Sharpenicity

The Devil's Music: The Life & Blues of Bessie Smith Miche Braden brings the powerful message and music  of the woman known as the “Empress of the Blues” to the stage in this bio musical of Bessie Smith. Langston Hughes said it best when he said that spirituals are inspirations for motherless children to find a spiritual home, while the blues are about the here and now.    From the early death of her  mother to the loss of a beloved adopted child in a court case,  Bessie certainly knew the range of the blues from broke and broken-heated.  Her music does not claim its origins in the spirituals of black churches, but rather from learning to sing for pennies on the streets of Chattagnoga as a child.  The path that started with an early stint as a dancing girl in a traveling show would lead to NYC’s  Carnegie Hall.    She set records for record sales at Columbia Records.  Thousands of people flocked to her funeral, yet her grave was unmarked until one of her mu

THE GREY SUIT SOCIETY   A STORY OF FAITH, FAMILY, DEVOTION, BETRAYAL AND…RATS? A message that might seem so obvious in real life turns into a magic moment of awareness when it is takes to the stage with talented directors and a fine cast. Carlos Heredia is the actor, director and writer who with David Fletcher as music director has brought together a group of actors for a family friendly opera. Together they sounded as good as the show’s beautiful theme of peace. Who is the star of a show that is about family and devotion?   Leading the cast, is Analia Heredia as Nia who must go against society’s grain, to bring human hypocrisy into the light.   As she hopes to move out of the shadows in to a bright new world, her family includes Claudillea Holloway as Jelani,  Georgia Fender as Etana,  Sonya Rice as Achi, Carly Ameling as Jane,   Codie Milford as Omari,  Liz Neitge as Janna,  andTiana Markman as Dini. The “others” are Shaotian Cai as the Host, Gabriel Arrie