ANNOUNCEMENTS > PRESS RELEASES

Broadway star Darius de Haas
to perform/speak at MIT

Cambridge, MA...Obie-winning Broadway and cabaret star Darius de Haas will visit the Massachusetts Institute of Technology for three staged readings and a talk arranged by Associate Professor Thomas DeFrantz, with whom he is collaborating on a new, one-man musical, "The Downright Sexy Adventures of Drew Durango."

De Haas will perform a staged reading of "The Downright Sexy Adventures of Drew Durango," written by DeFrantz (book) and Berklee College of Music Associate Professor Michael Wartofsky (music and lyrics), March 24-25 at 8 p.m., and March 26 at 2 p.m. in Kresge Little Theater (48 Massachusetts Ave). Tickets range from $6-$10.

The show chronicles the affairs of Drew, a twenty-something, gay African-American man finding his way through the urban minefield of relationships and sex in New York City, circa 2005.

In addition, de Haas will offer reflections on his multifaceted career in a free talk titled "Broadway and Beyond," on Monday, March 20, at 5 p.m., also in Kresge Little Theater.

De Haas, known for his rich, supple voice, theatrical sophistication and imaginative jazz interpretations, has appeared in Broadway productions such as "Kiss of the Spider Woman" and "Rent," done voice work in the animated feature "Anastasia," and presented solo concerts around the world of music by Billy Strayhorn, Stevie Wonder and others.

"An astonishing vocal acrobat, de Haas combines the timbre of a pure wind instrument with a fearless but disciplined theatricality and the swinging authority of a jazz powerhouse," wrote Stephen Holden for the New York Times.

While on campus, de Haas will also teach a master class to students in DeFrantz's musical theater workshop.

"The Downright Sexy Adventures of Drew Durango" is presented by SLIPPAGE, a performance collective led by DeFrantz that explores connections between acts of performance, formations of culture, and interventions of technology, all toward an end of original theatrical storytelling.

Directed by Wes Savick with musical direction by Joe Delgado, the staged reading has been sponsored by the MIT Committee on Campus Race Relations, the Council for the Arts at MIT, the MIT De Florez Fund for Humor, the MIT Music and Theater Arts Section, the MIT Program in Women’s Studies, and North Shore Music Theatre (Jon Kimbell, Artistic Director/Executive Producer; John La Rock, Associate Producer).

For more information, call (617) 253-4720 or e-mail defrantz@mit.edu.

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