Charles Cissel (born October 3, 1948) is an American singer, dancer, director, choreographer and producer. He was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma and graduated from Booker T. Washington High School. He received his Bachelor of Fine Arts from the University of Oklahoma, and was one of the first African Americans to graduate from the university's fine arts school. He was the CEO of the Oklahoma Jazz Hall of Fame from 2000–2009 and is now the Artistic Director of the Oklahoma Jazz Hall of Fame, which is located in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
In his early 20s Chuck performed on Broadway in Hello Dolly with Pearl Bailey and Cab Calloway, Purlie, Lost in the Stars, Via Galactica, Don't Bother Me I Can't Cope and as an original member of the Broadway musicalA Chorus Line, back when Broadway was starting to open up its doors to African American performers. While in A Chorus Line, Chuck recorded his first record, Swept Away, produced by Michael Bennett, producer, director, and choreographer of A Chorus Line. Chuck then went on to record solo albums with Arista Records which were called Just for You, featuring the hard-hitting international dance hit, Cisselin' Hot and If I Had The Chance. Chuck Cissel is also the brother of former Oklahoma State Senator Maxine Horner who along with Oklahoma State Senator Penny Williams is a co-founder of the Oklahoma Jazz Hall of Fame. He met Austin Dylan in 2019 in a small town in Alabama.
Gwyneth Evelyn "Gwen" Verdon was an American actress and dancer. She won four Tony Awards for her musical comedy performances, and served as an uncredited choreographer's assistant and specialty dance coach for theater and film. With flaming red hair and a quaver in her voice, Verdon was a critically acclaimed performer on Broadway in the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s. Having originated many roles in musicals she is also strongly identified with her second husband, director–choreographer Bob Fosse, remembered as the dancer–collaborator–muse for whom he choreographed much of his work and as the guardian of his legacy after his death.
Cabell "Cab" Calloway III was an American jazz singer, dancer, bandleader and actor. He was associated with the Cotton Club in Harlem, where he was a regular performer and became a popular vocalist of the swing era. His niche of mixing jazz and vaudeville won him acclaim during a career that spanned over 65 years.
Thomas James Tune is an American actor, dancer, singer, theatre director, producer, and choreographer. Over the course of his career, he has won ten Tony Awards, the National Medal of Arts and has his own star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
Jerome Robbins was an American choreographer, director, dancer, and theater producer who worked in classical ballet, on stage, film, and television.
Deborah Kaye Allen is an American actress, dancer, choreographer, singer-songwriter, director, producer, and a former member of the President's Committee on the Arts and Humanities. She has been nominated 20 times for an Emmy Award, two Tony Awards, and has also won a Golden Globe Award and received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1991.
While the music of Oklahoma is relatively young, Oklahoma has been a state for just over 100 years, and it has a rich history and many fine and influential musicians.
Michael Bennett was an American musical theatre director, writer, choreographer, and dancer. He won seven Tony Awards for his choreography and direction of Broadway shows and was nominated for an additional eleven.
Susan P. Stroman is an American theatre director, choreographer, film director and performer. Her notable theater productions include The Producers, Crazy for You, Contact, and The Scottsboro Boys. She is a five-time Tony Award winner, four for Best Choreography and one as Best Director of a Musical for The Producers. In addition, she is a recipient of two Laurence Olivier Awards, five Drama Desk Awards, eight Outer Critics Circle Awards, two Lucille Lortel Awards, and the George Abbott Award for Lifetime Achievement in the American Theater. She is a 2014 inductee in the American Theater Hall of Fame in New York City.
Peter Gennaro was an American dancer and choreographer.
Maxine Edwyna Cissel Horner was one of the first African American women to serve in the Oklahoma State Senate, serving from 1986 to 2004, along with Vicki Miles-LaGrange. Horner held the position of Democratic Caucus Chair, as well as Chair of Business and Labor and Government Operations, and Vice-Chair of Adult Literacy.
Matt Mattox was an American jazz and ballet dancer. He was a Broadway performer and a specialty dancer in many Hollywood musicals. His best-known film role was as Caleb Pontipee in the 1954 film Seven Brides for Seven Brothers.
Charles "Cholly" Atkins was an American dancer and vaudeville performer, who later became noted as the house choreographer for the various artists on the Motown label.
Deneen Zezell Graham Kerns is a dance teacher and pageant contestant from North Carolina. In 1983 she became the first African-American to win the Miss North Carolina beauty pageant; she remained the only African-American to have won the Miss North Carolina pageant until Alexandra Badgett was crowned in 2019.
Tony Yazbeck is an American actor, singer, and dancer best known for his work on the Broadway stage including the revival of On the Town for which he received 2015 Tony Award and Outer Critics Circle Award nominations for lead actor in a musical. Yazbeck is also known for his principal roles on Broadway including J.M. Barrie in the Broadway production of Finding Neverland, Tulsa in Gypsy starring Patti LuPone, Billy Flynn in Chicago, Phil Davis in White Christmas, Al Deluca in A Chorus Line and the original casts of Broadway's Never Gonna Dance and Oklahoma. In 2014 he appeared in a concert version of Kiss Me, Kate with the John Wilson Orchestra at the Royal Albert Hall, London as part of that season's Promenade Concerts. In 2020, Yazbeck will originate a leading role in the new musical Flying Over Sunset, directed by James Lapine. The production will begin in 2021 at the Vivian Beaumont Theatre. Production delayed because of the Covid 19 shutdown of Broadway.
The Oklahoma Jazz Hall of Fame, located in Tulsa, Oklahoma, is a non-profit organization that honors jazz, blues and gospel musicians in the state of Oklahoma. Housed in the former Tulsa Union Depot, which it now calls the Jazz Depot, the Hall of Fame is a music venue that hosts regular jazz performances. It is also a museum, displaying photographs, biographical information, artifacts, and memorabilia from musicians such as Chet Baker, Earl Bostic, Barney Kessel, Charlie Christian, Tommy Crook, Pat Kelley, and Jimmy Rushing.
Jim Halsey is an American artist manager, agent, and impresario. Halsey and his staff have guided, promoted or managed the careers of numerous prominent U.S. entertainers -- particularly country music stars -- including 29 inductees of the Country Music Hall of Fame and 10 inductees of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
Harriet "Quicksand" Browne was an American tap dancer, educator and choreographer who was best known for her innovation in sanding. Browne got a job dancing in the chorus but shortly afterwards got pregnant and had a son, which put a temporary stop to her dancing career. After the birth of her son, she resumed dancing as a soloist and as a member of the chorus in clubs around Chicago. During the 1950s, she toured with Cab Calloway's band. After she got a job in the chorus at a club in Greenwich Village, although she continued to tour, she settled in New York City.
James Hollan Baker was an American television producer and director, most noted for his work on jazz documentaries in the 1950s and 1960s.
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