Chester Gregory
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Chester Gregory
Chester Gregory, also known as CHΞSS (born December 10, 1972), is an American actor, singer and songwriter from Gary, Indiana. His breakthrough came with his portrayal of Jackie Wilson in ''The Jackie Wilson Story'', which led to his Broadway debut as Seaweed in ''Hairspray''. Gregory's other credits include principal roles in ''Tarzan'', ''Cry-Baby'', ''Dreamgirls'' and ''Sister Act''. Gregory produced and starred in a look into the life of Jackie Wilson in ''The Eve of Jackie''. Gregory has received numerous awards including the Joseph Jefferson and NAACP Theatre Award. Aside from acting, Gregory worked on numerous albums and mixtapes before releasing ''In Search of High Love''. He has been awarded the key to two cities: The key to his hometown the City of Gary, Indiana and the Key to the City of East Chicago, Indiana. He has also been awarded Honorary State Representative for the state of Indiana. Early life and education Chester Gregory was born in Gary, Indiana on Dece ...
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Gary, Indiana
Gary is a city in Lake County, Indiana, United States. The city has been historically dominated by major industrial activity and is home to U.S. Steel's Gary Works, the largest steel mill complex in North America. Gary is located along the southern shore of Lake Michigan about east of downtown Chicago, Illinois. The city is adjacent to the Indiana Dunes National Park, and is within the Chicago metropolitan area. Gary was named after lawyer Elbert Henry Gary, who was the founding chairman of the United States Steel Corporation. U.S. Steel had established the city as a company town to serve its steel mills. Although initially a very diverse city, after white flight in the 1970s, the city of Gary held the nation's highest percentage of African Americans for several decades. As of the 2020 census the city's population was 70,093, making it Indiana's ninth-largest city. Like other Rust Belt cities, Gary's once thriving steel industry has been significantly affected by th ...
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Comedy Central
Comedy Central is an American basic cable channel owned by Paramount Global through its network division's MTV Entertainment Group unit, based in Manhattan. The channel is geared towards young adults aged 18–34 and carries comedy programming in the form of both original, licensed, and syndicated series, stand-up comedy specials, and feature films. It is available to approximately 86.723 million households in the United States as of September 2018. Since the early 2000s, Comedy Central has expanded globally with localized channels in Europe (including the UK), India, Southeast Asia, Latin America, Australia and New Zealand, Middle East, and Africa. The international channels are operated by Paramount International Networks. History 1989–1991: Pre-launch as The Comedy Channel On November 15, 1989, Time-Life, the owners of HBO, launched The Comedy Channel as the first cable channel devoted exclusively to comedy-based programming. On April 1, 1990, Viacom (who o ...
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Eric Roberson
Eric Roberson (born September 27, 1976) is an American singer, songwriter, former rapper and music producer. He is sometimes referred to simply as Erro, the name which he later used as part of his label Blue Erro Soul. His first single, "Represent", was released through Warner Bros. Records in 1994 and he recorded an album for that label which remains unreleased. Career Raised in Rahway, New Jersey, Roberson attended Rahway High School. He subsequently returned to Howard University to complete his studies in Musical Theatre. After performing in a number of musicals and plays, he landed a songwriting deal through the EMI label, and went on to collaborate with Philadelphia-based artists such as Jill Scott, Musiq Soulchild, and most extensively, DJ Jazzy Jeff. As a member of Jeff's ''A Touch of Jazz'' production company, Roberson made contributions to Jeff's debut album, '' The Magnificent'' in 2002. He continued songwriting work as well as releasing his own material through hi ...
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PJ Morton
P.J. Morton (born Paul Morton Jr.; March 29, 1981) is an American Grammy winning musician, singer, songwriter and record producer. Since 2012, he has been one of the keyboardists, alongside Jesse Carmichael, for the pop rock band Maroon 5. Morton originally joined the band as a touring member in 2010 and became an official member in 2012 after Carmichael went on indefinite hiatus (he returned to the lineup in 2014). Morton released his debut solo EP, ''Following My First Mind'', in March 2012, through the record label Young Money Entertainment, Young Money. Adam Levine and James Valentine (musician), James Valentine were featured on the lead single, "Heavy". In May 2013, Morton released his first major-label debut album, ''New Orleans (PJ Morton album), New Orleans''. In 2016, he released his mixtape ''Bounce & Soul Vol. 1'' in March and the ''Sticking to My Guns'' EP in July. On April 14, 2017, Morton released his first self-released studio album ''Gumbo (PJ Morton album), Gumb ...
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Artie Butler
Arthur Butler (born December 2, 1942) is an American composer, arranger, songwriter, and session musician. In a long career, he has been involved in numerous hit records and other recordings, and has been awarded over 60 gold and platinum albums. Life and career Butler was born in Brooklyn, New York, and learned to play various instruments including piano, clarinet and drums as a child. He attended Erasmus Hall High School. At the age of 13, he auditioned for Henry Glover of King Records, who offered him a contract as a result. His single, "Lock, Stock and Barrel", credited to Arthur Butler, was issued on the DeLuxe label in 1957, but was not successful. Biography by Jason Ankeny at Allmusic.com
Retrieved 12 May 2013
By the early 1960s he was working as an assistant at



Henry Krieger
Henry Krieger (born February 9, 1945 in New York City) is an American musical theatre composer. He most notably wrote the music for the Broadway shows ''Dreamgirls'' (1981, with lyrics and book by Tom Eyen), ''The Tap Dance Kid'' (1983), and ''Side Show'' (1997). He was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Score for both ''Dreamgirls'' and ''Side Show'', won the Grammy Award for Best Cast Show Album for the cast album of ''Dreamgirls'', and received three nominations for the Academy Award for Best Song for songs he wrote for the 2006 ''Dreamgirls'' film. Early life Born in New York City, Krieger grew up in White Plains and Ossining in Westchester County, New York and attended school at the Scarborough School in Scarborough, New York. There he played in Gilbert and Sullivan's '' Iolanthe'' and ''Ruddigore''. He became interested in theatre and the dramatic arts, and he later studied creative and liberal arts at the American University in Washington, D.C., and Columbia Univ ...
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Marc Shaiman
Marc Shaiman (; born October 22, 1959) is an American composer and lyricist for films, television, and theatre, best known for his collaborations with lyricist and director Scott Wittman. He wrote the music and co-wrote the lyrics for the Broadway musical version of the John Waters film ''Hairspray''. He has won a Grammy, an Emmy, and a Tony, and been nominated for seven Oscars. Personal life Shaiman was born to a Jewish family in Newark, New Jersey, the son of Claire (née Goldfein) and William Robert Shaiman. He grew up in Scotch Plains, New Jersey and attended Scotch Plains-Fanwood High School, but got his GED and left school at age 16 to start working in New York's theaters. He lives in both Manhattan and upstate New York. He is openly gay, and married Louis Mirabal, a retired lieutenant commander in the U.S. Navy, on March 26, 2016. Career Shaiman started his career as a theatre/cabaret musical director. He started working at ''Saturday Night Live'' as an arranger/writer ...
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Phil Collins
Philip David Charles Collins (born 30 January 1951) is an English singer, musician, songwriter, record producer and actor. He was the drummer and lead singer of the rock band Genesis and also has a career as a solo performer. Between 1982 and 1990, Collins scored three UK and seven US number-one singles as a solo artist. When his work with Genesis, his work with other artists, as well as his solo career is totalled, he had more US top 40 singles than any other artist during the 1980s. His most successful singles from the period include "In the Air Tonight", "Against All Odds (Take a Look at Me Now)", " One More Night", and "Another Day in Paradise". Born and raised in west London, Collins played drums from the age of five and completed drama school training, which secured him various roles as a child actor, with his first major role, aged 13, as the Artful Dodger in the West End musical '' Oliver!''. He then pursued a music career, joining Genesis in 1970 as their drummer and ...
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Columbia College Chicago
Columbia College Chicago is a Private college, private art college in Chicago, Illinois. Founded in 1890, it has 5,928https://about.colum.edu/effectiveness/pdf/spring-2021-student-profile.pdf students pursuing degrees in more than 60 undergraduate and graduate degree programs. It is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission. Columbia College Chicago is the host institution of several affiliated educational, cultural, and research organizations, including the Center for Black Music Research, the Center for Book and Paper Arts, the Center for Community Arts Partnerships, the Dance Center of Columbia College Chicago, and the Museum of Contemporary Photography. Columbia College Chicago is not affiliated with Columbia University, Columbia College Hollywood, or any other Columbia College in the United States. History Columbia College Chicago was founded in 1890 as the Columbia School of Oratory by Mary A. Blood and Ida Morey Riley, both graduates of the Monroe Conservatory of ...
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National Black Theatre Festival
The National Black Theatre Festival (NBTF) was founded in 1989 by Larry Leon Hamlin in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Serving as its executive director, Hamlin’s goal in creating the Festival was "to unite black theatre companies in America to ensure the survival of the genre into the next millennium." Held biennially since 1989 for six days, the NBTF showcases the best in African-American theater. Beginnings As he was doing research for a magazine article in the late 1980s, Hamlin discovered a disconnect between the number of black theatre companies at that time. He concluded that a festival could serve as a method to bring these companies together, and he contacted renowned author and poet Maya Angelou for support. Together, they raised $500,000 in grants and contributions to finance the festival's operating costs. The first Festival attracted 10,000 people and offered 30 different performances by 17 of America’s best professional black theatre companies. Its theme was "An In ...
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Black Ensemble Theater Company
Black Ensemble Theater Company is a theatre company that performs at the Black Ensemble Cultural Center in the Uptown community area of Chicago, Illinois. The company is known for productions related to African-American culture, especially musicals depicting notable African-American musicians and performers. The company is a significant contributor to Chicago's emergence as a Theater Town, and its theater has been selected as one of the 25 top major theaters in the country by the Encyclopædia Britannica Almanac. The company performed in the Black Ensemble Theater at 4520 North Beacon Street until it opened a new state of the art Black Ensemble Cultural Center at 4450 N. Clark Street, on November 18, 2011. The company raised $20M dollar to build the new theater which is also in Uptown. The new Black Ensemble Theater Cultural Center was designed by Morris Architects Planners, who has previously designed Steppenwolf, Lookingglass, and Playhouse on the Square. The new theater ...
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Feinstein's/54 Below
54 Below is a cabaret and restaurant in the basement of Studio 54 in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. Owned by Broadway producers Steve Baruch, Richard Frankel, Marc Routh and Tom Viertel, 54 Below has hosted shows by such performers as Patti LuPone, Ben Vereen, Sierra Boggess, Lea Salonga, Marilyn Maye, Luann de Lesseps and Barbara Cook. History 54 Below opened on June 3, 2012, as 54 Below. Its designers include architect Richard H. Lewis, set designer John Lee Beatty, lighting designer Ken Billington, and sound designer Peter Hylenski. Scott Wittman also serves as Creative Consultant. Jennifer Ashley Tepper serves as the Director of Programming at 54 Below. 54 Below features a variety of musical artists and styles, including musical theatre, opera, and jazz, the last of which was featured in a series co-produced with WBGO. In September 2015, 54 Below announced a creative alliance with performer and singer, pianist, and music revivalist Michael Feinstein, becoming Fein ...
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