Amas Musical Theater Presents “Black Butterfly”
With the lockdown of live entertainment coming up to a year in March, it has been amazing to see the creativity and hard work that the talented members of the Broadway community have put forth during this bleak period of time.
Virtual fundraisers based around performances or full-scale productions have provided entertainment and kept the community engaged. There is one coming up this week that you should definitely check out.
On Feb. 3, the Amas Musical Theatre will present a virtual reading of “Black Butterfly,” which is being billed as a surreal dramedy tv series with music.
Written by Mary McCallum and N’Kenge, the story line centers around Tahja, a beautiful and multi-dimensional aspiring Black opera singer, who leaves behind the comforts of family life in Florida to pursue her dreams as a graduate student at Juilliard.
“Black Butterfly” incorporates a mixture of pre-existing and brand-new Broadway, jazz, hip-hop, opera, blues and soul music into Tahja’s journey, set in the world of the New York City music scene.
This unique production starring N’Kenge, Tamara Tunie and Terence Archie launches Feb 3 at 7PM with a Q and A with the company following the performance. “Black Butterfly” will remain available on demand through Feb. 6.
Tickers are free, but reservations are required at www.amasmusical.org.
This is a fundraising vehicle for the wonderful Amas Musical Theatre Company.
Broadway star N’Kenge joins me on “Bagels and Broadway” this Sunday at 2 PM on WNYM Radio. Available to hear on podcast following the broadcast.
Valerie Smaldone is a 5-time Billboard Magazine Award winner and is well known for her unprecedented success holding the #1 on-air position in the New York radio market on 106.7 Life-FM, an iHeart station. She has hosted, produced, and created several award-winning nationally syndicated programs featuring in-depth interviews with stars like Paul McCartney, Celine Dion, Rod Stewart, Elton John and Mariah Carey among others. Her radio talk show "Bagels and Broadway" highlighted theatre and food personalities. She is an accomplished interviewer and voice artist heard on commercials, narrations, promos and audiobooks, as well as a sought after live announcer.
Most recently, Valerie produced and directed a film, The Thursday Night Club, featuring pop diva Gloria Gaynor in her movie acting debut. She is one of the creators and producers of a docu-series, Divine Renovation, starring Erik Estrada, on streaming networks soon.
