inspiring\u00a0\u201cSaved By A Song: The Art and Healing Power of Songwriting.\u201d The book received critical acclaim and was included in Rolling Stone\u2019s\u00a0\u201cBest Music Books of 2021.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDark Enough to See The Stars,\u201d which was just released on June 3 via Thirty Tigers, is the follow up to\u00a0her highly praised 2018 release\u00a0\u201cRifles & Rosary Beads,\u201d which was co-written with U.S. veterans and their families. The album received a Grammy nomination for Best Folk Album.<\/p>\n

\u201cSome of the songs on the new album have been kicking around for a while,\u201d said Gauthier, during a phone interview Tuesday from her home in Nashville. \u201cThe title track was written for my \u2018Trouble And Love\u2019 album but it wasn\u2019t quite right for that album.\u201d<\/p>\n

That album was released in 2014.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy co-writer and I found it during the pandemic,\u201d said Gauthier. \u201cIt\u2019s a reflection on grief and loss \u2013 not because of relationship stuff but because of peopler dying. So many people that meant a lot to me have passed away.\u201d<\/p>\n

Like a fine red wine, the song just needed to age.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m the red wine,\u201d said Gauthier. \u201cI had to mature and write smarter. I kept the melody and changed the song\u2019s lyrics. It started to be about relationships and changed to be about dying.\u201d<\/p>\n

On her website, Gauthier wrote, \u201cHow do you sing about the wonder and glory of falling in love, while also simultaneously losing dear friends and mentors during a global pandemic? How do you write about the shock of sudden loss and the richness of new love, while knowing that grief and love are sisters, interwoven and inseparable?<\/p>\n

\u201cMy new record \u2018Dark Enough to See the Stars\u2019 was born of these questions, a collection of songs that reflect a complex emotional journey. Many of the songs were written with longtime co-writers and dear friends during the pandemic years. Love and grief are the dominant themes, joy and sorrow, the dominant emotions. A happy sad record, moreover, a record about what it means to love. I am proud of these songs, and grateful for the help of all my collaborators. I hope you like it.\u201d<\/p>\n

When the music world screeched to a half for two years, Gauthier kept writing songs.<\/p>\n

\u201cMost of the songs were written during the pandemic,\u201d said Gauthier. \u201cMany were written when I got together with my current partner, Jaimee Harris. This is our fifth year together. We write songs together. We travel together.<\/p>\n

\u201cTo be able to lean onto someone and have it feel right \u2013 getting into a solid relationship as an older woman (Gauthier is 60) \u2013 it all makes a positive difference. I feel lucky that there are a lot of women older than me blazing the trail.\u201d<\/p>\n

Harris co-wrote songs with Gauthier and sang harmonies on the album.<\/p>\n

\u201cJaimee and I are touring together,\u201d said Gauthier. \u201cShe opens the show and then later joins me for some songs in my set. The two songs that we co-wrote on the album were \u2018Amsterdam\u2019 and \u2018How Could You Be Gone?\u2019<\/p>\n

\u201cWe recorded the album with producer Neilson Hubbard, the same producer we used on the last album. Dylan Aldridge was the engineer, and we used his house studio. We cut the album live in four days \u2013 mostly in one or two takes. That\u2019s my style. Anything more than four takes and I\u2019m acting.\u201d<\/p>\n

Gauthier will perform with as band occasionally, but she prefers to go it alone.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m mostly a troubadour by nature,\u201d said Gauthier. \u201cI like the freedom of performing solo \u2013 spotlight, stool sand bottle of water. I like to stay spontaneous and real.\u201d<\/p>\n

Video link for Mary Gauthier \u2013 https:\/\/youtu.be\/pWTyAgWLNtc<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The show at the World Caf\u00e9 Live on June 10 will start at 8 p.m. with Jaimee Harris as the opening act.<\/p>\n

Tickets are $25.<\/p>\n

Other upcoming shows at the World Caf\u00e9 Live are Willie Porter on June 11 and Andy McKee on June 15.<\/p>\n

If you like your music with a southern vibe \u2013 especially music with its roots in the myriad of styles found in New Orleans \u2013 then you need to check out\u00a0Marcia\u00a0Ball\u2019s show at the Sellersville Theater (24 West Temple Avenue, Sellersville, 215-257-5808,\u00a0www.st94.com<\/a>).
\nBall is still touring her latest album, \u201cShine Bright,\u201d which was released late 2018 on Alligator Records and produced by Los Lobos\u2019 sax player Steve Berlin.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn 2019, we toured all year,\u201d said Ball, during a phone interview last week from her home in Austin, Texas. \u201cWe were out the whole month of February in 2020.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe first week of March, I was in Jamaica. My husband was calling me every day to come home because of the pandemic and what was happening.<\/p>\n

\u201cI came back because I didn\u2019t want to get stranded in Jamaica. I got home February 9th. I did a gig on the 11th and then everything shut down completely. Prior to the shutdown, I had steady work \u2013 almost 100 shows a year.\u201d
\nWith no concerts on her calendar, Ball found other things to do during the pandemic shutdown.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe got a dog during the pandemic \u2013 a dog named Shady,\u201d said Ball. \u201cWe did a lot of home maintenance. We did a lot of walking around our neighborhood in Austin. And I built a boat with my grandson.<\/p>\n

\u201cI also did quite a bit of streaming. I would get called to do a song for an event \u2013 like the Boogie Woogie Festival in Cincinnati \u2013 and to do songs for different fundraisers.<\/p>\n

\u201cI also wrote a lot of songs for a musical. The author is Lawrence White. It\u2019s a play, a book, a musical and a podcast. It\u2019s tentatively titled \u2018Mr. Texas\u2019 and it\u2019s about Texas politics. It\u2019s a comedy and it\u2019s a tragedy.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen it looked like it was opening up in sprung 2021, I booked shows for the fall \u2013 and then had to cancel them. We went out in October 2021 on a co-billed tour with Tommy Castro. That was really our breakout. It\u2019s been pretty steady since. We\u2019re still doing songs from \u2018Shine Bright.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cShine Bright\u201d was produced by Steve Berlin, sax player for Los Lobos who graduated from nearby Abington High School.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe recorded part of it in Louisiana and did eight songs in Austin,\u201d said Ball.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve known Steve for a while. He was at an event in Austin, and I thought \u2013 if he\u2019s coming to Austin, maybe we can get together and do some recording. He did have some time and he was happy to do it.\u201d
\nAccording to Ball, \u201cWith \u2018Shine Bright,\u2019 I wanted to make the best\u00a0Marcia\u00a0Ball record I could make. It is a ridiculously hopeful, cheerful record.\u201d<\/p>\n

In doing so, she has put together the most musically substantial, hopeful and uplifting set of songs of her five-decade career. \u201cShine Bright\u201d contains 12 songs (including nine originals), ranging from the title track\u2019s rousing appeal for public and private acts of courage to the upbeat call to action of \u201cPots and Pans,\u201d a song inspired by renowned Texas political writer and humorist Molly Ivins.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn Louisiana, we recorded at a studio called Dockside Studio in Maurice,\u201d said Ball, who was named Texas\u2019 \u201cState Musician\u201d this year. \u201cIt\u2019s a legendary studio. It\u2019s where B.B. King recorded \u2018Blues on the Bayou\u2019 and it\u2019s also where Buckwheat Zydeco made a lot of records.\u201d<\/p>\n

Over the years, there have been several stellar piano players from Louisiana who have made the region\u2019s blend of blues, soul and swamp boogie famous around the world. The list is mostly male-dominated — Fats Domino, Huey \u201cPiano\u201d Smith, Dr. John, Allen Toussaint, Professor Longhair — but also includes\u00a0Marcia\u00a0Ball.<\/p>\n

Ball\u2019s music has always been able to blend Gulf Coast blues, New Orleans R&B, swampy Louisiana ballads, and jumping, Tex-\u00ad\u2010Mex flavored zydeco into a one\u00ad\u2010of\u00ad\u2010a\u00ad\u2010kind musical gumbo — a sound she has been perfecting over the course of her legendary career.<\/p>\n

Ball received the 2014 Blues Music Award (BMA) for the Pinetop Perkins Piano Player of the Year. She has now won a total of 10 BMAs and has received a whopping 44 nominations. Ball recently received a 2015 Living Blues Readers’ Poll Award for Most Outstanding Musician (Keyboard) and now holds nine Living Blues Awards in all.<\/p>\n

She was inducted into the Gulf Coast Hall of Fame in 2010 and into the Louisiana Music Hall of Fame in 2012. This year, she was inducted into the Austin City Limits Hall Of Fame \u2013 along with Los Lobos and Ray Charles.<\/p>\n

Ball released her first album in 1972. Her career is still going full-tilt 46 years later and her popularity continues to grow.
\nIt was back in the early 1970s when she immersed herself in the music of the great New Orleans piano players — especially Professor Longhair. Her solo album debut was a country-rock album called \u201cCircuit Queen\u201d that was released in 1978 on Capitol Records.<\/p>\n

Before long, Ball developed her own sound which was much more in line with the sweat-drenched music played in clubs in the Texas-Louisiana border region than with traditional country music. She released six critically acclaimed albums on the Rounder label during the 1980s and 1990s.<\/p>\n

The Louisiana vibe became more pronounced when she moved to Alligator Records in 2001. She has recorded seven albums for Alligator, including \u201cRoadside Attractions\u201d, which received a 2011 Grammy Award nomination in the Best Blues Album category.<\/p>\n

Ball and her band members all have roots in the Louisiana\/Texas music scene.<\/p>\n

\u201cI grew up in Louisiana,\u201d said Ball. \u201cI was listening to New Orleans music, Fats Domino, Little Richard, Jerry Lee Lewis. I also listened to a lot of blues musicians who did gigs in Baton Rouge. I have a lot of R&B in my background along with the great legacy of Delta music.\u201d<\/p>\n

It\u2019s now been a while since Ball has been in the recording studio.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe studio is one thing I haven\u2019t done since the pandemic,\u201d said Ball. \u201cI wrote all these songs for the musical, but I haven\u2019t written any for myself. I have started writing. I have the hooks. Now, I have to get the grooves.\u201d<\/p>\n

Video link for\u00a0Marcia\u00a0Ball \u2013\u00a0https:\/\/youtu.be\/kqB8PqOORls<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The show at Sellersville on June 10 will start at 8 p.m.<\/p>\n

Ticket prices range from $29.50-$45.<\/p>\n

Other upcoming shows at the Sellersville Theater are Steve Forbert on June 11, The McCartney Years on June 12, and Tim Snider on June 14.<\/p>\n

Kennett Flash (102 Sycamore Alley, Kennett Square, 484-732-8295,\u00a0http:\/\/www.kennettflash.org<\/a>) is hosting Sugar Lime Blue on June 10, A Concert for Dennis on June 12, and Tony Vacca\u2019s World Rhythm Ensemble on June 15 (at Anson B. Nixon Park).<\/p>\n

The Ardmore Music Hall (23 East Lancaster Avenue, Ardmore, 610-649-8389,\u00a0www.ardmoremusic.com<\/a>) will present Craig Shoemaker on June 9, Unlimited Devotion on June 10, and Splintered Sunlight on June 11.<\/p>\n

118 North (118 North Wayne Avenue, Wayne, www.118northwayne.com<\/a>) will host The Great Unknown on June 9, Wayne Music Fesival on June 11 with Melvin Seals with JGB, Yellowman, Jade Bird and Tommy Conwell, John Kadlecic on June 12, and Leigh Nash on June 12.<\/p>\n

Bryn Mawr Twilight Concerts (9 South Bryn Mawr Avenue, Bryn Mawr,<\/a> brynmawrtwilightconcerts.com<\/a>) will present the Merion Concert Band on June 10.<\/p>\n

Jamey\u2019s House of Music (32 South Lansdowne Avenue, Lansdowne, 215-477-9985,\u00a0www.jameyshouseofmusic.com<\/a>).<\/p>\n

Jamey\u2019s House of Music will host Ross Osteen Band on June 10, Breuce Katz Band on June 11, THURSDAY NIGHT JAZZ JAM\u00a0featuring Phyllis Chapell on June 9 and SUNDAY BLUES BRUNCH & JAM featuring the Philly Blues Kings with Maci Miller on June 12.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Denny Dyroff, Entertainment Editor, The Times\u00a0 Lin-Manuel Miranda has the \u201cMidas Touch.\u201d He is a Pulitzer Prize, Grammy, Emmy and Tony award-winning songwriter, actor, director and producer. Most notably, he is the creator and original star of Broadway\u2019s Tony-winning\u00a0\u201cHamilton\u201d\u00a0and\u00a0\u201cIn the Heights.\u201d Other Broadway honors are \u201cFreestyle Love Supreme\u201d\u00a0(2020 Special Tony Award recipient),\u00a0\u201cBring It On: […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":39356,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[6518,5247,13653,13652,13654],"class_list":["post-39360","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-featured","tag-fiddler-on-the-roof","tag-lin-manuel-miranda","tag-mary-gauthier","tag-the-legendary-ingramettes"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39360","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=39360"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39360\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":39361,"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39360\/revisions\/39361"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/39356"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=39360"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=39360"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=39360"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}