The following musicals all have one thing in common: Hair, Jesus Christ Superstar, Pippin, Grind, Jelly’s Last Jam, Fosse and Wicked. At one time or another, they all had Tony Award-winning actor Ben Vereen as part of their cast. The man who also charmed people with his performance as Chicken George Moore in the original television miniseries Roots, will be performing for two nights at Catalina Bar & Grill in Hollywood. The shows are on Friday and Saturday.
Vereen won his Tony Award for his performance at the Leading Player in Pippin. The musical was written by Stephen Schwartz and Roger O. Hirson. Pippin was choreographed and directed by Bob Fosse (who won Tony Awards in both categories for the show.)
Vereen has been highly acclaimed for his cabaret shows. He’s had an amazing career and has also suffered some real setbacks including a very bad day in 1992 where he crashed his car and six hours later was hit by a car and critically injured while walking in Malibu near his home.
Ever-resillient, Vereen made a complete comeback and returned to film, television and the Broadway stage. In other words, he still has plenty of magic to do.
Main photo courtesy of BenVereen.info
“Pippin” photograph by Martha Swope. Courtesy of the New York Public Library.