In Berkeley, Bob Marley’s Music Evokes the Spirit of Jamaica in Three Little Birds

BERKELEY, Calif. - Jan. 23, 2015 - PRLog -- Contact:  Vivian Auslander, (510) 524-2941, vivian@vivianauslander.com

The sun is shining in Cattawood Springs, a small village on the Island of Jamaica, but timid, 11-year-old Ziggy prefers to stay indoors, watching TV, “just making sure that there are no hurricanes coming.”  When his tricky friend Nansi lures him out of the house, the two children are in for an unexpected test of their courage and ingenuity.

Presented by the Bay Area Children’s Theatre (http://www.bactheatre.org/)(BACT) in its California premier, Three Little Birds, A New Reggae Children’s Musical, opens at the Freight & Salvage, 2020 Addison Street, Berkeley, CA 94704 on Saturday, January 24, at 11 a.m. and plays weekends at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. through Sunday, February 15.

A modern-day fairytale based on the story by Cedella Marley, adapted for the stage by Michael J. Bobbitt, Three Little Birds, A New Reggae Children’s Musicalfeatures the music of the legendary songwriter-singer-guitarist Bob Marley, with additional music and lyrics by John L. Cornelius, II.  Michael Mohammed directs.

Marley’s music evokes the spirit of Jamaica, and the endearing story gives children and their families a glimpse into the warmth and magic of life in Ziggy’s Caribbean village. Watch out for evil Duppy, but “don’t worry about a thing, ‘cause every little thing gonna be all right!” Recommended for 4 and up.

TICKETS: $22 adults,$20 seniors, $18 children, $13 groups (minimum 15)

BOX OFFICE:  www.bactheatre.org  or (510) 296-4433

((Hi-res .jpgs attached of, clockwise from top,  Anthony Rollins-Mullens as Duppy,  Branden Thomas as Ziggy, and Khalia Davis as Nansi. Photo credit: Melissa Nigro))

Show Will Move to San Francisco, Mill Valley, San Ramon

After its Berkeley run, Three Little Birds, A New Reggae Children’s Musicalwill move to San Francisco, Mill Valley, and San Ramon, as follows:

San Francisco, February 21 – March 1:  Weekend performances at the Theater at the Children's Creativity Museum, 221 4th Street, San Francisco, CA 94103, begin Saturday, February 21, and run through Sunday, March 1, at 11 a.m., 2 p.m. and 5 p.m.

Mill Valley, March 7 - 15:  Weekend performances at the Marin Theatre Company, 397 Miller Ave, Mill Valley, CA 94941 - Saturday, March 7, at 10 a.m., 12 p.m., 3 p.m.; Sunday, March 8, at 10 a.m. and 12 p.m.; Saturday, March 14, at 10 a.m., 12 p.m. and 5 p.m.; Sunday, March 15, at 10 a.m. and 12 p.m.

San Ramon, March 21 - 29: Weekend performances at the Front Row Theater, 17011 Bollinger Canyon Road, San Ramon, CA 94582, begin Saturday, March 21, at 2 p.m. and run through Sunday, March 29, at 11 a.m., 2 p.m., and 4 p.m.

About the Artists

Michael Mohammed (Director) has received acclaim as a director, choreographer, and performer. Directing credits: Candide (Douglas Morrisson Theatre), The Full Monty (ACT, MFA program), X: The Life & Times of Malcolm X (Oakland Opera Theater), Wilde Boys (New Conservatory Theater, BACC winner: Best Musical), The Unsung Diva (NY Fringe Festival), The Marriage of Figaro (Opera On Tap) and Carmen (Mendocino Music Festival). Mohammed directs the Musical Theatre Ensemble at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, where his productions have included Nine, Company, Bernarda Alba, World Goes Round, and La Boheme. He is on the faculty at San Francisco Community Music Center and Ruth Asawa School of the Arts. A classically trained singer, he performs regularly in musical theatre and opera: Mitch (The 25th Annual…Bee, Busbarn Theater), Little Truth (The Great Big Also, Mugwumpin), Sister (Marat/Sade, Thrillpeddlers), Bertarido (Rodelinda, Handel Opera Project), and the title role in Handel’s Orlando (Black Box Baroque).

Khalia Davis (Nansi), a veteran performing and teaching artist with BACT, appears weekdays in BACT’s school tour, Rock the Block: A Walk and Roll Musical. Other Bay Area credits include 42nd Street Moon (The Boyfriend); TheatreWorks (Once on this Island, Memphis, Jane Eyre); California Shakespeare Theatre (Midsummer, A Raisin in the Sun, A Winter’s Tale: Perf U/S); Willows Theatre (Once on This Island); and Broadway by the Bay (Dreamgirls, Millie, Beauty and the Beast).  Davis is also a professional teaching artist and executive producer of Kids at Heart Productions, which creates entertaining, age-appropriate web content for children. She holds a BA in Theatre from the University of Southern California. www.khaliashdavis.com

Debra Harvey (Cedella/Montego) makes her BACT debut in this production.  Recent credits include: A Trip Down Broadway (Effie/Gary Coleman/Ensemble) at Clayton Theatre Company, Dreamgirls (Joann/Geraldine(Jerry)) at Broadway By the Bay, The Color Purple (Church Lady) at HillBarn Theatre, and A Little Princess (Widow Zuma). She was the 2012 winner of the SFBATCC Award for Principal Female in a Musical for Nunsense (Sister Hubert) at Novato Theatre Company.

Anthony Rollins-Mullens (Duppy) last appeared with BACT as Toad in A Year with Frog and Toad. Other theatrical credits include Louis Armstrong in Ella, the Musical, Tom Collins in Rent, Fred in Smokey Joe’s Cafe, Willie in “Master Harold”. . . and the Boy, Jafar in Disney’s Alladin, Aslan in Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, The Pimp/Big Bad Wolf in Rent Boy Avenue: A Fairy’s Tale, Waymon as Hunter Priestess in the West Coast premier of Good Goods, Eddie Mackrel in the West Coast premier of LaChuisa’s The Wild Party, and Belize in the 20th Anniversary production of Angels in America. www.rollinsmullens.com

Branden Thomas (Ziggy) started training in ballet and African dance at a young age and began singing in 11th grade, after he was admitted into the Oakland School for the Arts and its award-winning concert choir. He progressed as a vocalist in high school and started to perform in musical theater, the field in which he hopes to build a career. Credits include Avenue Q (Gary Coleman), Wish upon a Star (Ursula), and Hairspray (Motormouth Maybelle).

____________________________________________________________________

About the Bay Area Children's Theatre

Established in 2004, the Bay Area Children’s Theatre, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, serves more than 68,000 children and adults throughout the Bay Area.

-30-

This information reposted courtesy of Wright Enterprises (www.wrightnow.biz)