West campus to experience 'The Soul of Broadway'

A one-of-a-kind musical revue comes to ASU’s West campus Feb. 14 and 15. “The Soul of Broadway” started as the brainchild of a few African American musical theater performers in the Valley who wanted to create a show that both allowed them to perform in material that showed their strengths and to create a show that reflected their experiences.

Chanel Bragg and Mitchell Vantrease began to spearhead the venture and started to talk privately with other performers who felt the same. What resulted was a revue of songs from Broadway shows that featured African-American performers. They engaged musical director Jeff Kennedy, who is also an associate clinical professor at ASU’s West campus, and premiered the show in June 2011 at Theatre Works in Peoria.

Since that time they have performed the revue as guest artists at a number of theaters across the Valley. The show features songs from “Porgy and Bess” to showstoppers from “Dreamgirls” and “Ain’t Misbehavin’” and the most recent hits from shows like “The Color Purple” and “The Scottsboro Boys.” The current cast includes Krystal Pope, Anne-Lise Koyabe, Chanel Bragg, Miguel Jackson, Anthony Bragg, Jr., Matravius Avent and Mitchell Vantrease, with Kennedy continuing as their music director. 

“The Soul of Broadway” will be presented at 7:30 p.m., Feb. 14-15, in Second Stage West as part of the West campus' Black History Month Celebration. Tickets are $10 general admission, $7 for seniors, and $5 for students, and are available for purchase online at brownpapertickets.com. Visitor parking on campus is $2 per hour on Thursday evening and free on Friday evening.

The campus is at 4701 W. Thunderbird Road in Phoenix. More information is available by calling the ASU West Events Line at 602-543-2787.