MAGIC KINGDOM: Tale of an American Girl

a workshop production of a new musical by Jake-ann Jones * winner of the 2003 Jonathan Larson Award

     mon. august 25-wed. august 27, 2003, 7pm                 @ the belt theatre, 336 W 37th
 
company bios

Jake-ann Jones (playwright/composer)' work has been presented at New York Theatre Workshop, The Joseph Papp Public Theatre, New Georges, Nuyorican Poets Café, Cleveland Public Theatre, Arena Stage, Crossroads Theatre, Penumbra Theatre, RACCA, BACADowntown, HERE, Playwrightís Horizons, and Time Café.  "MAGIC KINGDOM" is a musicalized version of "DEATH OF A HO", which was first presented at Trinity Rep as part of the Brown/University-Steinberg New Plays Festival, and received later workshops at The Bay Area Playwrights Festival, Cleveland Public New Works Festival, and New York Theatre Workshop.  Jake would like to thank all the actors, directors, videographers, and especially her co-composers, Bruce Purse and Prince Charles, for helping make this piece happen; and Elyse Singer and Susan Bernfield for their continued support of the pieceÖin all its stages.

Bruce Clayton Purse (composer) has performed, written, arranged and produced music for artists including Johnny Kemp, Noel Pointer, Melba Moore, Lester Bowie, Youssou NíDour, Sean "P-Diddy" Combs, Heavy D., Mary J. Blige, Erica Badu, and Zap Mama. He is the Leader and Trumpeter of the Pocketbook Orchestra, and has performed at NY venues including Carnegie Hall, Visiones, Sweet Basil, the Whitney Museum, Mikelís, and SOBís.  He received his BA in Music Education at Southen Illinois University, and has been a music educator, guest lecturer, and artist-in-residence with the New York City Board of Education, Lincoln Center Jazz with Wynton Marsalis, LaGuardia Performing Arts High School, New School for Social Research, and Harlem School of the Arts.  He is a recipient of a Lila Wallace Grant, and is a member of ASCAP.

Prince Charles Alexander (composer)ís musical career includes songwriting, producing, sound engineer/mixing, and performing as saxophonist for and with artists including Mary J. Blige, Faith Evans, Boyz II Men, Puff Daddy, Sting, Aretha Franklin, Maxi Priest, Brian McKnight, Usher, Jodeci, Luther Vandross, Stephanie Mills, Alicia Keys, Destinyís Child, Jennifer Lopez, Angie Stone, David Sanborn, and Patti Labelle, and as leader of Prince Charles and the City Beat Band.  He began performing while attending Boston Latin High Schoo,l and played saxophone with various R&B and jazz groups  throughout New England and New York before graduating from Brandeis University with a BA in Political Science (he credits Niccolo Machiavelliís writings with inspiring his name change).  He is a member of the Grammy Committee Board of Governors, and manages up and coming talent out of his Ark Angel Music Studio.

Elyse Singer (director) Off-Broadway directing credits include the first NYC revival of Mae West's play SEX, Deborah Swisher's Hundreds of Sisters & One BIG Brother and Ruth Margraff's Red Frogs at P.S. 122.  Most recently, she directed a concert reading of Mae West's The Pleasure Man starring Charles Busch and a cast of 40 at the 45 Bleecker Street Theater. As writer/director: Love in the Void (New Georges/HERE); Private Property (Edinburgh) and Care-less: Eva Tanguay (Dixon Place). Her newest play, Frequency Hopping, was commissioned by the EST/Sloan Project, and developed through the Drama League and Yaddo. A Yale graduate, Singer is a Usual Suspect at NYTW and an alum of the LCT Directors Lab. She is Artistic Director of the Hourglass Group.

Jeanine T. Abraham (The Girl) grew up in Springfield, VA, is a graduate of The National Conservatory of Dramatic Arts in Washington, D.C.  Her recent credits include: Faith True in Wrestling Ladies by Tory Vasquez  @ PS 122, Mary Mary- Ann in Rust: an Illustrative Libmo by Kirsten Greenidge @ The Cherry Lane Theater, Ciel in The Moon Please by Diana Son @ New Georges.  Assistant DA Amanda Bernstein on All My Children, she has also worked on Film and in Commercials.  She enjoys African Dance, Yoga, Vegetarianism, Kick Boxing and Wrestling. So...watch out!

Jerry Dixon (Daddy/Lowlife 3/Slam/Allen) is known for his Broadway and Off-Broadway performances in Once On This Island, Five Guys Named Moe,  Bright Lights, Big City, The Bubbly Black Girl Sheds Her Chameleon Skin, newyorkers, Taking A Chance On Love and tick, tickÖ BOOM! His performance in tick, tickÖ BOOM! garnered him a 2002 Drama Desk Nomination for Outstanding Featured Actor in a Musical. He remounted this award winning show in Seoul, Korea. He is now developing director for two new stage works.  A Random Sunday In April, by actor/playwright Eric Morace, and Barnstormer, a new musical, based on the life of Bessie Coleman: Aviator/Daredevil. Other direction credits include concerts and special events at Belgian National Symphony, Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center. His original musical, Guess Who's Coming For Chitlins? premiered at the Thalia Theatre - Hamburg, Germany. Other writing credits: CBS, VH1 and Comedy Central and the upcoming Broadway event Laugh Whore, directed by Joe Mantello, and starring Mario Cantone.

Jacqueline Gregg (Mama/Model 2/Lowlife 1/VidiHo/Mary of Egypt/Gloria) Jacqueline has worked with theatre companies including The Queenís Company, Target Margin Theatre, White Bird Productions, and Westside Repertory Theatre. Most recently, she was blessed to play the role of Mattie in No Niggers, No Jews, No Dogs by the late great John Henry Redwood. Other roles include Ferdinand in The Duchess of Malfi, Mariana in Measure for Measure, Natasha in The Three Sisters, Maria in Twelfth Night, and a hip-hopping, soul-singing Gerti-D in the Trage-D of The Fresh Prince Hammy T. A graduate of Rutgers University, Jacqueline also works extensively with various educational theatre organizations, bringing classical as well as contemporary theatre to schools in and around New York City. 

Dan Illian (Curt/Lowlife 4/Father Dick/Ronald) New York favorites: Drums, et. al. in Self Defense (New Georges), Lopakhin in The Cherry Orchard (Salt Theater), Selden & Rosedale in The House of Mirth (The Charm School), Benedict Arnold in The American Revolution (Inverse Theater) and Leo in Summer Play (Clubbed Thumb).  Dan was a member of the Guthrie Theater Acting Company for four seasons, favorites:  Gerald in A Woman of No Importance, (dir. Garland Wright), Launcelot Gobbo in The Merchant of Venice (dir. Risa Brainin) and Florizel in The Winterís Tale (dir. Douglas Hughes).  Other Regional credits:  Claude in An Empty Plate at the Café du Grande Bouef,  Schon & Jack the Ripper in The LuLu Plays and Sgt. Cuff in The Moonstone.

Laura Grace Brown (sound design) Recent credits: Debbie Does Dallas, Jane Street Theatre; Shanghai Moon, Mondo Drama, Rude Entertainment, Book Of Liz, Lez Mizrahi, The Country Club all at the Drama Dept.; Light Years, Playwrights Horizons; More Lies About Jerzy, Vineyard Theater; Aunt Vanya, Checkhov festival; Be Aggressive, La Jolla Playhouse; Not Suitable For Children, McCarter Theatre; If Memory Serves, Promenade Theatre; How I Learned To Drive, Dallas Theater Center: Dinah Was, Gramercy Theatre and WPA; Stupid Kids, WPA and Century. Ms Brown is a graduate of the Yale School of Drama and alumnus of the apprentice program here at Vassar/New York Stage and Film.

New Georges (Susan Bernfield, Artistic Director; Sarah Cameron Sunde, Managing Director) is an Obie-winning nonprofit theater company which produces feisty, imaginative, highly theatrical new plays by women in downtown venues; and is a play and artist development organization, providing essential resources and opportunities to a community of venturesome artists.   Since 1992, we have produced 25 new full-length plays by women and presented countless festivals and development opportunities.  Our primary resource for supporting artists is The Room, a workspace for women theater artists, which we use for our own programs and rehearsals and provide to affiliated artists for their own projects at subsidized rates, a critical service in Manhattan, where affordable space is scarce. 
 
 
 
 
 

 


 
 For more information on this series or future events, 
please email  info@hourglassgroup.org  or call  (212) 439-8122.