“Chicken” George. O’Connor Flood. Judas. Leading Player. Chances are if you know these character names you also know the man who played them on stage, television and screen. Throughout his nearly fifty year career, Ben Vereen has entertained audiences of all ages. Which is precisely what he’ll do this weekend when he returns to Catalina Jazz Club on Friday and Saturday night to perform Steppin’ Out with Ben Vereen.
For those unfamiliar with Vereen and the characters he has played, “Chicken George” is the memorable character he played in the original mini-series Roots. O’Connor Flood is the television show host who introduced all his guests in Bob Fosse’s All That Jazz as “A great entertainer. A great humanitarian. And my friend of 17 years…” Well, all except one. (If you haven’t seen All That Jazz you should.) Judas is, of course, the character he played in the original production of Jesus Christ Superstar on stage. And the Leading Player is the character he played in the musical Pippin on stage that earned him a Tony Award.
In other words, this man has a lot of great music and stories in his back pocket. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg. His other Broadway appearances include such musicals as Hair, Wicked, Grind, Jelly’s Last Jam and Fosse.
Vereen is a classic song-and-dance man. He has the ability to take songs you know and breathe fresh air into them making you think you are hearing them for the first time. You should check out his take on “Mister Bojangles.”
Over a year ago Vereen appeared for two sold out nights at Catalina Jazz Club. It seems reasonable to assume he will do the same for these two shows. If you are interested in attending, I recommend buying your tickets as soon as possible.
Check back later this week for our interview with Ben Vereen here at Cultural Attaché.
For tickets on Friday night go here.
For tickets on Saturday night go here.
Photo courtesy of BenVereen.Info