“I’ve got to be a star like another man needs to breathe,” said Sammy Davis, Jr.
Known as “Mr. Show Business,” Davis was an electrifying entertainer, with a career that was dazzling in its range and reach: song-and-dance man, Rat Pack member alongside Frank Sinatra, and beyond. It was a career that also triumphed over the oppressive challenges of racism. We’ll journey through Davis’ remarkable career, looking backward and forward from 1964’s Golden Boy—the Broadway musical that earned Davis a Tony nomination for Best Actor. And we follow Davis’ struggle for identity in 20th century America with the songs that illuminate the complex stages of his life: “Mr. Bojangles,” “The Birth of the Blues,” and the one that defined him best, “I’ve Gotta Be Me.”
Laurence Maslon, artistic director
Tazewell Thompson, director
Michael O. Mitchell, music director
Featuring
Harriett D. Foy
Jared Grimes
Max Kumangai
Matthew Saldivar
Betsy Wolfe
Steve Kenyon, reeds
Brian Pareschi, trumpet
Sherrod Barnes, guitar
Jeff Hanley, bass
Abdullah Rahman, drums