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Jelly's Last Jam

Aug 2 – Sep 11, 2016
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About Performance Info Specialty Nights Photos Sponsors Cast & Creative Reviews Social Venue
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Take your seat at the legendary Jungle Inn nightclub for the electrifying, multiple Tony and Drama Desk Award®-winning musical that tells the story of jazz through one of its most notorious entertainers: Jelly Roll Morton.

Journey from the back alleys of New Orleans to the dance halls of Chicago to the stages of New York with “he who drinks from the vine of syncopation” in a sizzling memoir of pride, lust and a past denied.

Directed by Matthew Gardiner (West Side Story, Cabaret), this Washington premiere stars acclaimed jazz pianist Mark G. Meadows (Jazz at Lincoln Center, Kennedy Center, Strathmore), and features Tony Award®-winner Cleavant Derricks (Broadway’s Dreamgirls) and the soul-stirring Nova Y. Payton with dazzling, high-energy choreography by Broadway’s Jared Grimes. Now that’s how you jazz!

Book by George C. Wolfe
Music by Jelly Roll Morton
Lyrics by Susan Birkenhead
Additional Music by Luther Henderson

Performance Information

  • Running Time

    Approximately two hours and fifteen minutes, including one fifteen minute intermission.

  • Content Warnings

    Contains mild language, sexual situations, theatrical haze and smoke, and depictions of cigarette smoking (herbal scent).

Specialty Nights

Discussion Nights

August 16 & August 24, 2016

Pride Night

August 26, 2016

Open Captioned Performances

August 28, 2016 at 2PM and August 30, 2016 at 7:30PM

Sponsored by

Cast Members

Mark G. Meadows

Mark G. Meadows

Jelly Roll Morton

he/him SIGNATURE: Director of Signature Cabarets; Music Direction: The Color Purple, RENT, After Midnight, Spunk, Ain’t Misbehavin’; Jelly’s Last Jam. Apollo Productions: ELLA, An American Miracle. Kennedy Center: Acoustic Rooster REGIONAL: Oregon Shakespeare Theatre: Once on this Island. Denver Center for the Performing Arts: Choir Boy, Wildfire. LA JOLLA PLAYHOUSE: Associate Music Direction: The Outsiders.  ALBUMS: Be the Change, To the People, Somethin’ Good, A Child is Born. CONCERTS: Jazz at the Lincoln Center, DC Jazz Festival, Blues Alley, The Kennedy Center, Smalls Jazz, The Strathmore. INTERNATIONAL: Haiti, Russia, The Congo, Qatar, Brazil, Mexico, Argentina, Canada, The Caribbean. APPEARED WITH: Cynthia Erivo, Usher, Bobby McFerrin, Kendrick Lamar, Kamasi Washington, Nicholas Payton, Kurt Elling, Ledisi. AWARDS: 2020 DC Wammies Jazz Artist of the Year, Washington City Paper’s Artist & Composer of the Year. TEACHING: American University, Shenandoah University: Jazz Instructor; Duke Ellington School of the Arts: The Peabody Conservatory of Johns Hopkins University. MarkGMeadows.com @MarkGMeadows

Cleavant Derricks

The Chimney Man

Cleavant Derricks BROADWAY: Dreamgirls (James Thunder Early, Tony Award® and Drama Desk Award; LA Drama Circle Award for vocal arrangements), Big Deal (Tony Award® and Drama Desk Award nominations for Best Actor), Hair, Your Arms Are Too Short to Box with God, But Never Jam Today, Brooklyn the Musical, When Hell Freezes Over I’ll Skate (composer, musical director and featured actor; PBS Special), Cy Coleman’s Like Jazz. NATIONAL TOUR: The Full Monty (Horse, NAACP Theatre Award Best Male Performance). FILM/TV: Moscow on The Hudson, The Slugger’s Wife, Offbeat, Carnival of Souls, Bluffing It, Miami Magma, Basilisk, World Traveler; series regular on Sliders, Thea, Drexell’s Class, Good Sports, Woops!. AWARDS: Heroes and Legends Award for Outstanding Achievement in Theatre.

Elijah Mayo

Young Jelly

COMMERCIALS: Comcast/ Xfinity, Visit Hartford County, The Mars School Bus Experience w/ Lockheed Martin. PRINT: Boeing’s Above & Beyond Exhibit, USATF Junior Olympics, AAU Nationals.

Guy Lockard

Jack the Bear

DC AREA: Kennedy Center: Sideshow; REGIONAL: Theater for the New City: Sex, Drugs, and Ukulele’s. TV: AMC: Feed the Beast; FOX: Gotham; NBC: The Blacklist, The Mysteries of Laura, Law & Order: SVU, Law & Order; Showtime: The Affair; HBO: The Night of.., Show Me a Hero; The CW: Gossip Girl; BET: Teen Summit. NARRATION: All American Boys (by Jason Reynolds); As Brave As You (by Jason Reynolds). EDUCATION: Jen Waldman Studio; William Esper Studio (NYC); Maggie Flanigan Studio (NYC); Liz Caplan Studio-Karen Dryer (NYC).

Felicia Boswell

Anita

BROADWAY: Shuffle Along (Josephine Baker), Motown (Diana Ross), Memphis (Felicia u/s). NATIONAL TOUR: Memphis 1st Nat’l (Felicia Farrell), Dreamgirls (Deena/ Lorell). REGIONAL: Barrington Stage: Man of La Mancha (Aldonza); Cleveland Musical Theatre: Aida (Aida); Atlanta Lyric Theatre: Rent (Mimi), Little Shop (Chiffon); OKC Lyric Theatre: Tarzan (Kala); Guthrie Theatre: Caroline, Or Change (Radio); Maltz Jupiter Theatre: BEEHIVE (Diana Ross); Baltimore Centerstage: Boys From Syracuse (Courtesan). TV/Other: MACY’S Day Parade (Diana Ross) ABC, NBC, CBS, FOX, Last Week w/ John Oliver, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, Starlight Jazz (Japan), Knockin’ the Musical (Wynona Carr), For Colored Girls.. (Green), Heart & Lights (Lady Liberty), Joe Turner’s Come & Gone (Molly Cunningham). AWARDS: Helen Hayes Winner (Outstanding Lead Actress, Non-Resident Musical), BWW Awards Winner (Best Leading Actress), Suzi Bass Nominee. BPI Artists. Twitter: @Felicia_Boswell www.FeliciaBoswell.com
Iyona Blake

Iyona Blake

Gran Mimi

SIGNATURE: Ain't Misbehavin' (Armelia McQueen), Scottsboro Boys (The Lady understudy), Titanic (Caroline Neville), Jelly’s Last Jam (Gran Mimi). OFF-BROADWAY: June Havoc Theater & Terrace Theater/Kennedy Center: Soul on Fire the Musical (Gabriel/Eva Mae). DC AREA: Lady Day at Emerson's Bar and Grill (Lady Day), The Mistress Cycle (Lulu White), The Wizard of Oz (Glinda), Blues in the Night (The Lady), Caroline, or Change (Caroline Thibodeaux), Once on This Island (Asaka), Shout! The Mod Musical (Green Girl), Thunder Knocking on the Door (Good Sister);Ain’t Misbehavin’ (Armelia McQueen), Black Nativity (As Cast). AWARDS: 2017 Helen Hayes Award Winner for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Musical, BroadwayWorld’s Washington, DC Award Winner for Best Actress in a Musical for a Small Professional Theater. www.iyonablake.com
Nova Y. Payton

Nova Y. Payton

Miss Mamie/Hunnie

SIGNATURE: The Color Purple, We Shall Someday, After Midnight, Assassins, Blackbeard, Ain’t Misbehavin’, Jelly's Last Jam, La Cage aux Folles, Diner, Defying Gravity: Making of a SuperNOVA, Dreamgirls, The Best Little Whorehouse..., Xanadu, Hairspray. TOUR: 3 Mo’ Divas, Smokey Joe’s Café. DC AREA: Round House: Caroline, or Change; Shakespeare Theatre: The Amen Corner, Kiss Me, Kate; Ford's Theatre: Grace the Musical, Ragtime, Freedom’s Song; Olney Theatre: Godspell; Arena Stage: Newsies, Smokey Joe's Café; Kennedy Center: How To Succeed.... REGIONAL: ZACH Theatre: Into the Woods; The 5th: Man of La Mancha, A Night with Janis Joplin; Milwaukee Rep: Dreamgirls.
Kara-Tameika Watkins

Kara-Tameika Watkins

Hunnie

she/her SIGNATURE: Passing Strange, Daphne’s Dive, Jesus Christ Superstar, Jelly's Last Jam, Dreamgirls, Hairspray, Sunset Boulevard, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum. DC AREA: Arena Stage: Crowns, Smokey Joe’s Café; Ford's Theatre: Little Shop of Horrors, Children of Eden; Studio Theatre: Caroline, or Change; Olney Theatre: Miss You Like Hell, Carmen: An Afro-Cuban Musical, Peter Pan, Camelot; Round House Theatre: Caroline, or Change; Once on this Island; Creative Cauldron: Caroline, or Change. REGIONAL: Capital Reperto Repertory Theatre: The Honky Tonk Angels; Arts Center of North Carolina: Rock of Ages; PCLO: Hairspray; Northshore Music Theatre: Hairspray; Nevada: Hairspray, Smokey Joe’s Café. Proud Member AEA.

Eben K. Logan

Hunnie

NATIONAL TOUR: Memphis. DC AREA: Studio Theatre: Carrie the Musical; Imagination Stage: Looking for Roberto Clemente; Keegan Theatre: American Idiot; Constellation Theatre Company: Avenue Q. UPCOMING: Ford’s Theatre: A Christmas Carol.

V. Savoy McIlwain

Buddy Bolden/Ensemble

SIGNATURE: Show Boat (Joe). NATIONAL: La Boheme (Marcello), Carmen (Morales), Don Giovanni (Leporello), Shadow Boxer (Blackburn), Let Freedom Sing (Jack Johnson, world premiere). INTERNATIONAL: Porgy and Bess (Jake and Jim), Cosi fan tutte (Guglielmo). DC AREA: Adventure Theatre: Strega Nona (Mayor). EDUCATION: Duke Ellington School of the Arts; University of Northern Iowa, BM; University of Maryland at College Park, MM.

Olivia Russell

Ensemble

Olivia Russell (Ensemble) West Side Story, Romeo & Juliet; Ira Aldridge Theatre: Anything Goes, Not About Nightingales. FILM: Fire Reds, The One. DANCE: I.Am.We Contemporary Dance Company, Carnival Cruise Lines. OTHER: Various performances at The Kennedy Center. WEB SERIES: Doing It Wrong. AWARDS: 2015 Suzan Lori-Parks Excellence in The Arts Award. EDUCATION: Howard University: BFA.

DeMoya Watson Brown

Ensemble

SIGNATURE: Jelly's Last Jam, Dreamgirls. OFF-BROADWAY: Radio City Christmas Spectacular (Rockette). REGIONAL: Washington National Opera: Champion, Show Boat; Shakespeare Theatre Co: The Boys from Syracuse; Arena Stage: Sophisticated Ladies. LIVE STAGE: Disney’s Finding Nemo the Musical; Disney’s Beauty and The Beast; Royal Caribbean Cruise Line: The Holy Land Experience. DANCE THEATRE: Washington Reflections Dance Company; Surfscape Contemporary Dance Company. TV Dancing With the Stars; The Ellen Degeneres Show; CMT’s Top 20 Countdown; TBN’s Praise the Lord. EDUCATION: George Mason University (MA, Arts Management); Florida State University (BFA, Dance).

DeWitt Fleming, Jr.

Ensemble

SIGNATURE: Jelly's Last Jam. OFF-BROADWAY: Cotton Club Parade (Lead), Cirque Du Soleil’s Banana Shpeel (featured Ensemble), Pearl (Bill Bailey), Richard III (Grey), Dutchman (Clay), Orphan Train (Conductor). REGIONAL: Alliance Theater: Sophisticated Ladies (Lead). TOURS: Riverdance (Lead tapper/ Baritone Soloist). TV/FILM: Boardwalk Empire, Smash, How to Be Single, Limitless. DANCE: Soloist with Wynton Marsalis, Bobby McFerrin, Marvin Hamlisch, Christian McBride, the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra, New Jersey Symphony Orchestra. EDUCATION: Duke Ellington School of the Arts, Marymount Manhattan College. www.dewittflemingjr.com
Stephen Scott Wormley

Stephen Scott Wormley

Ensemble

SIGNATURE: Jelly’s Last Jam, Hairspray (Helen Hayes award). OFF-BROADWAY: Black Nativity Now!. INTERNATIONAL TOUR: Disney on Classic with the Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra. DC AREA: Olney Theatre Center: Once on This Island; Rep Stage: Dorian’s Closet (Dorian). NYC Theatre: Playwrights Horizons: Hart Song; NYU Tisch: Awakened. REGIONAL: Ordway: In the Heights (Benny); Syracuse Stage: Ain’t Misbehavin’; Barter Theatre: Les Misérables (Marius), Tarzan (Terk); Overture Center: Big Fish (Will) The Spirit of Broadway Theatre: SNOW (world premiere). SPECIAL ENGAGEMENTS: Symphony of the Mountains: Les Misérables (Marius); Baltimore Symphony Orchestra: Hairspray w/ John Waters (Seaweed). TV: Kennedy Center Honors. For Gwen www.StephenScottWormley.com .

Christopher Broughton

Ensemble

BROADWAY: After Midnight. TOUR: Riverdance 25th Anniversary World Tour; Dorrance Dance; Rasta Thomas’ Tap Stars; Jason Samuels Smith’s A.C.G.I. REGIONAL: Cotton Club Parade; Chocolate Nutcracker (Assistant Choreographer to Chester Whitmore); The Professional Dancer Society (Honoring Mary Tyler Moore); Playboy Jazz Festival (Herbie Hancock); Happy Feet Movie Premiere. TV: The 68th Tony Awards (Patti LaBelle, Gladys Knight, Fantasia, Dulé Hill, Hugh Jackman); The Today Show; The Secret Talent of the Stars (MYA); World Music Awards (Amerie); The Jerry Lewis Telethon (Emmy Award number). HONORS: NAACP ACT-SO Silver and Bronze Medal Winner 2000-2004; NAACP Image Award 2003-2004. TRAINING: Savion Glover’s TII DII 3000 Company; Debbie Allen Dance Academy; Universal Dance Design Kennedy Tap Company, Paul and Arlene Kennedy.

Joseph Monroe Webb

Ensemble

BROADWAY: Bring In Da Noise, Bring In Da Funk. OFF-BROADWAY: Cotton Club Parade; Carnegie Hall: Black Stars of the Great White Way. DC AREA: Kennedy Center: Masters of Juba, Savion Glover and Friends, Nixon Goes to China. REGIONAL: Thank you, Gregory. TV: Third Watch, Guiding Light, Luther’s Choice, Verizon, Jay Leno, Live! with Regis and Kathie Lee, Oprah. FILM: Morningstar Farms, Bringing Out the Dead, Black Nativity, Red Bull. EDUCATION: City University of NY- Professional Studies, Marymount Manhattan College (2001).

Creative Team

Darius Smith

Musical Direction by

SIGNATURE: Dreamgirls (Associate Music Director). OFF-BROADWAY: New Victory Theater: Three Little Birds. DC AREA: Olney Theatre Center: The Little Mermaid, Once on this Island; Studio Theatre: Choir Boy, Carrie: the Musical; Adventure Theater-MTC: Petit Rouge; American University: Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown. CABARETS: Signature Theatre: Songs in the Key of Chocolate (Composer/Lyricist); Various venues: Nova Y. Payton; Strathmore: Natascia Diaz; MetroStage: Ware’s the Disconnect? (featuring Ashley Ware Jenkins). ORIGINAL WORKS: Marcus Nate is Alive and Great in Detroit (workshop reading); Tea and Cakes (upcoming New York workshop); Adventure Theatre: The Snowy Day (book by David Toney, 2013 Helen Hayes nomination for Outstanding TYA Production); Kennedy Center Page-to-Stage: U.G.L.Y., a new musical. UPCOMING: Olney Theatre Center: The Producers; Skylight Music Theater: Crowns. www.dariussmithmusic.com

Lane Elms

Sound Design by

Lane Elms (Sound Design) SIGNATURE: Simply Sondheim, Soon, Kid Victory, Diner, Elmer Gantry, Sunday in the Park with George, Cloak and Dagger, The Threepenny Opera, Beaches, Gypsy, Crossing, Spin. DC AREA: Studio Theatre: Silence! REGIONAL DESIGN: Brother Wolf, Sisters, Rage is Not a One Day Thing, Cosi Fan Tutte, A Raisin in the Sun, The Waiting Room, Big River. ASSISTANT DESIGN: Tobacco Road, Jelly’s Last Jam. BROADWAY ENGINEER: Hair (tour). NATIONAL TOUR ENGINEER: Sister Act, Mary Poppins, Hair, The Color Purple, Go Diego Go Live!. REGIONAL ENGINEER: A Christmas Carol, Next To Normal, I Dream, Class of 3000, Smart Cookie, Sleuth, Jesus Christ Superstar Gospel, Degasí Little Dancer, Sophisticated Ladies, Gem of The Ocean/Radio Golf, Seussical, In The Red and Brown Water, Curvy Widow, The Women of Brewster Place. EDUCATION: UNCSA 2006 (Sound Design).

Leah Loukas

Wig Design by

SIGNATURE: Jelly’s Last Jam. BROADWAY: The Heidi Chronicles, On The Town, A Night with Janis Joplin, Vanya Sonia Masha and Spike, American Idiot, Irena’s Vow. OFF-BROADWAY: Lincoln Center: The Royale; Roundabout: The Robber Bridegroom; The Public Theater: Barbecue, Fortress of Solitude; Shakespeare in the Park series: Taming of the Shrew, Love’s Labour’s Lost, Into the Woods; Signature Theatre: Heathers: The Musical; Bare: The Musical; Carrie: The Musical; Tribes; Our Lady of Kibeho. 59E59: Butler. REGIONAL: Paper Mill Playhouse: Ever After, The Little Mermaid; Barrington Stage Company: Pirates of Penzance; Arena Stage/McCarter Theater: Baskerville; Long Wharf Theater: The Second Mrs. Wilson, My Paris. EDUCATION: University of Cincinnati’s CCM, BFA, Theater Design and Production/Makeup and Wig Design.

Laura Stanczyk

New York Casting by

SIGNATURE: Cabaret, Sunday in the Park with George, Cloak & Dagger, Pride In the Falls of Autrey Mill, Miss Saigon, Dream Girls, Xanadu. BROADWAY, OFF-BROADWAY & TOURS: Side Show, After Midnight, A Night With Janis Joplin, Follies, Lombardi, Ragtime, Impressionism, Seafarer, Radio Golf, Coram Boy, Translations, Damn Yankees, Dirty Dancing, The Glorious Ones, The Cripple of Inishmaan, Tryst, Flight, Urinetown. OTHER THEATER INCLUDES: the premieres of Cotton Club Parade, Harps and Angels, Me Myself & I, Fetch Clay Make Man, Gruesome Playground Injuries and Golden Age as well as productions of Master Class, Lisbon Traviata, Broadway Three Generations, Don’t Dress For Dinner, Shawshank Redemption and Long Day’s Journey Into Night. Associate Casting Director at Binder Casting for nine years and a member of the Senior Artistic Staff at McCarter Theatre Center for five. AWARDS: Nominated for six Artios Award for Excellence in Casting, won for Eric Schaeffer’s production of Follies.

Enhance Your Experience

Muffuletta Sandwich, Warm Bread Pudding, and More at Ali's Bar

Head to Ali’s Bar in The Mead Lobby on the 2nd floor to enjoy a New Orleans inspired menu. For the full menu, click here. Don’t Wait in Line. Pre-Order Intermission Food and Drinks! Grab an order form at the bar and pre-order food and drinks for intermission. A favorite treat you’ll want to make sure you add—our warm housemade cookies.

Free Tap Class with Jelly's Last Jam Assistant Choreographer

DeWitt Fleming Jr. has danced with Riverdance, Wynton Marsalis, Cirque Du Soleil, and Signature’s production of Jelly’s Last Jam, and now you can learn to tap with him! Come to our free tap workshop to learn a piece of the high-energy tap choreography that you’ll see on the stage. We encourage you to bring tap shoes, but if you don’t have them don’t worry – they’re not required. August 15 7PM The SHEN Rehearsal Room, 4th Floor FREE, No Reservations Required No experience or tap shoes necessary

Press Reviews

A dazzling revival... features some of the most spectacular tap dancing ever dreamed up for a Washington stage

The Washington Post

The tap dancing is incredible, the costumes sparkle, and the vocals soar.

DCist

Jelly’s Last Jam is a stylish and swanky affair that radiates with soulful energy.

BroadwayWorld

This sizzling stage stunner will bring you to your feet.

TheaterBloom

Hot, rollicking jazz

DCTheatreScene

Signature Theatre

4200 Campbell Ave Arlington, Virginia

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