Basic HTML Version
28
SUMMER PROGRAM 2012
P
AH L
P
AH
JENNIFER HOLLIDAY
(
Effie
) is pleased to be The William & Kerry Holekamp
Star Performer for
Dreamgirls
. Miss Holliday is honored and thrilled to reprise the
role of her beloved Effie in this wonderful production of
Dreamgirls
, as well as make
her debut appearance at the historic Muny theatre. She dedicates her performances in
memoriam and in tribute to the late Michael Bennett, who was the producer, director,
and choreographer of the original Broadway production of
Dreamgirls
, which opened at
the Imperial Theatre on Dec. 21, 1981. Holliday is truly a “Broadway Baby,” discovered
at age 18 by Jamie Patterson while singing in the Pleasant Grove Baptist church choir in
her hometown of Houston. She made her Broadway debut in the musical
Your Arms Too
Short To Box With God
, which proves that dreams can come true for anyone who dares
to dream.
More than thirty years ago, Miss Holliday won a Tony® Award for best actress in a musical for her portrayal of
Effie Melody White. She also won her first Grammy award for best R&B female vocalist for her heart-wrenching
delivery of her signature song
And I Am Telling You I’m Not Going
. Her song is loved by millions all over the world
and has been emulated by thousands of people in hopes of winning talent contests such as
American Idol
,
Showtime
at the Apollo
, and
Star Search
.
And I Am Telling You I’m Not Going
charted No. 1 on the R&B Billboard charts for
four consecutive weeks, and also gave Holliday her first Top 40 pop record. Since then, she has recorded seven solo
albums:
Feel My Soul
,
Say You Love Me
,
Get Close To My Love
,
I’m On Your Side
,
On And On
,
God Is Faithful
, and
The
Millenium Collection: The Best Of Jennifer Holliday
.
In 1985, Holliday won her second Grammy Award for best inspirational vocal performance for her soul stirring
rendition of Duke Ellington’s
Come Sunday
, originally recorded by the late queen of gospel, Mahalia Jackson. She
also portrayed Mahalia in the musical production,
Sing, Mahalia, Sing
. Jennifer has recorded with Quincy Jones,
Barbra Streisand, Michael Jackson, Luther Vandross, Foreigner, Ashford & Simpson, and Peabo Bryson. She is
currently working on a CD of love ballads, which consist of classic jazz standards, pop and R&B songs, both past
and present.
Jennifer considers herself a bi-partisan songbird. She has performed at the White House for Ronald Reagan, George
H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton, and George W. Bush. She has also performed with pop symphony orchestras across
America, and has appeared with Marvin Hamlisch, Peter Nero, Keith Lockhart, Dr. Henry Panion, and many other
great conductors.
In the late 90s and into the millennium, Jennifer’s fans got to see their Broadway Baby grow and enjoy good success
as an accomplished actor in both TV and film. She had a recurring role on the Fox hit TV show
Ally McBeal
as Lisa
Knowles, the church choir director. She has also made special guest appearances on TV Lands’ hit show
Happily
Divorced
with Fran Drescher,
Touched By an Angel
,
Ellen
and
The Love Boat
. Jennifer also made a cameo appearance
in the independent film
The Rising Place
starring Frances Fisher, S. Epatha Merkerson, and Elise Neal. She performed
and wrote several songs for the movie, notably,
You’ve Got To Rise Up To A Place Where Love Can Find You
.
For decades, Jennifer has delighted many audiences with her outstanding and memorable performances and a host
of TV music specials, beginning with
Saturday Night Live
,
The 1982 Tony® Awards
(the year in which she won),
The
Oscars
,
Broadway Leading Ladies: Live at Carnegie Hall
,
Boston Pops Symphony Fourth of July Special
,
A Capital Fourth
with the National Symphony
,
BET Celebration of Gospel
,
The Wendy Williams Show
,
The Rosie O’Donnell Show
,
The
Tonight Show
with Johnny Carson,
Soul Train
,
Showtime at the Apollo,
and most recently,
The American Idol
11
th
season finale with the young sensation Jessica Sanchez singing a duet of her hit song
And I Am Telling You I’m Not
Going
, which has now been viewed on YouTube by more than 3 million viewers.
Community, church and charity are very important to Jennifer. She now resides in Atlanta, and is an active member
of Mount Welcome Baptist Church, where Reverend Darryl D. Roberts is pastor in Decatur, GA. In 2000, she
received an honorary Doctorate of Music from the Berklee College of Music in Boston for her work in using music
as a healing power to overcome depression and promote suicide prevention as an advocate for mental health. She
also founded the Yolanda D. King “Achieving the Dream” Scholarship fund in memory of her beloved friend, fellow
actor, and eldest daughter of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Mrs. Coretta Scott King.
Jennifer wishes to express her sincere and deep gratitude to Chris Manos, Mike Isaacson, Dennis Reagan and
to all the staff at the historic Muny theatre for introducing her to this amazing St. Louis audience. She also
thanks the director, Robert Clater, and his lovely wife, Leisa Kaye, for making this 30
th
anniversary celebration
of
Dreamgirls
a dream come true. And to all of her fans, Jennifer sends all of her love and sings her song each
night only for them so that they all might know and believe in their hearts that “there’s a dream out there with
your name on it!” Please follow Jennifer on Twitter @jennifersspot and “like” her on her Facebook fan page
at www.facebook.com/IAmJennniferHolliday.