Black, Brown, and Beige

A celebration of jazz music heritage through movement and stories.

Presenting work by five local artists:
Ashley Tate, Heather Beal, Kirven Douthit-Boyd, Marcus Johnson, and Cecil Slaughter.

Featuring a special multi-organization collaboration:
Jazz St. Louis, performing live music to the titled score by legendary Duke Ellington, inspired by the African-American experience.

The Black Rep, featuring three fellow actors in spoken word and performing choreography with The Big Muddy dancers.

This production will feature each of three sections of the jazz suite “Black, Brown, and Beige” to be interspersed by live monologues.  These spoken word moments are based on interviews with renowned lifetime artists from the African-American community.  Both the live jazz music sections and the spoken word will be paired with original choreography, performed by The Big Muddy dancers, as a visual representation of both celebration and struggle.