The Harold Washington Cultural Center kicks off the inaugural Broadway in Bronzeville 2012/2013 season with One Singular Sensation Theatrical Fundraising Gala.

One Singular Sensation features songs and scenes inspired by your favorite Tony Award winning Broadway musicals like Dream Girls, Annie, Fosse, Ain’t Misbehavin’, Tap Dance Kid, A Chorus Line, Purlie Victorious and much more. This is a charitable fundraiser for the operation of the Harold Washington Cultural Center and its community outreach programs. We have limited seats available to the public for this live theatrical stage presentation. Secure your ticket today. One Singular Sensation is guaranteed to knock your socks off!

The enigmatic Bril Barrett of M.A.D.D Rhythms Tap Academy light up the stage in this Tony Award®-winning hit.

Willie, a young man from an upper-middle-class black family nurses a dream to become a tap dancer, with the encouragement of his uncle and despite the disapproval of his father, a lawyer.

Messiah Equiano directs this witty and energetic
1970s Broadway musical sensation based on Ossie Davis’
play “Purlie Victorious”.

In the early day of the civil rights movement, a Southern plantation owner, Ol’
Cap’n Cotchipee, holds his sharecroppers in virtual slavery. Now Ol’ Cap’n Cotchipee
is dead. His glorious funeral shakes the halls of Big Bethel, the church he sought to
destroy. The man on the pulpit is Purlie Victorious, a new kind of preacher man, who
sings the praises of life rather than the uncertainties of life in the hereafter. But it
wasn’t long ago when Purlie arrived with Lutiebelle and a scheme to deceive the Ol’
Cap’n into giving him money that rightfully belonged to his mother, money that would
buy Big Bethel.

The mighty entertaining Fats Waller classic presented by Broadway in Bronzeville is an intoxicating combination of a dry martini and a dirty joke, savored over the sassiest 1930s era jazz. The Tony Award®-winning musical will have you tappin’ your feet, shoutin out, and wanting more when it ends.

At the height of the historic Harlem Renaissance, venues like The Cotton Club were jumpin’ to a new beat called “swing.” Ain’t Misbehavin’ is a rollicking, finger-snapping, toe-tapping, Tony Award®-winning musical revue — a tribute to the black entertainers of the early 1900’s that centers on the music of one of the most prolific musicians of the time, Thomas “Fats” Waller.

Directed by Chicago’s own L.A. Holts, Ain’t Misbehavin’ is vibrantly told with infectious energy and the cheeky humor for which Waller was known. Featuring 30 famous, high-energy tunes including “Ain’t Misbehavin’,” “Honeysuckle Rose,” “Black and Blue” and “The Joint is Jumpin’.”

ENDURE Productions is a non-profit organization committed to using a faith-based approach to the performing arts to create career opportunities and increase access for underprivileged youth and adults in the Chicago metropolitan area. All ENDURE Productions programs offer participants access to professional performing arts training, job shadowing, and mentoring that develops their artistic skills and allow them to explore the possibility of pursuing careers as professional musicians, dancers, etc.

ENDURE Productions’ mission is to use the transformational power of music and dance to inspire audiences through high-quality dance and musical productions, and to train and empower underprivileged youth and adults in the Chicago metropolitan area to find careers in the performing arts. ENDURE targets primarily children between ages 12 and 18. However, ENDURE is interested in recruiting a diverse, inter-generational group of individuals to participate in programs, and reach out to everyone in the Chicago metropolitan area through its professional performing arts productions.

Founded in 2006 by, mega-mogul and the Chicago Bulls Luvabulls’ head choreographer, Kim Tyler, Endure Productions has taken the world by storm through its revolutionary productions and performances. Uniting Tyler’s strong faith with her love for the performing arts, Endure fuses the transformational power of music and dance to inspire and uplift the masses. Endure Productions is a life-changing experience featuring 150 dancers in a motivating, innovative, soul-searching movement of empowerment, love, laughter and hope. Endure has produced theatrical masterpieces through unique genres of dance ranging from hip-hop, modern jazz, ballet and tap.
Endure Productions has become a beacon of hope that has sparked an awakening of inspirational and Christian-based arts within the Chicago land area. Tyler’s theatrical movement has developed into a global powerhouse reaching across the United States with growing branches in Los Angeles and Atlanta.

Our sincere goals are to:

•  Develop leaders in the performing arts theater industry.
•  Give the community of Bronzeville a unique and magical Broadway theatrical experience.
• Provide youth of Chicago a constructive outlet that fosters excellence, leadership, team building, pride, and a since of accomplish.
• Provide youth of Chicago a monetary incentive to develop theater production, management, and leadership skills.

Black Nativity is produced by special arrangement with THE DRAMATIC PUBLISHING COMPANY of Woodstock, Illinois.

John Ruffin directs the joyous account of a historic event that occurred over 2,000 years ago, the birth of Jesus Christ.

Black Nativity is a retelling of the classic Nativity story with an entirely black cast. Traditional Christmas carols are sung in gospel style, with a few songs created specifically for the show. Originally written by Langston Hughes, the show was first performed Off-Broadway on December 11, 1961, and was one of the first plays written by an African-American to be staged there. It has been performed in Boston, Massachusetts, at Tremont Temple since 1969. The original 160 singers were arranged by age group and vocal range, with an assortment of soloists, along with the narrator, and Mary and Joseph, who are both mute.

M.A.D.D. RHYTHMS is a phenomenal TAP dance collective whose “SOLE” purpose is to spread the Love and Joy of TAP worldwide. What started as Bril Barrett’s formula for giving back, is now a full-fledged performing arts company, quickly gaining a reputation for representing the true essence of tap: RHYTHM! The company is composed of young, versatile tap dancers from all over Chicago. Their ages range from 18 to 33, and their backgrounds are as equally diverse. The one thing they all have in common is a love for “the dance”.

M.A.D.D. Rhythms’ mission is to preserve, promote, and contribute to this art form called tap. We will teach its history, represent its culture, and advocate for its future. We will use this beautiful dance/music form to make a difference in the under-served communities of this world by connecting and caring for the youth of this world. We believe that having access and options gives a child a greater chance at a positive life. Therefore, we will spread the joy, love, discipline, and expression of tap to as many children as we humanly can!

M.A.D.D. RHYTHMS’ performance opportunities, in short, have included: Dance Africa Chicago, Dance Chicago, The Stars of “Dance Chicago” in Istanbul, Turkey, M.A.D.D. Rhythms Canada’s “Release Yourself” and “Great Feets of Rhythm”, Downbeats Canada’s “Embrace the Rhythm”, Miami’s Art-Deco Festival, An Expo for Today’s Black Woman, Kwanzaa Festival, The African Festival of the Arts, St. Louis Tap Festival, Boys’ and Girls’ Clubs National Conference, the Chicago Historical Society’s Summer Performance Series, and DuSable Museum’s educational theatre series. They have also produced 9 full-length productions, created The Chicago Tap Summit and educated over 200 students via The M.A.D.D. Rhythms Tap Academy.

In an effort to continuously give back to their communities they have also worked with many public and private schools, and volunteered performances for various community affiliated organizations including A.C.E.S. (Athletes Committed to Educating Students), Children Affected by AIDS Foundation, Nikola Tesla Alternative High School for Girls, TCA Health and Nutrition Fair, Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority, Inc. and Rainbow House.
M.A.D.D. Rhythms Truly is MAKING A DIFFERENCE DANCING RHYTHMS.

For more information, visit M.A.D.D RHYTHMS Tap Dance Academy.

Talented, Cassandra Bell, will direct One Singular Sensation Fundraising Gala, Vegas Devas opening New Year’s Eve, an Annie opening April 5, 2013.

Cassandra Bell is a woman who has lived life dancing to the beat of her heart. She is a devoted mother, mentor, friend, and servant of God. She is an ordained Minister of Dance and inspires the word of God through the gift of performance arts. This Renaissance woman showcases multiple skills through her love and passion for creativity while honing her skills as a playwright, director, wardrobe master, set designer, actress, and choreographer.

Born September 13, 1968 to Walter Lee Atlas Clark and Delois Denham, in Colorado Springs, Colorado and raised in the Westside of Chicago. She discovered her love for theater while under the tutelage of the late Jimmy (Car Wash) Spinks.

Cassandra Bell worked professionally with artist, Donnell Jones, Ginuwine, Eric Sermon, Alphonso Hunter, LA Reid & Babyface, Hula & Fingers, Farley Jackmaster Funk, Mike Dunn, Dj Slugo, Artis Chapman, Derrick Devonte, Barry Bonds, Chris Nolen, Mark Harris, Richard Gallion, John Ruffin, Stereo, Dwayne Armstrong, Fran & Kevin Lewis, Rick Rush, Jilmalita Tilman, Tone Kapone, Tiffany Torrance Davis, and Record Labels, EMI/DEF SQUAD, ARISTA, ARISE RECORDS, SONY/550, and JIVE RECORDS. She recently expanded her resume as film Director by starring in and directing her first Independent film ” Hard Knock Life” starring Oxygen Bad Girls’, Tiffany Torrence Davis and Power 92’s, Tone Kapone.

Cassandra Bell has produced stage plays throughout the Chicago land area. They include, The Message, Hard Knock Life, Broken Windows, Asija Blu, Death by Divorce, Men a Pause, The Hott Koko Show, and Divas Need Love II. She was nominated for a 2012 Black Theater Alliance Award for her work on Dream Girls Chicago for Best Costume Design in a Musical or Stage play.

Cassandra majored in Theater/Entertainment Arts Management at Columbia College and Roosevelt University. A graduate of Governor State University where she obtained a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Criminal Justice, a member of Phi Theta Kappa (Honor Society) and recipient of the Dean Awards throughout her college career.

The mother of two Ashley Epps and Jermaine Bell Jr., She says, “My children are the greatest gifts that God has blessed me with”. “I am inspired by life, I am humbled by living, I am driven by vision and I am blessed to be able to have a means to express myself. Always believe in your dreams, they are gifts from the most high and never listen to those that do not believe in you, they are just sent to be a distraction to your destiny.”

Join the Harold Washington Cultural Center and Broadway in Bronzeville for this New Year’s celebration. Vegas Divas is a Las Vegas style tribute to the greatest divas of all time. You will be mystified by the soulful sounds of our international impersonators in our tribute to Vegas super stars like Whitney Houston, Cher, Janet Jackson, Celine Dion, Beyoncé, Gladys Knight, and many more. On New Year’s Eve there will be an after party in the atrium and a midnight champagne toast. VIPs will also receive an autograph photo of the cast, a commemorative playbill, and a New Year’s Eve gift bag from our sponsors. Join us!