No road is perfectly straight; neither is the progression of a new work. But Blues For A Royal Flush has certainly been fixed to a fortunate star. From the beginning, this work has had benefit of support and community. That embrace continues, and lifts an opportunity for this work to be part of a larger engagement. At 7PM Monday evening, September 22nd, Blues For A Royal Flush will be presented without cover charge, and performed as part of the National Portrait Gallery’s ‘Audience Programming’, in the museum’s Nan Tucker McEvoy Auditorium. This will be a co-production between the NPG and SIW (Stanford In Washington), who are the commissioning agent of Blues. The cast will be the same troupe of incredible talents who premiered their roles, this past January, at the first performance, held at the Duke Ellington School For Arts. Blues For A Royal Flush, weaves the music of an earlier era of jazz, through resonant experiences of Ethel Waters, Ella Fitzgerald, Billy Strayhorn and Lena Horne, all in the orbit of DC native son Duke Ellington, not only presenting their artistry, but exploring their different routes to platform, during a unique epoch of racial and cultural change. This journey also speaks to family, and a crucible of class and social challenges met by these artists; the chords of which still vibrate. The NPG is located at 8th & G Streets, NW; The Nan Tucker McEvoy Auditorium is located through entering at this G Street entrance. The event will be posted by September on the NPG/McEvoy Auditorium calendar. But let this entry suffice to mark the date!
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