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Ann Duquesnay | |
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Ann Duquesnay is an American musical theatre singer/actress, composer and lyricist. She is best known for Bring in 'da Noise, Bring in 'da Funk , which earned her a Tony Award and Grammy Award nomination.
Duquesnay's parents were Southern sharecroppers who moved to Harlem when she was five years old.
Her formal music training began well after her stage years. She developed a passion for theatre, encouraged by director George C. Wolfe. [1]
Duquesnay's Broadway debut was in the revue Blues in the Night in 1982 as a standby. Two years later, she played Glinda in a revival of The Wiz . She was next seen in Jelly's Last Jam as Gran Mimi and Ancestor. She was a replacement on Broadway in It Ain't Nothin But the Blues . [2]
She toured extensively in the U.S. and internationally.She was critically acclaimed for her performance in roles as Alberta Hunter Cookin at the Cookery (Drama League Recognition Award and Drama Desk nominee); and Billie Holiday Lady Day" (Bay Area Critics Circle Award). Off-Broadway and Regional Sheila's Day at Hartford Stage, Crossroads Theatre, and Market Theatre, Johannesburg SA; Sammy Old Globe Theatre (NAACP Theatre Award nominee); revival of Hallelujah Baby Arena Stage (Helen Hayes Award); Our Leading Lady Manhattan Theatre Club (Audelco Award nominee); Spunk (NAACP Theatre Award) collaborated on music; Porgy & Bess (Maria) Houston Grand Opera & Japan tour; Ma Rainey's Black Bottom (Ma Rainey) Denver Centre Theatre. She has worked as a narrator in Ken Burns' documentaries and the biographical audio book of Aretha Franklin Aretha From These Roots.[ citation needed ]
Along with Daryl Waters and Zane Mark, Duquesnay co-wrote the music for Bring in 'Da Noise, Bring in 'Da Funk in 1996, as well as playing the roles of 'Da Singer and Chanteuse. The musical debuted on April 25. For her contributions, she won a Tony for Best Featured Actress in a Musical and was nominated for Best Original Score.[ citation needed ]
In 2006, Duquesnay returned to Broadway in the revue Hot Feet , featuring music by Maurice White. [2]
Savion Glover is an American tap dancer, actor, and choreographer.
Linda Hopkins was a Tony Award-winning American actress and blues and gospel singer. She recorded classic, traditional, and urban blues, and performed R&B and soul, jazz, and show tunes.
Audra Ann McDonald is an American actress and singer. Primarily known for her work on the Broadway stage, she has won six Tony Awards, more performance wins than any other actor, and is the only person to win in all four acting categories. In addition to her six Tony Awards she's received numerous accolades including two Grammy Awards, and an Emmy Award. She was honored with the National Medal of Arts in 2016 from President Barack Obama, and was inducted into the American Theater Hall of Fame in 2017.
George Costello Wolfe is an American playwright and director of theater and film. He won a Tony Award in 1993 for directing Angels in America: Millennium Approaches and another Tony Award in 1996 for his direction of the musical Bring in 'da Noise/Bring in 'da Funk. He served as Artistic Director of The Public Theater from 1993 until 2004.
Ma Rainey's Black Bottom is a 1982 play – one of the ten-play Century Cycle by August Wilson – that chronicles the 20th-century African-American experience. The play is set in a recording studio in 1920s Chicago, and deals with issues of race, art, religion, and the historic exploitation of black recording artists by white producers.
Sharon Delores Clarke is an English actress and singer. She is a three-time Olivier Award winner, and is best known to television audiences for her role as Lola Griffin in the medical drama Holby City, and as Grace O'Brien in Doctor Who. Clarke has also played lead roles in many West End musicals, and originated the roles of the Killer Queen in We Will Rock You and Oda Mae Brown in Ghost the Musical.
Peter Clarke, known professionally as Clarke Peters, is an American-British actor, writer, and director. He is best known for his roles as Lester Freamon in the television series The Wire (2002–2008) and Albert Lambreaux in the television series Treme (2010–2013).
Janice Elaine Maxwell was an American stage and television actress. She was a five-time Tony Award nominee and two-time Drama Desk Award winner. In a career spanning over thirty years, Maxwell was one of the most celebrated and critically acclaimed stage actresses of her time.
Bring in 'da Noise, Bring in 'da Funk is a musical that debuted Off-Broadway at the New York Shakespeare Festival/Public Theater in 1995 and moved to Broadway in 1996. The show was conceived and directed by George C. Wolfe, and featured music by Daryl Waters, Zane Mark and Ann Duquesnay; lyrics by Reg E. Gaines, George C. Wolfe and Ann Duquesnay; and a book by Reg E. Gaines. The choreography was by Savion Glover.
The 50th Annual Tony Awards was broadcast by CBS from the Majestic Theatre on June 2, 1996. Nathan Lane was the host.
The 51st Annual Tony Awards was broadcast by CBS from Radio City Music Hall on June 1, 1997. "Launching the Tonys" was telecast on PBS television. The event was hosted by Rosie O'Donnell. The awards ceremony moved away from Broadway for the first time in 30 years. As Radio City Music Hall is much larger than any Broadway theater, this allowed members of the general public to attend the ceremony.
Gretha Denise Boston is an American singer and actress.
Peggy Eisenhauer is an American lighting designer for both theatre and films. She has designed or co-designed some 41 Broadway productions and frequently collaborates with Jules Fisher.
Ernestine Jackson is an American actress and singer.
Paul Tazewell is an American costume designer for the theatre, dance, and opera and television. After training at New York University Tisch School of the Arts he started his career on Broadway. He went on to win a Tony Award and a Emmy Award as well as a nomination for an Academy Award.
Ruthie Ann Miles is an American actress and singer, best known for her roles in musical theatre, especially in The King and I and Here Lies Love, and on television.
Cynthia Erivo is an English actress and singer. She gained recognition for starring in the Broadway revival of The Color Purple from 2015 to 2017, for which she won the 2016 Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical and the Grammy Award for Best Musical Theater Album. Erivo ventured into films in 2018, playing roles in the heist film Widows and the thriller Bad Times at the El Royale. For her portrayal of American abolitionist Harriet Tubman in the biopic Harriet (2019), Erivo received a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actress; she also wrote and performed the song "Stand Up" on its soundtrack, which garnered her a nomination in the Best Original Song category.
Eva Maria Noblezada is an American actress and singer.
Sandra Reaves-Phillips was an American actress, writer, and singer.
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