Deborah Cox Will Headline Broadway-Aimed Josephine Baker Musical

The long-in-the-works Broadway-aimed tuner about the legendary Josephine Baker, starring Deborah Cox, is finally set to receive its world premiere in Florida. Directed and choreographed by Joey McKneely, Josephine features a book by Ellen Weston and Mark Hampton, music by Stephen Dorff and lyrics by John Bettis. The production is scheduled to play a limited engagement April 27 through May 29 at FSU Center for the Performing Arts’ Mertz Theatre. Opening night is set for May 6.

Cox made her Broadway debut in Aida; she returned to the Main Stem in Jekyll & Hyde and will headline The Bodyguard national tour. She has recorded six award-winning and critically-acclaimed albums, and has written and recorded on numerous soundtracks.

Inspired by Stephen Papich's book Remembering Josephine, the musical revolves around Baker's stint as the star of the Folies Bergère in Paris between 1939-45, her scandalous affair with Swedish Crown Prince Gustav VI, and her heroic service in the French Resistance during World War II. She was hailed as the "Black Pearl." Picasso dubbed her the "Nefertiti of Now." Ernest Hemingway called her "the most sensational woman anyone ever saw." The entrancing Josephine Baker was beautiful, ambitious, and the toast of Europe at the height of her fame in the 1920s-30s. Born into poverty in St. Louis, she rose to become an icon of the Jazz Age, captivating Paris audiences as a dancer, singer, actress and the twentieth-century's first international black female sex symbol.

The cast is also set to include Kevin Earley (Les Miserables) as Jo Bouillon and Mark Campbell (Guys & Dolls) as Prince Gustav VI of Sweden.

The production will feature orchestrations, arrangements and musical supervision by Steve Orich, scenic design by Paul Tate dePoo III, costume design by Eduardo Sicangco, lighting design by Brian Nason, sound design by Justin Stasiw and projection design by Alex Basco Koch.