International NewsCedric Neal and Sharon D. Clarke Will Star in King Concerts, Celebrating Life of Martin Luther King Jr.The performances at the Hackney Empire will also feature the London Musical Theatre Orchestra.
By
Andrew Gans
May 10, 2018
Cedric Neal
Sharon D. Clarke
Featureflash Photo Agency / Shutterstock.com
To celebrate the life of Civil Rights great Martin Luther King Jr., who was assassinated 50 years ago, Hackney Empire, in co-production with London Musical Theatre Orchestra, will present concert performances of Martin Smith's King June 30 at 7:30 PM and July 1 at 5 PM.
The cast will be headed by Cedric Neal (Motown the Musical, Chess) as Martin Luther King Jr., Sharon D. Clarke (Caroline, or Change) as Alberta King, and Debbie Kurup (The Bodyguard, Girl from the North Country) as Coretta King. The actors will be backed by the London Musical Theatre Orchestra, conducted by Freddie Tapner.
Susie McKenna directs the concerts with orchestrations by Simon Nathan and sound design by Augustus Psillas.
King, which premiered 30 years ago, tells the story of King's life with Corett Scott and the strides, successes, and sacrifices of the 1960s Civil Rights Movement that saw them change the course of history.
Nova Y. Payton, Cedric Neal, Crystal Joy, Sydney James Harcourt Star in DC-Area Dreamgirls
Nova Y. Payton, Cedric Neal, Crystal Joy, Sydney James Harcourt Star in DC-Area Dreamgirls
Nova Y. Payton is Effie White, the most turbulent of the Dreamgirls, in the Signature Theatre's holiday-season revival of the 1981 musical, starting Nov. 13 in Arlington, VA. Associate artistic director Matthew Gardiner directs and choreographs the Motown fable by lyricist-librettist Tom Eyen and composer Henry Krieger. Read the Playbill.com story.
