This summer the Yellow Springs Kids Playhouse presents our 16th season of original theater by youth for all ages.
The Cotton Club revisits the famous nightclub in New York City during the time of prohibition. While the club featured many of the greatest African American entertainers of the era, such as Fletcher Henderson, Duke Ellington, Count Basie, Bessie Smith, Cab Calloway, The Nicholas Brothers, Ella Fitzgerald, Fats Waller, Louis Armstrong, Dizzy Gillespie, Nat King Cole, Billie Holiday and Ethel Waters, it also gave birth to contemporary notions of celebrity, press agents and the “red carpet”.
This original musical presents a cast of colorful characters based on the famous – and sometimes infamous – milieu of politicians, big spenders, boxers, stars, gangsters and gold diggers. In the YSKP’s contemporary portrayal of The Cotton Club, patrons sip cow juice as intrigue unfolds, flappers dance and the band plays on. This entertaining show for all ages uses both original songs and classic jazz tunes as the story follows an afternoon, evening and night of the people who work, perform and play in the most famous scene of the Jazz Age.
The Cotton Club is written and directed by John Fleming with original music composed by Neal Kirkwood. It will be performed by an all youth cast and feature a youth jazz ensemble. Performances take place in the Antioch Amphitheater at 7:30pm on July 7, 8, 9, 10, 14, 16 and 17.
NOTE: The cast from “The Cotton Club” will be performing songs from the show on Friday, July 15 on Dayton St. in Yellow Springs, from 7:30-8:45 p.m. at the Main Stage near Corner Cone as part of the 2nd Annual Cirque Carnival.
Information about The Cotton Club and the YSKP 2011 Summer Program, and directions to The Playhouse, can be found by visiting www.yskp.org or calling 767-7800.