Lillias White Joins the Cast of York's Blind Lemon Blues
As Blind Lemon Jefferson, Akin Babatunde heads a cast of seven multi-talented performers who sing, dance and bring to life one of America's great musical legends. In addition to Babatunde and White, the cast includes Benita Arterberry, Cavin Yarbrough, Alisa Peoples Yarbrough and Walter Fauntleroy, with guitarist Sam Swank. In addition to performing, Babatunde provides direction, choreographic staging and musical arrangements developed in association with Cavin and Alisa Peoples Yarbrough.
Blind Lemon Blues is set in New York City in 1948 at the last recording session of the legendary Huddie Ledbetter, better known as Leadbelly, and combines elements of traditional blues, gospel, rhythm and blues, soul, doo-wop and rap to evoke the enduring legacy of Blind Lemon and his contemporaries. Jefferson was a blind street musician who played his guitar with a tin cup tied to its neck on a Dallas streetcorner until a Paramount Records scout discovered him. Between 1926 and 1929, Jefferson made more than 80 records and became the biggest selling down-home blues singer in America.
White earned a Tony Award for The Life. Her other Broadway credits include How to Succeed In Business... , Cats, Once on This Island, Dreamgirls and Chicago. Off-Broadway, she's been seen in The Vagina Monologues, Crowns, Dinah Was and Romance in Hard Times. She sang the role of Bloody Mary in South Pacific in "Great Performances Live from Carnegie Hall." Lillias performs regularly with the Colorado Symphony, the Palm Beach Pops, NY Pops and in other venues worldwide including Jazz at Lincoln Center. Her latest album of jazz music will be released in 2007.