Featuring the personalities and cultural significance of

Bessie Smith, Billie Holiday, Dinah Washington, Dorthy Dandridge, Lena Horne,

Josephine Baker, Mahalia Jackson, and Eartha Kitt

This tremendous theater piece offers audiences the opportunity to peer into the lives of eight women who gave unselfishly to the world some of the greatest soul-stirring music, regardless of their personal lives. These “Legendary Divas” spent their lives pleasing audiences through their music, while deep inside they were going through hell trying to fit in and be accepted as women with dreams, ambitions, needs, wants and desires.

It is imaginatively packaged in the modern day story of a beautiful 21year old young black woman (Michelle Harris) and her 23 year old Jewish boyfriend Joshua Greene. The year is 2024. Michelle is a talented artist and a graduate of New York University. Josh is in his last year of New York University Law School and is being interviewed by major New York law firms.

They met at a college social gathering. It was “love at first sight”. They are deeply devoted to each other’s lives and involved with their respective careers. Josh is on the road to success as an “A” student in both undergraduate school and law school. Michelle is a very bright young college graduate having great difficulty getting her theatrical career off the ground. She has a callback to audition for one of the great famous black singers in a show.

Joshua wishes he could help but he can’t….until he comes up with an interesting idea.

THE INTERNET!!!

He suggests that she go online and research these famous singers. Look at their videos…listen to their music. It will be a great experience for her. Michelle loves the idea.

As she begins her Internet journey the artists appears. They have discussions with each other about the trials and tribulations, they had to go through, to be recognized with the great gifts God had given them in the world of show business. The show is set to original music written by “Mickey” Stevenson.

The Musical travels back in time to meet these famous black superstars focusing on their trials, tribulations and determination …and yet it all happens in real time as the audience watches.

To enhance the story, projections take us to Paris, London, Hollywood and New York City. The Michelle character actually sends us to Detroit and adds the sounds of Motown music, too.

HERE IS A SONG THAT MICKEY CO-WROTE FOR THE GEORGE FLOYD TRADEDY. it is a very powerful song words, arrangement, visuals and performer who brought it together as though you were the one who couldn’t breathe

https://youtu.be/qf6LPgf1h-A?si=uD-HPk2O4NIVZd16

Mickey Stevenson is a member of the Song Writers Hall of Fame and was the first A&R Executive at Motown. He was intimately involved not only with the development of Martha Reeves and the Vandellas career, but also influential in discovering and developing the careers of The Four Tops, The Supremes, Marvin Gaye, Stevie Wonder, and The Temptations.

Mickey also started Motown’s in-house band famously known as the “Funk Brothers,” and was always on the look-out for young writers who he brought to Motown including Ron Milner (originally a pizza salesman in Chicago) who went on to write the mega-hit, “For Once In My Life” — which both Stevie Wonder and Tony Bennet made famous.

Mickey Stevenson’s own “Dancing in the Streets” remains a pop classic that not only Martha and the Vandellas recorded but so did The Mamma & the Papas, David Bowie and Mick Jagger, Little Richard, The Grateful Dead and The Carpenters.

Without a doubt, Mickey Stevenson’s talent and pioneering impact on the music industry will be felt in spaces and places for many years to come

#mickeystevenson #singitfromtheheart #motown #a&rman #music #soulmusic #BessieSmith #BillieHoliday #DinahWashington #DorthyDandridge #LenaHorne #JosephineBaker #MahaliaJackson #EarthaKitt #motownmusic

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The Apollo Theater Education Program extends the Apollo’s commitment to enhancing the life of the community. The Education Program focuses on four distinct areas of learning and engagement: residencies, workshops and tours for schools; curriculum materials aligned to state and national learning standards and study guides derived from the Theater’s history; career development for teens and adults through the Apollo Theater Academy; and discussions and lectures for the public that highlight the history of the Apollo and its impact on American art, culture and entertainment. For more information on Apollo Theater Education, visit www.apollotheater.org/education/; follow on Twitter @ApolloEd or stay connected through Apollo Theater Education’s Facebook page.
About The Apollo Theater
The legendary Apollo Theater—the soul of American culture—plays a vital role in cultivating emerging talents and launching legends. Since its founding, the Apollo has served as a center of innovation and a creative catalyst for Harlem, the city of New York, and the world. With music at its core, the Apollo’s programming extends to dance, theater, performance art, spoken word initiatives, and more.
This includes the October 2014 premiere and 2015 international tour of the dance celebration project – James Brown: Get on the Good Foot, the annual Africa Now! Festival, Apollo Club Harlem and the upcoming New York premiere of the opera Charlie Parker’s YARDBIRD. The Apollo is a presenting organization that also produces festivals, large-scale dance and music works organized around a set of core initiatives: Apollo Music Signature Programs—Amateur Night, Salon Series, Apollo Music Café; Legacy Series – work that celebrates and extends the Apollo’s legacy through a contemporary lens; Global Festivals including the Women of the World (WOW) Festival and Breakin’ Convention, international and U.S.-based artist presentations focused on a specific theme; and Special Projects, multidisciplinary work with partner organizations.
Since introducing the first Amateur Night contests in 1934, the Apollo Theater has served as a testing ground for new artists working across a variety of art forms, and has ushered in the emergence of many new musical genres—including jazz, swing, bebop, R&B, gospel, blues, soul, and hip-hop. Among the countless legendary performers who launched their careers at the Apollo are D’Angelo, Lauryn Hill, Machine Gun Kelly, Miri Ben Ari, D’Angelo, Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughan, Billie Holiday, James Brown, Michael Jackson, Gladys Knight, Luther Vandross, and Stevie Wonder; and the Apollo’s forward-looking artistic vision continues to build on this legacy.
The Apollo Theater is a not-for-profit organization and currently in the midst of fundraising for its 21st Century Apollo Campaign, created to extend the institution’s role in fostering artistic innovation and in building appreciation of American culture around the world. Visit www.apollotheater.org.
Leadership support for Apollo Education programs from Ronald O. Perelman Family Foundation. Additional support from the Mitsubishi UFJ Foundation, Coca-Cola Foundation, Con Edison, Ella Fitzgerald Charitable Foundation, General Motors Foundation, Insperity, The Reginald F. Lewis Foundation, Pinkerton Foundation, the QBE Foundation and public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council.
The Apollo’s 2015-2016 season is made possible by generous support from American Airlines, BNY Mellon, Citi, Coca-Cola, Troy and Keisha Dixon, EmblemHealth, Frederick Wildman, The Howard Gilman Foundation, Carla A. Harris, Robert K. Kraft, The Reginald F. Lewis Foundation, The Parsons Family Foundation, the Ronald O. Perelman Family Foundation, JoAnn Price, Earl W. and Amanda Stafford, Time Warner Inc., the Reginald Van Lee New Works Fund, the Apollo Board of Directors and many other generous donors.
Lead annual support is also provided by public funds from the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew Cuomo and the New York State Legislature, the National Endowment for the Arts, and the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council. Stafford, Time Warner Inc., the Reginald Van Lee New Works Fund, the Apollo Board of Directors and many other generous donors.

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About the Apollo Theater
The Apollo is a national treasure that has had significant impact on the development of American culture and its popularity around the world. Since introducing the first Amateur Night contests in 1934, the Apollo Theater has played a major role in cultivating artists and in the emergence of innovative musical genres including jazz, swing, bebop, R&B, gospel, blues, soul, and hip-hop. Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughan, Billie Holiday, Sammy Davis, Jr., James Brown, Michael Jackson, Bill Cosby, Gladys Knight, Luther Vandross, D’Angelo, Lauryn Hill, and countless others began their road to stardom on the Apollo’s stage. The Apollo Theater’s new artistic vision builds on its legacy. New Apollo programming has music as its core, driving large scale and more intimate music, dance and theater presentations. The Apollo will continue to present historically relevant presentations, as well as more forward-looking, contemporary work. Based on its cultural significance and architecture, the Apollo Theater received state and city landmark designation in 1983 and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. For more information, visit www.apollotheater.org

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