JELLY’S LAST JAM
- By KEN WERTHER
When Jelly’s Last Jam was getting ready to open at the Mark Taper Forum in March 1991, I was part of the publicity team. This was a world premiere musical with a large cast and many moving parts … as the date of the first preview performance approached, it became apparent the show would not be ready. That first preview did happen on schedule, but without second act lighting cues and a scattershot curtain call. Eight performances later, we opened a huge hit! Jelly’s Last Jam has a book by George C. Wolfe, lyrics by Susan Birkenhead, and music by Jelly Roll Morton and Luther Henderson. The show opened on Broadway in the spring of 1992, won four Tony Awards, and ran for 569 performances. It’s based on the life and career of Ferdinand Joseph LaMothe, better known as Jelly Roll Morton, who is generally regarded as one of the primary driving forces behind the introduction of jazz to the American public in the early 20th century.
Thirty-two years later, The Pasadena Playhouse is presenting a new production of Jelly’s Last Jam! Directed by Kent Gash with music direction by Darryl Archibald and choreography by Dell Howlett, the cast features John Clarence Stewart, Cress Williams, Jasmine Amy Rogers, Karole Foreman, Wilkie Ferguson III, Grasan Kingsberry, Summer Nicole Greer, Doran Butler, Cyd Charisse Glover-Hill, Naomi C. Walley, Janaya Jones, Hannah Yosef, Joe Aaron Reid, Eric B. Anthony, Davon Rashawn, Amber Liekhus, and Chante Carmel. Don’t miss it!
For tickets and more information, click here.