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Kurt Elling’s “The Big Blind”
1st March 2019 - 2nd March 2019
What to Expect
• A dramatic radio-style thriller about a vocalist with big dreams, complete with an on-stage foley artist to bring the show to life.
What becomes of an artist when his avenue of expression is violently eliminated?” Experience the world premiere of The Big Blind, a radio-style musical drama written by Kurt Elling and Phil Galdston, in which a young jazz singer faces the ultimate test. This unique passion project has been years in the making, and it’s like nothing Jazz at Lincoln Center has presented before.
Set in mid-20th century Chicago, this noir-inspired tale features an all-star cast including Kurt Elling, NEA Jazz Master songstress Dee Dee Bridgewater, Broadway legend Ben Vereen, actors Ian Shaw and Allison Semmes, and Ulysses Owens Jr.’s New Century Jazz Orchestra, arranged and conducted by Guy Barker, with additional special guests to be announced. The dramatic character roles were written with this extraordinary cast in mind, and a “Foley” sound artist will be on stage to create real-time effects ranging from footsteps and creaky doors to the fateful sound of breaking glass.
Directed by Terry Kinney (actor, director, and founding member of Steppenwolf Theatre Company), the show features new, original compositions by Elling and Galdston as well as lyric adaptations of songs by Duke Ellington, Wayne Shorter, Sammy Cahn, Joe Zawinul, Jimmy Van Heusen, Joe Jackson, and Jaco Pastorius, all re-imagined to tell a rollercoaster of a tale. Join us for an evening of pure entertainment, and watch a classic radio-style thriller come to life before your eyes.
Free pre-concert discussion nightly at 7pm.