synopsis

 

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Black Swan Blues is a new blues-infused musical that explores white privilege and racial injustice in New Orleans in 1963 when the winds of change were beginning to blow through the South. Inspired by the ballet, “Swan Lake” and set amid the world of voodoo, the musical tells the story of Shep Chandler, a rich, idealistic journalist who meets Ori Fontaine, a strong-willed blues singer, and how their love is challenged when secrets from their tangled pasts involving race, murder and the Ku Klux Klan are revealed. Ultimately, Shep must face the bigotry that has been ingrained in him to move forward in life and love.

Production HistorY

 

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1. York Theatre Company's Developmental Reading Series, Staged Reading (Pearl Studios, NYC, 2022). The cast included: Justin Sargent, Isabelle McCalla, Karen Mason, Aurelia Williams, Gregory Treco, Matt Dengler, Nick Cearley, Gabrielle Lee, Marlaina Powell, Angela Wildflower, Amber Ardolino, Bruce Sabath, Kwame Michael Remy, John Edwards, Amar Atkins, and A.J. Freeman.
2. Directed by Stephanie Klemons and Ricky Tripp
3. Music direction by Ben Covello
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5. Private Table Reading (NYC, 2021). The cast included: Eric William Morris, Debra Walton, Karen Mason, Jerry Dixon, NaTasha Yvette Williams, Soara-Joye Ross, Matt Dengler, John McGowen, Renea S. Brown, and LaDonna Burns.
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7. Music recorded at Eastside Sound (NYC, 2021). The cast included: Christian Hoff, Lilli Cooper, Aurelia Williams, Karen Mason, Jerry Dixon, Soara-Joye Ross, Kayla Davion, Carla R. Stewart, James Jackson, Jr., Kwame Michael Remy, Richard Baskin, Jr., Jillian Louis, Bruce Sabath, Celeste Rose, and Jonathan Long.
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9. New Works Festival, Music Theatre of Connecticut, 2017/2019