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Ashanti, Jayne Atkinson, Stephanie J. Block, Tovah Feldshuh, Ernie Hudson, Audra McDonald, Becki Newton, and Will Swenson have joined the line-up for Broadway Barks!, a star-studded dog and cat adopt-a-thon, to be held in Shubert Alley on July 11, 3:30-6:30 pm. The event is co-hosted by Mary Tyler Moore and Bernadette Peters.
Grammy winner Ashanti, best known for hits like “Foolish” and flicks like John Tucker Must Die, has been making her presence known on the New York theater scene recently. First the triple threat hit the Gershwin Theatre’s stage back in October 2008 as part of musical Wicked’s fifth anniversary celebration. Then came the news that the starlet would ease on down the road as Dorothy in the Encores! summer production of The Wiz this summer, playing at New York City Center June 12 through July 15. Now, the budding stage star is getting to know Broadway even better, dropping in on Tony-winning musical In the Heights for a little research on May 16 (the show was directed by the same helmer (Thomas Kail) and choreographer (Andy Blankenbuehler) who’ll take the reigns for The Wiz. The trip wasn’t entirely work-related, however. Ashanti made sure to drop in and visit with the cast before going home to gear up for her own rehearsals. Click here to hit new heights with stage newcomer Ashanti!
Impressive cast! Click here for the original article and click here for another source.
The cast for what might be the in-town Broadway tryout of “The Wiz” — more accurately described as the Encores! Summer Stars production of the musical — is now complete. The actor and comedian Orlando Jones (of “Mad TV” and “Rules of Engagement”) will play the title character and LaChanze, a Tony Award-winner for the musical “The Color Purple,” will play Glinda the good witch. They join the R&B star Ashanti, who was previously announced to play Dorothy. Other cast members include Tichina Arnold (“Everybody Hates Chris”) and Dawnn Lewis (“Hangin’ with Mr. Cooper”) as the witches Evillene and Addaperle. Joshua Henry will play Tinman, James Monroe Iglehart is cast as Lion and Christian White will play Scarecrow. The Encores! production of “The Wiz,” directed by Thomas Kail and choreographed by Andy Blankenbuehler with music direction by Alex Lacamoire, will run at New York City Center from June 12 through July 5.
WOW this is great news, Ashanti’s second Broadway appearance. Can’t wait to see her on that stage!
Singer/songwriter, actor and author Ashanti will make her stage debut as Dorothy in the New York City Center Encores! Summer Stars production of The Wiz, June 12 - July 5 at New York City Center (W. 55th Street between 6th & 7th Avenues). The Wiz, the 1974 rock and soul musical based on the beloved L. Frank Baum story about Dorothy and her adventures in Oz, will be directed by Thomas Kail and choreographed by Andy Blankenbuehler, with music direction by Alex Lacamoire, (the team responsible for the Tony-winning In the Heights). A June 18th opening is planned.
Ashanti burst onto the music scene with her 2002 self-titled debut album, Ashanti. The album landed at the #1 spot on both the Billboard Top 200 and R&B Album charts, and won the Grammy for Best Contemporary R&B Album. Simultaneously, Ashanti also secured the top spot on the Billboard Hot 100 Singles chart and the R&B/Hip Hop Singles & Tracks chart with her song, “Foolish.” She made Billboard history by having her first three chart entries land in the top 10 of the Billboard Hot 100 at the same time, becoming the first woman to accomplish this feat (which was previously attained only by the Beatles). Her follow-up album, Chapter II, debuted in the # 1 slot on the Billboard Album Chart and spawned two Top-10 singles. Ashanti’s other albums include Ashanti’s Christmas; Concrete Ros; a remix album titled, Collectibles by Ashanti and The Declaration.
Ashanti’s film credits include Coach Carter, Resident Evil Extinction, John Tucker Must Die and Bride & Prejudice. Her television credits include “Buffy the Vampire Slayer,” “The Muppets’ Wizard of Oz,” “Sabrina, the Teenage Witch,” and “American Dreams,” in which she portrayed Dionne Warwick. Her first book of poetry is titled Foolish/Unfoolish: Reflections on Love. (www.ashantithisisme.com)
The Wiz will run June 12 - July 5 Tickets range from $25 - $110 and are available at the New York City Center Box Office (West 55th Street between 6th and 7th Avenues), through CityTix® at 212-581-1212, or online at www.nycitycenter.org.
THE WIZ PERFORMANCE SCHEDULE: Monday and Tuesday evenings at 7:00 pm; Wednesday - Saturday evenings at 8:00 pm (note: Opening night, June 18 curtain is at 6:30pm); and Wednesday matinees at 2:00 pm. There will be Saturday matinees on June 20 and 27.
So as many of you know, on Monday night Ashanti was a part of a one-night-only benefit show of the very popular Broadway musical “Wicked”, titled “The Yellow Brick Road not Taken”. All proceeds will be donated to Bette Midler’s New York Restoration Project. Ashanti gave a very special performance of the closing song “Defying Gravity”, which MTV, BROADWAY and many others (including reviews from attendees) have referred to as the highlight of the night. Below, AshantiDouglas.us provides you with a download link of the live audio in which you can listen to Miss Ashanti do her thing. Enjoy!
MTV Newsroom: Ashanti once clicked her heels together as Dorothy, but for one night, she was the Wicked Witch of the West.
For a special performance of “Wicked” — the Broadway musical in which you learn the Wicked Witch in “The Wizard of Oz” wasn’t so wicked after all — Ashanti joined former castmembers from the show, as well as celebs such as Mario Cantone, Joy Behar, George Wendt and Matthew Settle from “Gossip Girl,” in a charity performance on Monday called “The Yellow Brick Road Not Taken.” The production featured never-before-seen scenes and songs from a rough draft of the first act, with proceeds benefiting the New York Restoration Project.
Though some of the celebs couldn’t sing quite as well as Broadway regulars, Wendt (as the Wizard) got points from the audience just for trying. (Behar didn’t try at all, but instead read her lines with a sense of rhythm that implied song.) Settle tackled a love song, “As If By Magic,” while Cantone brought down the house with his ad-libbed rendition of “Popular.” (Both Behar and Cantone made digs at Palin and McCain in their songs.)
But Ashanti had the best number of all — the showstopping “Defying Gravity,” in which she started to sing solo, but then was joined by the two actresses playing the popular-but-flighty Galinda (who becomes Glinda, the so-called “good witch”) and Elphaba (the outcast green girl who is painted as “wicked” by a propaganda campaign). “Come join me,” Ashanti — wearing a light-green dress in ode to her character — sang to them. “Think of what we could do together.”
Now that she’s played both good and bad, if she had to pick between Dorothy and Elphaba, Ashanti told MTV News she’d pick the not-so-wicked witch any day. “You know what,” she said, “they both have their own flavor. [But if there were a movie of 'Wicked,'] I’d be the bad one. She’s got the spice. And people remember her.”
Ashanti looks amazing, which made it hard for me to decide between four thumbnails to use on here - which is why I used ten instead of the typical four. (haha) Lots more photos from this event to follow!
CAPTION: Ashanti & Nelly attending the One Night Only Benefit … THE YELLOW BRICK ROAD NOT TAKEN. The evening celebrates the 5th Anniversary of WICKED on Broadway at the Gershwin Theater in New York City. October 27, 2008.
Ashanti stopped by 106 and Park today to discuss her one night role in the benefit show from Wicked titled “The Yellow Brick Road not Taken”. I was able to watch it and recorded parts of the show with my digital camera. Unfortunately for the East Coast, you guys just missed her but the West Coast can still catch her at 6PM via BET. I’ll be on the look-out for reruns and try to get a good quality version of the show, if not - I’ll upload what I recorded on my digital camera.
Ashanti will also appear on Good Day New York via FOX 5 tomorrow, Thursday, October 23rd.
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Posted by Jon Aléksandr on June 18th, 2009 with ![[Post to Twitter]](http://ashantidouglas.us/wp-content/plugins/tweet-this/icons/tt-twitter.png){kind=icon}
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