After Midnight (BROADWAY PLAY REVIEW)
After Midnight
Broadway Play Review by Kam Williams
Patti LaBelle Joins Cast of After
Midnight
If you were lucky enough to tune in to the Tony Awards from the
very beginning last Sunday evening, you caught a pretty phenomenal opening spotlighting
Patti LaBelle, Gladys Knight and Fantasia singing a spirited rendition of “On
the Sunny Side of the Street.” The reason the three appeared
together was because each is starring in the musical After Midnight, with
Fantasia originating the lead role, Patti presently playing it on Broadway, and
Gladys taking over in July.
The three divas were immediately
thereafter joined onstage by the rest of the cast for a spectacular
dance number, “It Don’t Mean a Thing (If It Ain’t Got That Swing).” Thus, it
was no surprise later in the program when After Midnight’s Warren Carlyle won
the Tony for Best Choreography.
My appetite
whetted by the Tonys, I attended a performance of the full show a few days
later and was quite frankly bowled over by the 90-minute tribute to Harlem’s legendary Cotton Club. Of course, there was
Patti holding the audience in the palm of her hand while belting out such jazz standards
as “Stormy Weather,” “I Can’t Give You Anything but Love, Baby,” and “On the
Sunny Side of the Street.”
However, the entire
production proved pretty enthralling, unfolding in
dizzying fashion, like a non-stop three-ring circus. After
all, After Midnight has a cast of 87, provided you count the band, which you
should since they’re onstage, too, not in an orchestra pit.
The festivities were elegantly
emceed by the versatile Dule’ Hill, who also tapped and crooned a few classics
along the way, including “I’ve Got the World on a String.” The jam-packed show
featured over two-dozen tunes in all, and a variety of dance styles ranging from
the Charleston
of the Twenties to break-dancing, with a taste of every era between sprinkled
in for good measure.
Patti
LaBelle is only signed thru June 29th, so I suggest you move quickly,
if you are a fan of hers and want to catch her in the show.
To order tickets,
visit: http://brooksatkinsontheater.com/
To see Patti LaBelle, Gladys Knight and Fantasia
performing at the Tonys, visit: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zpAhZ7vhNlg
To see the After Midnight TV commercial, visit:
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