JELLY’S LAST JAM
“Top flight aritstry.”
“Electrifying.”
AREA PREMIERE
Mar 30 - May 14, 2022
CLOSED MAY 14
Ritz Theater
Book by George C. Wolfe
Music by Jelly Roll Morton
Lyrics by Susan Birkenhead
Additional music and musical adaptation by Luther Henderson
Directed and Choreographed by Kelli Foster Warder
Music Supervision by Sanford Moore
Featuring Reese Britts and Andre Shoals
Born to a Creole family in turn-of-the-century New Orleans, Jelly Roll Morton was a classically trained pianist who was fascinated by the ragtime, blues and jazz sounds happening around him. From the back alleys of New Orleans to the dance halls of Chicago and the clubs of New York, the Tony and Drama Desk Award-winning JELLY'S LAST JAM tells the troubled story of the self-proclaimed inventor of jazz with spectacular dance breaks and a smokin’ jazz score.
Show warnings: Jelly's Last Jam contains racially charged language, adult situations, and hypo-allergenic haze. It is not intended for children under the age of 12.
Theater Latté Da is grateful for the generosity of our Production Sponsors, David Feroe and Linda Svitak.
PS = Post Show Discussions
Audio Described (AD) Performance is April 14th at 7:30 pm. Reduced price tickets are available for $17.50 for AD patrons and one guest. Please call 612-339-3003 to purchase.
JELLY’S LAST JAM PLAYBILL
Click here to learn more about the show.
PHOTOS
Photos by Dan Norman
VIDEO
Video by Lucas Wells
SCENIC DESIGN
COSTUME DESIGN
Scenic design by Eli Sherlock
Costume design by Jarrod Barnes
REHEARSAL PHOTOS
Photos by Chris Cartwright
THE CAST
THE CREATIVE TEAM
THE BAND
Piano: Tommy Barbarella†
Guitar & Banjo: Geoff LeCrone†
Drums: Steve Jennings†
Bass: Chris Smith†
Clarinet/Flute/Sax: Joe Mayo†
Director & Choreographer: Kelli Foster Warder**
Music Supervisor: Sanford Moore
Conductor: Tommy Barbarella†
Associate Music Director: Denise Prosek†
Scenic Designer: Eli Sherlock
Costume Designer: Jarrod Barnes
Lighting Designer: Craig Gottschalk
Sound Designer: C Andrew Mayer^
Dramaturg: Elissa Adams
Hair, Wig, and Makeup Designer: Paul Toni
Props Supervisor: Abbee Warmboe
Improvography/Additional Tap Choreography: Time Brickey
Production Stage Manager: Shelby Reddig*
Assistant Stage Manager: Chloe Brevik-Rich*
Assistant Stage Manager: Austin Schoenfelder
Assistant Director: Jessica Staples
Music Arrangements/Orchestrator: Jason Hansen
Technical Director: Bethany Reinfeld
Lighting Supervisor/Light Board Op: Jessica Mrovka
Sound Supervisor/Sound Engineer: Nicholas Tranby
Costume Supervisor: Amber Brown
Spotlight Operator: Zach Staads
Lead Carpenter: Eric Charlton
Scenic Charge: Sara Herman
Scenic Artists: Hanni Carlile & Katie McLean
Dialect Coach: Amani Dorn
COVID Compliance Officer: Katie McLean
Drapers: Rich Hamson & Lynn Farrington
Stitchers: Esther Iverson, Erin Connor, Jeanne Schwartz
Dresser: Janet Lewis
Wardrobe/Light & Sound Swing: Corinne Steffens
Stage Management Swing: Megan Fae Dougherty*
Carpenters: Whitley Cobb, Nich Prax, Corinne Steffens, Dane Styczynski
Electricians: Dante Benjegerdes, Paul Epton, Mike Lee, Sarah Rostance, Zach Staads
*Member of Actors’ Equity Association, the Union of Professional Actors
**Member of SDC, the Stage Directors and Choreographers Society, a national theatrical labor union
^Member of the United Scenic Artists, a national union that represents designers and scenic painters for the American theater
†Member of Twin Cities Musicians Union, American Federation of Musicians
+ BIOGRAPHIES
Time Brickey (Featured Dancer/Ensemble) is a multidisciplinary performing artist from Chicago. He is a well-studied Tap Dancer, Puppeteer, Musician, Actor, and Teaching Artist, among other things. He built his professional tap dance career as a company member of M.A.D.D. Rhythms and the Chicago Human Rhythm Project. Time has performed in Dance for Life Chicago, the Stomping Grounds Festival, JUBA!, and as a soloist at the Billy Strayhorn Centennial, where he was described by Chicago Tribune as “a Literal Loose Cannon.” He was a featured dancer in Jared Grimes Jeff Award winning 42nd Street Revival at Chicago’s Drury Lane Theatre. He has also devised and authored shows with Cabinet of Curiosity, Chicago Children’s Theatre, Rough House Theatre, as well his own independent projects. This is Time’s second time performing in the Twin Cities, the last was in The Death and Life of Billy the Kid at Open Eye Theatre. Web: heyti.me/wood Instagram: @timeonthewood
Reese Britts (Jelly) THEATER LATTÉ DA: debut. THEATER: Chanhassen Dinner Theatres: The Music Man; The Ordway: Smokey Joe’s Cafe, Mamma Mia!; Artistry: Footloose, A New Brain; The Guthrie Theater: South Pacific; The Jungle: Miss Bennet: Christmas at Pemberley; Lyric Arts: Hairspray, RENT, Young Frankenstein. TRAINING: BFA in Musical Theatre, University of Minnesota Duluth ‘19. Ordway Resident Artist. Proud AEA member. UPCOMING: Theater Latté Da: Twelve Angry Men.
Deidre Cochran (Gran Mimi) THEATER LATTÉ DA: debut. THEATER: Artistry: Songs for a New World, The Music Man, Legally Blonde; Old Log Theatre: A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder; Theater Elision: Islander, Ruthless! The Musical; The Ordway: Ordway Cabaret: Rise Up.
Julius Collins (Buddy) THEATER LATTÉ DA: debut THEATER: Illusion: Always & Forever; Hey City Theater: Smokey Joe’s Cafe; History Theater: Treemonisha, Last Minstrel Show; Lab Theater: When A Man Loves A Diva; Park Square Theater: Hot Chocolate; Ordway Theater: Blues in the Night, Jesus Christ Superstar. TRAINING: Music Business Institute of Atlanta. MUSIC: Lead singer for Greazy Meal & Dr. Mambo’s Combo. Upcoming: Capri Theater Legends series. Tribute to Prince. Dr. Mambo’s Combo Prince tribute at Icehouse.
Gabrielle Dominique (Hunny 2) THEATER LATTÉ DA: 2017 NEXT Festival (Goddess). THEATER: Guthrie: Guys & Dolls, West Side Story, South Pacific, A Christmas Carol, Romeo & Juliet; Ordway: West Side Story, Ordway Cabaret: Gotta Dance!; Chanhassen Dinner Theater: Mamma Mia!; Children’s Theater Company: Annie, I Come From Arizona; Jungle Theater: Ride The Cyclone; Artistry MN/BCT: Best Little Whorehouse In Texas, Oklahoma! OPERA: Minnesota Opera: Flight. DANCE: Flying Foot Forum: Cookaphony (film). TRAINING: B.A. Dance & Theatre, St. Olaf College. UPCOMING: Beauty and the Beast at Ordway. AEA.
Cynthia Jones-Taylor (Miss Mamie) THEATER LATTÉ DA: debut. THEATER: More than 40 credits at theatres including The Guthrie, Park Square Theater, The 5th Avenue Theatre, The Seattle Rep, The Mark Taper Forum, The Goodman Theatre, Arizona Theatre Company, The Intiman Theatre, ACT Theatre, The Alley, The Luxor Theater, The Longwarf Theater, The National/International tours of Menopause The Musical (toured for 8 yrs).
Anton Lamon (Understudy) THEATER LATTÉ DA: debut. THEATER: Broadway: The Phantom of the Opera; National Tour: Movin Out!; Arena Stage: Oklahoma!; Ordway: A Chorus Line; Discoveryland!: Seven Brides for Seven Brothers; Desert Opera Theatre: The Wiz. TELEVISION: SYTYCD (Season 3), Lady Dynamite, Smash! CONCERT DANCE: James Sewell Ballet: Guy Noir, Dante’s Inferno, Outterborough, Lover, Your Move; Minnesota Dance Theatre: Mythical Hunters, Nutcracker Fantasy, Carmine Burana; HatchDance: Isotope, Hecate; Live!Action!Set!: Crime&Punishment, A Fiddler’s Tale. TRAINING: Indiana University Ballet Theatre, The Alvin Ailey School, The Debbie Allen Dance Academy.
Jordan Leggett (Young Jelly) THEATER LATTÉ DA: debut. THEATER: The Jungle Theater: Ride the Cyclone; Artistry: Footloose; Children’s Theatre Company: Matilda; Uprising Theatre Company: Line of Sight; DalekoArts: Godspell. TRAINING: A.S. in Musical Theatre, Florida School of the Arts; B.M. in Vocal Performance, Southeastern Louisiana University.
Dwight Xaveir Leslie (Jack) THEATER LATTÉ DA: debut. THEATER: The Jungle Theatre: Redwood; Children’s Theatre Company: Cinderella, Matilda the Musical, Dr. Seuss’s How the Grinch Stole Christmas!, Last Stop on Market Street, The Wiz, Corduroy; Ordway: Smokey Joe’s Café, Mamma Mia!; Enlightened Theatrics: Hair; New Theatre in the Square: Next to Normal; Matt Davenport Productions: World of Wonder; McLeod Summer Playhouse: Joseph and … Dreamcoat, Rock of Ages; Gainesville Theatre Alliance: Godspell, Mary Poppins, Beauty and the Beast, Once on This Island.
Andre Shoals (Chimney Man) THEATER LATTÉ DA: To Let Go and Fall, Man of La Mancha, Ragtime, Peter & the Starcatcher, Aida, NEXT Festival. THEATER: Guthrie Theater: A Raisin in the Sun; Chanhassen Dinner Theatres: The Music Man, Newsies, Sister Act, Beauty & the Beast, The Little Mermaid, Joseph...Technicolor Dreamcoat; PRIME Productions: Marjorie Prime; Cardinal Theatricals: Rocky Horror Show. Andre is a teaching artist and mentor for the Hennepin Theatre Trust Spotlight Education. He is also the Director of Community Outreach and Daily Operations for New Dawn Theatre.
Jessica Staples (Assistant Director/Understudy) is excited to return to Theater Latté Da in a new way making her Assistant Director debut! THEATER LATTÉ DA: Chicago. THEATER: Flying Foot Forum: Heaven. TEACHING/CHOREOGRAPHY: DeLaSalle High School (Choreography), FAIR School Downtown. TRAINING: Minnesota State University, Mankato. BFA Musical Theatre.
Alexcia Thompson (Anita) THEATER LATTÉ DA: debut. THEATER: Children’s Theatre Company: Apprentice 2018-2019, Last Stop on Market Street, The Biggest Little House in the Forest, How the Grinch Stole Christmas, Cinderella, Matilda; Yellow Tree Theatre: The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time; Sweet Tea Shakespeare: The Tempest. TRAINING: Howard University; B.F.A in Theatre Arts with a concentration in Musical Theatre.
Brittany Marie Wilson (Hunny 1/Dance Captain) THEATER LATTÉ DA: debut. THEATER: Minnesota Opera: The Fix - World Premiere (Dance Captain/Dancer); Minnesota Dance Theatre: Loyce Houlton’s Nutcracker Fantasy; Guthrie: A Christmas Carol; Artistry: Bridges of Madison County (Choreographer), Footloose (Artistic Consultant/ Dance Captain), Legally Blonde, Follies, Our Town, The Drowsy Chaperone. TRAINING: BFA in Dance from the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities.
