Evento

Michael Monasterial's Sam Cooke Where Have You Been Baby?

Sam Cooke Where Have You Been Baby? is a rock 'n' roll/gospel musical based on the short life of the pop singer Sam Cooke, who fused the two traditions into a new sound of soul music. The play is written by Michael Monasterial, who also stars as Cooke in the play.

The play is a modern morality tale of the charismatic genius Cooke, whose successful career saw him hit the Billboard charts with 24 songs in eight years. But Cooke was also an unfaithful husband in a failed marriage, with a father's guilt when his son drowned in their swimming pool. Cooke was a pioneer in the Civil Rights movement and an inventor of musical styles that are still incorporated in pop and gospel music 50 years later.

Sam Cooke Where Have You Been Baby? has been called "Riveting", "Spellbinding", "The best performance and cast north of Broadway", "A Must See!" by the Hudson Valley press. For more information and clips of the show go to passingthetorchthroughthearts.com.

Prior to the play The Annual Luminary Awards will be presented. This award is given each year to inspirational people who work for a fuller understanding of American history. Honorees are not afraid to take unpopular stands with their voices, their art or their personal philosophies. The 2011 honorees include: Mr. Eddie Bell, Pastor Modele Clarke, Ms. Greer Smith, The Rednex Poetry squad, and Mr Victor Melendez.

This show is presented as a fundraiser for Passing the Torch Through the Arts, a program dedicated to educating at-risk youth and inspiring social change through theater and the arts.