Signature Theatre announces that Signature favorites Awa Sal Secka (Gun and Powder, Blackbeard) and Shayla S. Simmons (After Midnight, Dreamgirls) will perform in Soul Divas Reprise, inspired by the sold-out cabaret from 2019 dedicated to the music of acclaimed musical divas from Aretha to Whitney to Tina. The cabaret will be music-directed by Mark G. Meadows, Signature’s Director of Cabarets. Soul Divas Reprise runs June 27 – July 9, 2023, in Signature’s ARK Theatre. Tickets are $38 and can be purchased online at SigTheatre.org or by calling 703 820 9771.
Signature’s Director of Cabarets Mark G. Meadows said, “Soul Divas Reprise will bring every bit of fire and passion we brought the first time around, and more. This set list, these iconic she-roes, these singers, and this band, will leave you feeling elevated, soulfully satisfied, and yearning for a higher love.”
Signature’s tribute to phenomenal divas of soul is back for a second act! The 2019 cabaret that sold out in record time returns with an all-new set of unbelievable voices and songs toasting luminaries from Aretha Franklin to Whitney Houston to Tina Turner and all the incredible divas in between and since.
ARTIST BIOGRAPHIES
Awa Sal Secka SIGNATURE: Signature Vinyl, Gun and Powder (Flo), Blackbeard (Kali Maa), Jesus Christ Superstar (Simon), Barbra Streisand Cabaret, Judy Garland Cabaret. NY: GODDESS (Grio Trio), GRACE (Jacqui). DC AREA: Ford’s Theatre: Christmas Carol (Mrs. Fred), Into the Woods (Baker’s Wife), The Wiz (Glinda/Dorothy u/s); Round House Theatre: School Girls… (Ama), Caroline, or Change (Dottie); Kennedy Center: Me Jane (Maisie), Chasing the Wind (Abby); Imagination Stage: Cinderella (Cinderella), You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown (Lucy Van Pelt); ArtsCentric: AIDA (Aida), MEMPHIS (Felicia) ; Theatre Alliance: Black Nativity (Narrator); Mosaic Theatre: Eretz Chadasha: The Promised Land (Mother); ATMTC: James and the Giant Peach (Sponge); Studio Theatre: SILENCE! The Musical (Ardelia); Olney Theatre Center: Avenue Q. EDUCATION: Montgomery College, AA in Theatre Performance.
Shayla S. Simmons SIGNATURE: After Midnight, Signature Vinyl, A Motown Christmas Cabaret, Dreamgirls. NATIONAL TOURS: Core Ensemble: “Ain’t I a Woman” (One Woman Show). DC AREA: Shakespeare Theatre Company: The Amen Corner; Constellation Theatre: Aida (Helen Hayes Award Nomination for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Musical); NextStop Theatre Company: The Mountaintop; Toby’s Dinner Theatre: The Color Purple, Sophisticated Ladies. REGIONAL: Cape Fear Regional Theatre: Ain’t Misbehavin’; Theatre By The Sea: The Buddy Holly Story.
Mark G. Meadows SIGNATURE: The Color Purple, RENT, After Midnight, Spunk, Ain’t Misbehavin’; Jelly’s Last Jam. Apollo Productions: ELLA, An American Miracle. Kennedy Center: Acoustic Rooster REGIONAL: Oregon Shakespeare Theatre: Once on this Island. Denver Center for the Performing Arts: Choir Boy, Wildfire. LA JOLLA PLAYHOUSE: Associate Music Direction: The Outsiders. ALBUMS: Be the Change, To the People, Somethin’ Good, A Child is Born. CONCERTS: Jazz at the Lincoln Center, DC Jazz Festival, Blues Alley, The Kennedy Center, Smalls Jazz, The Strathmore. INTERNATIONAL: Haiti, Russia, The Congo, Qatar, Brazil, Mexico, Argentina, Canada, The Caribbean. APPEARED WITH: Cynthia Erivo, Usher, Bobby McFerrin, Kendrick Lamar, Kamasi Washington, Nicholas Payton, Kurt Elling, Ledisi. AWARDS: 2020 DC Wammies Jazz Artist of the Year, Washington City Paper’s Artist & Composer of the Year. TEACHING: American University, Shenandoah University: Jazz Instructor; Duke Ellington School of the Arts: The Peabody Conservatory of Johns Hopkins University.
EVENT LISTING
Soul Divas Reprise
June 27 – July 9, 2023
Signature’s tribute to phenomenal divas of soul is back for a second act! The 2019 cabaret that sold out in record time returns with an all-new set of unbelievable voices and songs toasting luminaries from Aretha Franklin to Whitney Houston to Tina Turner and all the incredible divas in between and since.
ABOUT SIGNATURE
Signature Theatre is a Tony Award-winning regional theater that broadens and brightens the region’s cultural landscape with its bold productions of challenging new and established works and engaging education and outreach programs. Founded in 1989 by Eric Schaeffer and Donna Migliaccio, and currently under the leadership of Managing Director Maggie Boland and Artistic Director Matthew Gardiner, musical theater is Signature’s “signature,” and the Theatre is renowned for its definitive Sondheim productions, inventive adaptations of overlooked or forgotten works, and investment in fresh new projects. Signature combines Broadway-caliber productions with intimate playing spaces and aims to be a leading force in U.S. musical theater.
Since its inception, the Theatre has produced 60 world premiere works—including 19 new musical commissions. Signature opens its doors to more than 100,000 people annually from the Washington, DC region and beyond and reaches more than 10,000 students every year through its innovative education programs, including the award-winning initiative Signature in the Schools. Signature has won 140 Helen Hayes Awards for excellence in the Washington, DC region’s professional theater and has been honored with 482 nominations.
CONTACT INFORMATION
Signature Theatre • 4200 Campbell Avenue • Arlington, VA 22206
Tickets at SigTheatre.org
Box Office 703 820 9771 or [email protected]
Groups of 10 or more: 571 527 1843 or [email protected]
