“I usually do one or the other, not both.” In fact, he’s only done both once before, when he was still in school. Johnson says his major challenge with “And in This Corner” is that he both directs the show and choreographs the fights. “Childsplay approached Black Theatre Troupe with the idea of a partnership, because we knew that they had the expertise with shows dealing with African-American experiences,” Hartford says, adding “I love the idea of collaborating with another Valley institution, especially one of BTT’s prestige and caliber.”ĭirecting the production is nationally acclaimed fight director and master instructor Michael Jerome Johnson, whose work has been seen at the Kennedy Center and the Arena Stage in Washington, D.C.
#ARIZONA ONSTAGE TV#
Older Phoenix residents may remember that Ali even appeared on “The Wallace and Ladmo Show,” a long-running local children’s TV program. The Muhammad Ali Parkinson Center was established in 1997 at Barrow Neurological Institute in Phoenix. He lived in Arizona for many years and was actively involved in research for Parkinson’s disease in Arizona. “I felt that it was an important story for all young people, but with Muhammad Ali’s connection to Phoenix, especially relevant to Arizona audiences.”Īli died on June 3, 2016, at age 74 in a Scottsdale hospital. Hartford says he fell in love with the play as soon as he read it. “It’s written for young audiences and families, which is of course what Childsplay does.” “The short answer is we both love the script by Idris Goodwin,” says Dwayne Hartford, Childsplay’s artistic director. How did these two theater companies decide to team up?
#ARIZONA ONSTAGE PROFESSIONAL#
It takes place in and around Louisville, Kentucky, where Ali was born, and ends at the start of his professional boxing career as he reaches young adulthood.Ĭo-producing the production are Childsplay, a nationally renowned theater for young audiences, and Black Theatre Troupe, one of the longest-running black theater companies in the United States. Mason Performing Arts Center in Phoenix on weekends Jan.
His story is told in “And in This Corner: Cassius Clay,” coming to the Helen K. Before becoming a strong civil rights advocate and one of the world’s greatest boxers known as Muhammad Ali, he was a boy learning to navigate life in the 1950s segregated South. Photo by Tim Trumble, courtesy of Childsplay.Ī bell sounds, and a young fighter named Cassius Clay Jr. Rapheal Hamilton plays Cassius, later known as Muhammad Ali. and internationally.Black Theatre Troupe and Childsplay team up to present “And in This Corner: Cassius Clay” Jan. Jersey Boys continues to tour with productions in the U.S. Jersey Boys has been produced worldwide and just ended a long off-Broadway run in May 2022. In addition to their long string of hits, the 2005 musical Jersey Boys, detailing those remarkable years, ran on Broadway for 12 years and won four Tony Awards, including Best Musical. This year marks the 60th anniversary of the group’s first #1 hit, “Sherry.” In the 1960s and early 1970s, Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons recorded hit after hit featuring unforgettable tunes like “Walk Like a Man,” “Big Girls Don’t Cry,” “Rag Doll,” “Can’t Take My Eyes Off You” and “Grease.” This solid gold PBS special was taped in April 2022 in the fabulous 10,000-seat arena at the Mohegan Sun Casino in Connecticut. and abroad to packed houses of thrilled fans from multiple generations. Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons are still touring throughout the U.S.
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